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Strong and Deadly

Duration: 26 minutes

Program ID: 903 | Purchase Price: $105.00 (DVD also includes the "Stay Strong" program - number 902)

Indigenous young people in the 12-18 years age-group have often grown up against a background of entrenched social and economic disadvantage.  Many have experienced stressful life events (such as the death of close family members), poor diet and health care, disrupted schooling, and have engaged in a variety of risk-taking behaviours.  By the time of adolescence, the effects on their health, educational outcomes, and social and economic opportunities are evident.

Research is now indicating, however, that a strong cultural identity is an important protective factor for Indigenous adolescents. Strong and Deadly presents several community-based initiatives that draw on culture to provide programs that are having a significant impact on the health and well-being of Indigenous young people.  Featured case studies include a football-based program in a high school in Kununurra, WA; a young women’s group in Palmerston, NT; and Tirkandi Inaburra, aresidential program for Indigenous boys aged 12-15 near Coleambally, NSW.  
 
Strong and Deadly is a half-hour documentary version of Deadly Steps: Indigenous Youth, which was originally produced by the Rural Health Education Foundation in 2008, and is part of the “Strong" series (a set of programs on Indigenous children’s health) that the Foundation has been developing and distributing since 2005.

Strong and Deadly is presented by Roxanne McDonald, well-known Indigenous actor.

This program was formally launched by Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of New South Wales, and Mr Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Race Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission.  Click here for details of the launch.

The Aboriginal Education section of the NSW Board of Studies has created a unit of study for Secondary School (years 7 to 10) PDHPE curriculum that utilises this program.  Click here for details of this unit.

This program was also featured on the cover of the January/February 2009 issue of the Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal.

AIHWJ January/February 2009 Edition

Free DVD copies for Indigenous organisations

Free DVD copies of this program are available for Indigenous organisations and for health professionals working in Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander health.  If you are eligible for a free copy, please email us at support@rhef.com.au with your complete postal address and telephone contact details.  (Note that the DVD also includes the Stay Strong program.)

Learning Outcomes

  • identify the significant factors that impact on the health and well-being of Indigenous youth
  • recognise the connections between positive educational experiences and improved health outcomes
  • understand the significance of a strong cultural identity for Indigenous young people
  • identify community-based strategies that can improve the knowledge and life-skills of Indigenous youth

Broadcast Dates

This program was first broadcast on the Foundation's satellite network on Tuesday 17 February 2009.

Funding Bodies

Produced with funding from The Ronald Geoffrey Arnott Foundation, managed by Perpetual; Rio Tinto Aboriginal Fund, The Ian Potter Foundation, The Marian & E H Flack Trust and The Milton Corporation Foundation.  Additional funding was provided by an untied educational grant from Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia) Pty Limited in support of better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.  The Rural Health Education Foundation also contributed funding for this program from its own resources.

Accreditation

This program is accredited or endorsed for CPD/CPE by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, the Royal College of Nursing Australia and the Australian Physiotherapy Association.