Eliza Collins is passionate about providing inclusive and comfortable spaces and care for Indigenous communities.
Helping to build dental practices where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people feel safe, respected and empowered to take care of their oral health is the focus of Eliza Collins’s (BOralHlth Hons 2022) research.
In 2023, Eliza won a Rowden White Scholarship to support her PhD research into culturally safe dental care delivery. She is currently conducting a series of yarning groups around Victoria and North-East Arnhem Land to uncover the elements that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities believe are essential to culturally safe dental care.
It was a placement to North-East Arnhem Land during her final year of university that set Eliza on her chosen path.
I thought that, as a profession, we could do a better job says Eliza.
After graduating as an oral health therapist in 2017, Eliza worked in remote NSW and regional Victoria, primarily with Indigenous communities. For the past few years, she has been based at Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative in Mooroopna, outside Shepparton.
Tracey Hearn, Practice Manager of the Oral Health Clinic at Rumbalara and a proud Yorta Yorta woman, says, “We have been really pleased to be part of Eliza’s cultural safety project research. Eliza’s motivation and dedication to improving oral health for our community is incredible. She has built a great rapport and strong trust with our community and this has made a real difference.”
A large part of Eliza's work has involved building trust with patients who have often felt intimidated and disempowered in a clinical setting. By building trust, Eliza says people are more likely to listen to dental healthcare messages and to make regular appointments with a dental clinic.
“People from Aboriginal communities are expected to come into a dental practice where only English is spoken. Clinician attitudes can also be a barrier — in so many areas of their life, Aboriginal people have been told they’re doing things wrong and then they might go to a dental practice where they’re told they aren’t brushing their teeth properly, or feel judged over their oral disease levels.”
Building a rapport and getting to know the patient is important, according to Eliza, who says, “Aboriginal people don’t want to come to a practice and just talk about teeth. I try to get to know the people I am treating.”
She says the project aims to build deeper understanding about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people would like their care to be provided and what changes can be made in public dentistry, in policy, in how dental clinicians are trained and in how we communicate oral health promotion.
I hope this research contributes to dental and oral health students understanding how to create a culturally safe environment within a clinic where people can embrace their culture and be themselves without fear of shame and judgement.