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    ARDS Education Model

    ARDS' model for health education is based on the principle that people need good quality explanations for health problems they face in order to take control of them. 

    Good quality explanations are:

    • logical
    • intellectually satisfying
    • relevant
    • ideally in the first language of the patient

    Explanations often include why and how the problem has occurred, what the current situation is, possible outcomes and options. 

    The emphasis is on providing sufficient information to allow the people to make their own informed choices. This does not simply mean providing instructions about what a person should or should not do.

    The ARDS approach is based on three fundamental principles:

  1. Understanding the Yolŋu worldview. There are many concepts, attitudes and beliefs that Yolŋu people have that can be useful in explaining or introducing new information. For example, explaining diabetes, ARDS uses Yolŋu food classifications and traditional eating patterns and lifestyle in discussions about the role of carbohydrates and fats in the body. Traditional practices are also used to introduce the role of body fat and the process of weight loss.

    Also, Yolŋu have a strong cultural knowledge base (information that is commonly shared and believed to be correct and meaningful), which includes understandings around health care and the human body. This knowledge may be different to the cultural knowledge base of Western medical practitioners or health professionals. 

    These differences are often the cause of confusion, non-compliance and fear amongst Yolŋu patients. By learning about the Yolŋu worldview, Western health professionals may be better equipped to identify and address these differences in any explanations they provide.

  2. Language and communication.  Using the first language of the patient, when explaining a health condition, creates the best chance for understanding by the patient. As most Yolŋu people only speak English as their third or fourth language, ARDS Health Educators must become fluent in Yolŋu Matha.

    This     also gives the Yolŋu patient an opportunity to express themselves more accurately and confidently which is fundamental to effective health care.

  3. Emphasis on two-way dialogue.  Two-way dialogue is fundamental to a successful learning process.  ARDS Health Educators engage Yolŋu patients in an interactive process, driven by the patient's own concerns, questions and understandings.  While education products such as flipcharts, posters and DVDs are useful in supporting learning, the key to creating and ensuring genuine understanding is dialogue.

    CLICK HERE for an example of how we use this model in practice with our Diabetes Education.

    CLICK HERE for more information about our germ theory education

    NOTE: Although ARDS Educators use this model with Yolŋu people, this model is equally valid in any other cross-cultural health education context.