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Who are the N ew S outh W ales Aboriginal drug and alcohol workforce? A first description
Author(s) -
Ella Steve,
Lee KS Kylie,
Childs Steve,
Conigrave Katherine M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
drug and alcohol review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.018
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1465-3362
pISSN - 0959-5236
DOI - 10.1111/dar.12199
Subject(s) - workforce , government (linguistics) , salary , business , medicine , psychology , political science , law , philosophy , linguistics
and Aims Historically, Aboriginal alcohol and other drug ( AOD ) workers had little formal training, but this situation has changed rapidly in recent years. To understand how to better support and develop the workforce, we present the most detailed profile yet published of A boriginal AOD workers in A ustralia. Design and Methods Workers were identified through the A boriginal D rug and A lcohol N etwork, N ew S outh W ales. Participants completed a modified version of the W ork P ractice Q uestionnaire by pen‐and‐paper or interview in 2009. Results Fifty‐one workers were identified, representing 85% of the known N ew S outh W ales workforce at the time. Two in three (62.7%) were male, and over half (56.9%) were aged 30–49. More workers were employed in non‐government than government (60.8% vs. 39.2%) workplaces. Workers were employed under more than four different awards and with approximately eight position titles, spanning prevention and early intervention, clinical care and workforce development. Nearly all ( n = 49/51, 96.1%) felt they had the necessary experience to respond to AOD issues. However, over half ( n = 27/51, 52.9%) felt too much was expected of them. Just under a third ( n = 15/51, 29.4%) reported no formal supervision, with fewer non‐government workers compared with government receiving supervision ( P = 0.02). Over half ( n = 27/40, 67.5%%) earned AUD ≤ $50 000 annually, with government (vs. non‐government) employment and female gender predicting a salary of >$50 000. Discussion and Conclusions To improve worker retention and encourage professional skills development, discrepancies in salary and award conditions need addressing. Clarifying position descriptions and improving access to formal supervision are important to maximise workforce potential and reduce stress. [Ella S, Lee KSK,Childs S, Conigrave KM. Who are the New South Wales Aboriginal drug and alcohol workforce? A first description. Drug Alcohol Rev 2014]