Gambling in Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory

Development and pilot of a health promotion initiative

Research Context

Gambling is an issue that is increasingly reported, both anecdotally and through research, as having significant negative impacts on Indigenous individuals, families and communities in the Northern Territory. Rates of gambling problems are much higher in the Indigenous population compared to the non-Indigenous population. This pilot project will address the negative impacts of gambling through the implementation of a health promotion framework to work with communities to deliver gambling education and support services to rural and remote communities in the Northern Territory. This project presents a unique partnership between Amity Community Services Inc., Menzies School of Health Research, and the Australian National University. The pilot project will be designed collaboratively, implemented by Amity Community Services in three trial sites and evaluated by researchers at the Australian National University and Menzies School of Health Research.

Research aims

To work with Indigenous communities in a collaborative and consultative way to develop and build community capacity to address the impacts of gambling.
To pilot a health promotion approach to reduce the harms associated with gambling problems in the Northern Territory Indigenous population.
To develop gambling harm-minimisation strategies and educational material that is sustainable, relevant and workable in the unique context of rural and remote communities in the Northern Territory.
To develop and implement a rigorous evaluative strategy to better understand the intended and unintended impacts of the health promotion framework to address gambling in the complex social and economic setting of the Northern Territory. The evaluation will engage both qualitative and quantitative method expertise.
To trial the use of new technology and social media in community data collection as a component of the evaluation strategy.