Recruitment

An alphabetical list of all Australian ACCHSs was developed from an online search. The list of ACCHSs was randomised using a randomly generated number sequence and sites were then approached in order and invited to participate. An email and brief overview of the study was sent from the study Principal Investigator (RSF) to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of selected ACCHSs, inviting the service to participate in the research. Follow up phone calls were made one to two weeks later. Services which did not respond to the email or phone calls received a reminder email after approximately one month, and another follow up phone call. CEOs who agreed for their service to take part were asked to sign and return an organisational consent form. Following consent, CEOs were asked to forward a study information statement to all eligible staff within the service, inviting them to participate in a telephone interview. Interested staff were asked to either indicate their interest in participating directly to the research team via email or a free call telephone number, or provide verbal consent to their CEO for their contact details to be provided to the research team.

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Association, the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives, and the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association provided information about the study to potentially eligible participants, either through sending an email about the study to their members, and/or including information (e.g. a study flyer) about the study in their newsletters or on their websites. Eligible staff were asked to contact the research team via email or a free call telephone number.

Staff recruited via either method who indicated an interest in participating in an interview were contacted by the research team to confirm their eligibility and schedule a time to conduct the interview.