Universal Journal of Public Health Vol. 7(3), pp. 144 - 150
DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2019.070308
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Twinning with Tonga: The Experiences of Tongan Stakeholders with a Long-term Partnership with Regional Victoria, Australia

Carolyn Mornane ^1,*, Michelle Franc ², Maureen Waddington ³, Blake Peck ⁴, Daniel Terry ^4
1 Clinical Nurse Consultant Stomal Therapy, St John of God Hospital, Australia
² Manager of Health Information Services, St John of God Hospital, Australia
³ Director of Mission, St John of God Hospital, Australia
⁴ School of Nursing & Healthcare Professions, Federation University Australia, Australia

ABSTRACT

Twinning programs in health have gained increased recognition as a WHO preferred strategy for providing a sustainable strategy for enhancing the delivery of best practice healthcare globally. The Tonga Twinning Program (TTP), represents a longstanding relationship of some twenty-five years between The Ministry of Health in Tonga and St John of God Hospital, Ballarat, Australia and provides a compelling example of what can be achieved. This article presents the findings from a longitudinal exploration of the experiences and perceptions of the TTP through the voices of those key-stakeholders situated in Tonga who have engaged with the program. Informed by the tenets of hermeneutic phenomenology, a modified thematic analysis highlighted two major themes, ‘A shared mission' and ‘The outcomes are more than the tangibles', which supported by a series of sub-themes, identify the core components of the experience of the TTP. This study suggests that the TTP has supported a collective sense of bringing the very best available knowledge and skills to the people of Tonga and has fostered a genuine and open dialogue between partners as a mechanism for change that goes well beyond simply a capacity to replicate skills and instead has establish a genuine reciprocity akin to being a family.

KEYWORDS
Twinning, Healthcare Partnerships, Qualitative, Tonga

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Carolyn Mornane , Michelle Franc , Maureen Waddington , Blake Peck , Daniel Terry , "Twinning with Tonga: The Experiences of Tongan Stakeholders with a Long-term Partnership with Regional Victoria, Australia," Universal Journal of Public Health, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 144 - 150, 2019. DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2019.070308.

(b). APA Format:
Carolyn Mornane , Michelle Franc , Maureen Waddington , Blake Peck , Daniel Terry (2019). Twinning with Tonga: The Experiences of Tongan Stakeholders with a Long-term Partnership with Regional Victoria, Australia. Universal Journal of Public Health, 7(3), 144 - 150. DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2019.070308.