November 12, 2025
This study examines associations between First Nations parents’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD).
Study Highlights
Minimising financial stress, racism and inequality were associated with reduced levels of trauma symptoms, highlighting the importance of implementing trauma-informed public health emergency responses during a pandemic.
Those who had fewer disruptions to cultural practices were more likely to be resilient to the stressors of the pandemic, reinforcing the need for a culturally-responsive, trauma-informed public health emergency framework for First Nations communities.
Emergency responses that address these factors while optimising safe opportunities to maintain cultural obligations and social connection are essential.
This study supports the implementation of a proposed culturally-responsive, trauma-informed public health emergency framework for First Nations communities.
Study details
Christina L. Heris, Taylor Glover (Dharawal), Tess Bright, Simon Graham (Narungga), Shannon K. Bennetts, Kimberley A. Jones, Michelle Kennedy (Wiradjuri), Caroline Atkinson (Bundjalung), Catherine Chamberlain (Trawlwoolway), First Nations parents’ experiences of COVID-19 and associations with symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder, First Nations Health and Wellbeing – The Lowitja Journal, Volume 3, 2025, 100086. Link here
This paper is one study from a project to Develop a Culturally Responsive Trauma-Informed Public Health Emergency Response Framework for First Nations Communities. It was funded through the National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence (NHMRC CRE), the Australian Partnership for Preparedness Research on Infectious Disease Emergencies (APPRISE) through a donation from the Paul Ramsay Foundation. Read more