This framework and recommendations guide NSW Health staff and partners when considering how to co-design and implement digital health initiatives across services for and with Aboriginal people and communities.
The framework draws on insights from collaborative yarning with Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal Health Workers to ensure digital health is culturally informed, community-led and grounded in lived experience, helping to strengthen relationships and improve health outcomes.
This resource supports clinicians, health workers, digital health teams, service managers and policy makers across NSW Health. It applies across hospitals, virtual care, primary and community health services, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, and metropolitan, rural, regional and remote settings.
What is digital health?
It is the use of digital technologies, data and connected systems to support, improve and transform healthcare delivery, health management and health outcomes. It encompasses a broad range of tools and approaches, including virtual care, electronic patient-reported measures, digital health records, remote patient monitoring, mobile health applications, data analytics and other technologies that enable more person-centred, accessible and efficient care.
When to use this resource
Use this framework throughout a project's lifecycle, from planning and co-design to implementation and evaluation. Engage Aboriginal people and communities early, authentically and continuously. Adapt the approach to local context and feedback.
VITAL framework
This framework supports reflection about whether a digital health initiative covers the following 5 domains that Aboriginal people and communities identified as important.
Recommendations
Use these practical actions to apply the framework in NSW health services and local contexts. They are based on what was heard across the yarning sessions and guided by Aboriginal Health Impact Statement principles.
Acknowledgements
We thank the cultural knowledge holders, community members and participants who generously shared their knowledge, wisdom and lived experiences. Your openness, trust and contribution to meaningful dialogue were central to the integrity and strength of this work. Your voices and insights guide how digital health can be made safe, trusted, and relevant for communities.
We thank Kowa for their leadership in this project, undertaken as a partnership between Kowa and the Agency for Clinical Innovation. Kowa led the overall project execution, including the facilitation of collaborative yarning sessions and the final analysis and write-up, working closely with our project team.