Efficient funding: a path to improving Aboriginal healthcare in Australia?

Objectives: To identify the factors that contribute to the under-resourcing of Aboriginal health and to explore the impact that funding arrangements have on the implementation of Aboriginal health policy.

Design, Settings And Participants: Qualitative study based on 35 in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of frontline health professionals involved in health policy and service provision in the Northern Territory.

Results: Participants described three factors that contributed to the under-resourcing of Aboriginal health: inefficient funding arrangements, mainstream programs being inappropriate for Aboriginal Australians, and competing interests determining the allocation of resources. Insufficient capacity within the healthcare system undermines the multilevel implementation process whereby organisations need to have the capacity to recognise new policy ideas, assess their relevance to their existing work and strategic plan and to be able to incorporate the relevant new ideas into day-to-day practice.

Conclusion: Insufficient resources for Aboriginal health were found to be a barrier to implementing Aboriginal health policy. Inadequate resources result from the cumbersome allocation of funding rather than simply the amount of funding provided to Aboriginal healthcare. Monitoring government performance and ensuring the efficient allocation of funds would allow us to develop the delivery system for Aboriginal healthcare and therefore provide greater opportunities to capitalise on current interventions and future efforts.