Assessing the support of health leadership for increased Indigenous participation in the health workforce

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the strength of leadership statements in Australian state and territory policy documents supporting increased representation of Indigenous people in the health workforce. Methods: Document analysis of leadership statements, prefacing state and territory Indigenous health workforce plans, from a relevant Minister or Head of Department was undertaken to detect the presence and level of 'dependency messaging': did the leadership statement clearly state that an Indigenous health workforce was needed to improve Indigenous health outcomes? Results: Australian health leaders do not routinely use dependency messaging in state and territory Indigenous health workforce plans. Conclusion: Greater alignment of state and territory Indigenous health workforce plans with contemporary diversity management knowledge could improve recruitment and retention of Indigenous peoples and, ultimately, Indigenous health outcomes. What is known about the topic?: The diversity management and change management literature highlights the importance of demonstrated leadership. Dependency messaging is the clear articulation of the benefit that members of minority and diversity groups bring to an organisation's performance; this is regarded as highly influential for diversity recruitment and retention. What does this paper add?: Strong 'dependency messaging' in health policy leadership statements could increase the Indigenous health workforce, and ultimately improve health outcomes, but is currently not uniformly used across jurisdictions. State and territory Indigenous health workforce plans were analysed using the diverse literature of change management, diversity management and strength-based approaches to provide recommendations for policy improvement that could lead to better Indigenous healthcare outcomes. What are the implications for practitioners?: The use of dependency messaging by health leaders could enhance recruitment of an Indigenous health workforce.