The Mooditj program is a community based sexual health and life skills program for Aboriginal youth 11-14 years and winner of the 2006 Healthway Excellence in Health Promotion Award. Mooditj is underpinned by extensive consultation with Indigenous Australians and those working with Indigenous youth from over 200 Western Australia regional and rural communities. Results identified a need for a culturally specific sexual health program for this age group. This was supported by the 2003 Indigenous Health Statistics report on increasing rates of the prevalence of STIs, abuse and relationship violence, teenage pregnancy and high risk behaviour among Aboriginal youth. The Mooditj Program is an integrated approach to sexual health, building links between sexual health, physical, mental and emotional well being with consideration of the impact of environmental and social influences. Mooditj aims to increase knowledge, enhance personal skills and provide a platform for young people to feel comfortable to talk with trained community Mooditj Leaders about sexual health issues. Local service providers and key community people are given the opportunity to attend Mooditj Leader Training programs that focus on building comfort and confidence in delivering the program to their young people. The program is supported by a comprehensive, easy to follow manual. Mooditj has been met with a great deal of enthusiasm from all over Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales and generated much interest from Aboriginal workers, government departments, regional service providers and organisations working with Indigenous populations. To date FPWA has trained over 300 Mooditj Leaders who work in education, policing, health, community services, justice and local government with many running ongoing Mooditj groups in their local communities. Feedback and evaluation data is being gathered and results will be available at the completion of the current funded round of training workshops in 2008.
Conflict of Interest: None disclosed
Financial Support/Funding: Healthway Foundation For Health Promotion And Innovation, Western Australia.
Sydney Australia, April 2007
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