Abstract
Developing culturally safe relationships within which First Nations patients can ask questions to navigate their specific cultural and spiritual considerations is an essential element of patient-centred care. This yarn, featuring a conversation between Madison Shakespeare and Professor Lorraine Chantrill—Chair of the Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group (AGITG) and GI Cancer Institute, and Senior Staff Specialist Medical Oncologist—provides valuable insight into addressing cultural concerns that may prevent First Nations patients from accessing the best treatment options.
This yarn is beneficial for all First Nations patients, carers, kin, and community members as it models ways to foster culturally safe environments in healthcare. Moreover, it offers researchers and healthcare clinicians critical perspectives on the importance of ethical research and clinical practice tailored specifically to the nuanced needs of First Nations patients and their communities, thereby promoting culturally informed, respectful, and effective cancer care.
This yarn is beneficial for all First Nations patients, carers, kin, and community members as it models ways to foster culturally safe environments in healthcare. Moreover, it offers researchers and healthcare clinicians critical perspectives on the importance of ethical research and clinical practice tailored specifically to the nuanced needs of First Nations patients and their communities, thereby promoting culturally informed, respectful, and effective cancer care.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | GI Cancer Institute AGITG |
| Media of output | Film |
| Size | 4 min 53 sec |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Madison Shakespeare is an Indigenous artist, filmmaker, poet, novelist, and musician who proudly identifies as a Gadigal saltwater woman and Traditional Custodian. With extensive experience as an academic and cultural consultant, Madison is deeply engaged in Indigenous research methodologies that centre First Nations knowledge systems and cultural protocols. She has written, produced, and directed the Seedpod of Yarns series, leveraging audio-visual storytelling as a tool for advancing health equity and culturally safe healthcare practices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Madison’s work spans multiple disciplines, combining creative practice with rigorous research to support Indigenous self-determination and community leadership, particularly in addressing social determinants of Indigenous health.Research Statement
This short film, produced by Indigenous academic Madison Shakespeare and published by the GI Cancer Institute and Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group (AGITG), is a compelling example within the Seedpod of Yarns series that demonstrates the transformative potential of audio-visual storytelling as a digital communication strategy in translational medicine. By employing film as a research-driven medium, the work bridges the gap between medical science and the lived realities of Indigenous Australian communities, delivering complex health information in accessible, culturally grounded, and emotionally resonant forms.A distinctive innovation of the Seedpod of Yarns series is its foundation in Indigenous research methodologies, which harness Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. This centring of First Nations’ perspectives and knowledge-sharing practices ensures that both the research process and outputs advance self-determination, community leadership, and ethical research grounded in Indigenous culture. This approach privileges Indigenous voices throughout the filmmaking, enabling the series to act as a transformative intervention in health equity by actively addressing the social determinants of health affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Commissioned by leading research institutions, published by the AGITG, and widely disseminated digitally as part of a suite of 14 interlinked works, this film qualifies as a Standard output—a focused short-format work embedded within ongoing public health advocacy. Collectively, the series may also be considered an Extended film/video production, given its sustained conceptual inquiry, substantial public reach, and institutional recognition.
Through its embedded Indigenous research paradigm, Seedpod of Yarns stands as a model Non-Traditional Research Output (NTRO), exemplifying how creative practice led by Indigenous scholars functions as both cultural expression and methodological innovation. The series illustrates how film can serve as rigorous research that honours Indigenous worldviews, catalyses systemic change, and contributes to closing the gap in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Keywords
- self-determination
- Indigenous cancer patients
- Indigenous health
- First Nations wellbeing
- Cancer diagnosis
