Abstract

Katherine West Health Board Aboriginal Corporation (KWHB) at Katherine in the Northern Territory is an Aboriginal health service delivery organization directed by the Indigenous Board. The Chronic Disease Self-Management Demonstration Project (CDSM) commenced in April, 2002 at KWHB with funding from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing Sharing Health Care initiative, as one of eight demonstration projects across the country. The project is under the direction of the KWHB Board, which is made up of 18 members elected by their own communities that lie within the KWHB service sector. The full Board or the Board Executive meet routinely throughout each year and members are actively involved with the project at both community and Board levels. The project governance structure also includes a Steering Committee and the Project Management Group that meets monthly. The project is well supported by the various management and administrative sections of KWHB. In the communities, the project reports to the local health committees that have been established by KWHB with community support, and to the local CDSM committees made up of members of the target group.