Background:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience a greater burden of disease and die younger than non-Indigenous Australians, with Aboriginal people living in remote areas of the Northern Territory of Australia having the lowest life expectancy estimates. Despite a high burden of chronic disease among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, access to specialist health services remains low and models of care that increase engagement, may improve health outcomes.

Methods:
This research seeks to understand the MJDF model’s success in supporting Aboriginal families with the familial, neurodegenerative condition Machado-Joseph disease and how it could be applied in the provision of other specialist services. Thematic analysis was undertaken on semi-structured interviews with primary health care staff (n = 2), Non-Aboriginal MJDF Staff (n = 7) and Aboriginal MJDF Clients / Community workers (n = 13).

Results:
The MJDF model takes a community-based, person-and family-centred approach to successfully deliver effective specialist genetic health services in remote community settings. This article proposes that these approaches have broad application in the future design and delivery of specialist health services particularly in culturally complex settings.