- Historic gathering of Torres Strait Islander doctors
- AMA welcomes sickly sweet sugar tax calls
- Community key sector-first approach to mob’s health
- Early Years conference in Cairns
- Strengthening healthcare outcomes for mums and bubs
- Sector Jobs
- Key Dates – 5 May 2024: International Day of the Midwife; World Hand Hygiene Day
- Events and training
The NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News is a platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.
We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.
Historic gathering of Torres Strait Islander doctors
Thirty years ago, there were no Torres Strait Islander doctors. Now, the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA) has taken a group of Torres Strait Islander doctors from the mainland to the islands for the first time. For many of the students and doctors, it’s the first time they’ve been on Country. They heard firsthand from Elders about the remote health experiences of First Nations People.
Jade Abernethy, a medical student at the University of Newcastle, said it was overwhelming seeing so many Torres Strait Islander doctors in one place, “Having the Uncles come forward and speak on behalf of the communities … was really important. I think it highlights that … historically there was a big deficit in the Torres Strait for access to health care, and it does have implications on community and family members.” Today, out of the 130,000 total doctors across Australia, 127 are Torres Strait Islander. Ms Abernethy said she was excited to also be visiting schools and talking to young people aspiring to become doctors. “I think it can be very isolating, being an Indigenous person in a very historically non-Indigenous system,” she said. “One thing that’s really, really helped me through my studies is my friendships with other Indigenous students.
AIDA CEO Donna Burns said the industry is realising the need for more Indigenous doctors to be able to provide culturally safe care. She said the organisation had recently struck a deal with Queensland Health to help provide training on culturally safe practices. “This is really new, and Dr. Katherine McDougal, who is the Acting Chief Health Officer, was with us this morning here [on Waiben],” she said. “We are really trying to actively work with them to understand cultural safety, and they’re really engaging in that so it’s fantastic.” She said the work AIDA did was made possible by communities who were continuously pushing for better participation in their own health.
To view the SBS NITV article Calls for better access to health prompts historic gathering of Torres Strait Islander doctors on Waiben in full click here.
Senator Malarndirri McCarthy joined the celebrations of a historic gathering of doctors on Waiben. Photo: NITV. Image source: SBS NITV.
AMA welcomes sickly sweet sugar tax calls
Australia should introduce a tax on sugary drinks to help combat obesity and diabetes according to the Australian Medical Association (AMA), in a call backed by a new report from the Grattan Institute. AMA President Professor Steve Robson welcomed the Grattan Institute report, available here, which once again shows how targeted sugar taxes work to reduce the amount of sugar in many of our most commonly sold drinks.
Sugary drinks make us sick, and we know this is a huge health problem for Australia,” Professor Robson said. “Sugar hides in a lot of drinks and we don’t realise the huge quantities we are actually consuming – it’s not always immediately apparent.” The Grattan Institute joins a long list of leading public health groups in calling for the introduction of a sugar tax.
The AMA’s #SicklySweet campaign, available here, and pre-budget submission, available here, highlight that a tax on sugary drinks will help tackle obesity and other preventable chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. “Our own modelling backs up the Grattan Institute report, showing we can prevent thousands of cases of diabetes is we act. More than 100 countries and jurisdictions have acted and introduced sugar taxes. If we want to see industry reformulate their products in Australia and we want a healthier society, then now is the time to act,” Professor Robson said.
To view the AMA media release AMA welcomes sickly sweet sugar tax calls in full click here.
Image source: AMA Sickly Sweet campaign.
Community key to sector-first approach to mob’s health
Community members and top medical bodies across the Hunter and New England regions have joined forces in a powerful bid to improve First Nations health outcomes. ‘Research Our Way’ – a collaborative strategy between the University of Newcastle, Awabakal Limited, the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) and the Hunter New England Local Health District – aims to set a new standard for the national tertiary sector.
The project is a revolutionary approach, according to Worimi man and the country’s first Indigenous surgeon, Professor Kelvin Kong, “There is a better way in which we all do research and the key to that is community engagement and community involvement.” “Historically, our people have been more likely to be research subjects rather than centred voices part of the co-design process and we want to change that going forward,” Wiradjuri man and Pro-Vice Chancellor Indigenous Strategy and Leadership, University of Newcastle, Nathan Towney said.
The 2024 Australian Universities Accord, a government review of the country’s higher education system, has identified First Nations success and high-impact research as priority areas for the sector. “This strategy really does start to shift those power dynamics to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the ones who get to say what gets researched, how it is researched, who’s doing the research, and we hope that this has a far greater impact on our health outcomes,” Mr Towney said. Central to the success of the project is ‘Wukul Yabang’ – meaning ‘one path’ in the Awabakal language. ‘Wukul Yabang’ is a diverse panel of local community and health representatives that meet periodically to provide essential research ethics, research methodology, cultural and community oversight.
Mr Jason Smith, CEO Awabakal Ltd said Wukul Yabang provided researchers and institutions an opportunity to present to the panel and ensure their work was appropriate. “Knowing there is a group of diverse Aboriginal people who have expertise in health, that researchers and Aboriginal Health organisations have access to, will make a huge difference in how Mob can benefit from research,” Mr Smith said. While ‘Research Our Way’ has been designed to suit the needs of the Hunter and New England regions, the founding organisations aspire for the approach to be adopted and rolled out suitably across the country.
To view the Hunter Medical Research Institute article Community key to sector-first approach to Indigenous health in full click here.
Image source: Hunter Medical Research Institute website.
Early Years Conference in Cairns
The Early Years Conference being held from 16 to 17 May 2024 in Cairns, will bring the early childhood education and care (ECEC) and allied sectors together for two days of learning and discussion with a view to promoting more impactful work in this space. The conference is a collaboration between The Benevolent Society, Mission Australia, Queensland Department of Education, the Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services, Queensland Health, ACT For Kids, The Cairns Institute, James Cook University and Wuchopperen Indigenous Health Service.
The theme for this year’s conference is “It takes a village to raise a family“. The conference will unite a variety of organisations and sectors, including education, health or social support services to promote integration and collaboration between the disciplines that are touch points for families during the early years.
“Early years support often involves integrated services across sectors including education, health and social welfare,” Cassy Bishop, Manager for the Cairns and Gordonvale Early Years Centres at The Benevolent Society explained. “Collaboration across these sectors helps early years practitioners grow in their roles and learn new ways of delivering this support to children and their families. The Cairns Early Years Conference continues to play a central role in enabling this collaboration and knowledge-sharing between our sector peers.”
To view The Sector article Early Years Conference will bring ECEC together for 2 days of learning in Cairns in full click here.
St Mary MacKillop Goodoo Early Learning Centre, Palm Island. Image source: Mary MacKillop Childcare NQ website.
Strengthening healthcare outcomes for mums and bubs
A positive experience with a student midwife during the traumatic birth of her second child planted the seed for Research Midwife Emma Kendall to become a midwife herself. Now a mother of five children, Emma has been a midwife for five years and loves supporting women’s choices, giving them the information and tools to feel empowered during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period, long after they have completed their midwifery care.
“I have always been interested in research, and after working as a midwife for ACCHOs in the Wide Bay and Gympie region, I wanted the opportunity to work in research while also continuing to work clinically,” Emma said. “With a background working in Indigenous health with mums and bubs, when I saw an opportunity for a research midwife position in the Indigenous Health Research Group at Mater Research, I jumped at the opportunity to apply.”
As part of her role, Emma also works with the Indigenous Queensland Family Cohort (IQFC) study to support First Nations families during pregnancy and up to six-weeks postnatal. “Using biological samples as well as health surveys answered by the families, data is collected to allow researchers to answer questions relating to the health of First Nations families. I enjoy the continuity-of-care nature of this role, working with the women and families, following them through on their pregnancy and postnatal journey and seeing how excited they are to participate in a study that will help to strengthen healthcare outcomes for First Nations mums, bubs and families. I am grateful to be part of research that can hopefully go on to inform our practice as midwives and clinicians, ensuring that we are practicing evidenced-based care.”
To view the Mater Research article Strengthening healthcare outcomes for First Nations mums and bubs through research in full click here.
Senior Indigenous Research Assistant Davina Smith and Research Midwife Emma Kendall. Image source: Mater News.
Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.
Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.
International Day of the Midwife
Midwives are the heroes of millions of stories. As providers of culturally sensitive health care, leaders in their communities and emergency responders in times of crisis, they are courageous and indispensable. When disasters such as climate events or conflict strike, midwives are most often the first responders for women, representing the single-most effective way to avoid preventable maternal deaths.
The climate crisis in particular carries specific threats for women and girls: research shows that hotter temperatures can lead to pregnancy complications and can cause or worsen maternal-health issues including premature births and miscarriages. But midwives are not only first responders in the climate crisis. As providers of safe and environmentally sustainable services, they also represent a vital climate solution for the future. With that in mind, the 2024 theme of the International Day of the Midwife, celebrated on 5 May every year, was Midwives: a vital climate solution.
Many of the countries most at risk of climate change are also where women and girls are the most vulnerable to preventable maternal deaths, child marriage and gender-based violence. Climate disasters can disrupt access to family planning, safe births and other vital services. Midwives are instrumental in ensuring that health services are more mobile and can urgently reach women.
You can find out more about International Day of the Midwife on the United Nations Population Fund website here.
Image source: International Confederation of Midwives website.
World Hand Hygiene Day
Each year the SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign aims to progress the goal of maintaining a global profile on the importance of hand hygiene in health care and to ‘bring people together’ in support of hand hygiene improvement globally.
The World Health Organization (WHO) calls on everyone to be inspired by the global movement to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), i.e. achieving better health and well-being for all people at all ages, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. Infection Prevention and Control, including hand hygiene, is critical to achieve UHC as it is a practical and evidence-based approach with demonstrated impact on quality of care and patient safety across all levels of the health system.
As part of a major global effort to improve hand hygiene in health care, led by WHO to support health-care workers, the SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands annual global campaign was launched in 2009. The central core of SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands is that all health-care workers should clean their hands at the right time and in the right way. WHO SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands annual initiative is part of a major global effort led by the WHO to support health-care workers to improve hand hygiene in health care and thus support the prevention of often life threatening healthcare associated infection (HAI).
You can find more information about World Hand Hygiene Day on the World Health Organization website here.
Handwashing at AgroIndustries Bhutan in Thimphu on 11 August 2023. Photo: Sue Price, WHO. Image source: WHO website.
Free, specialised governance workshops for ACCHOs will be delivered in multiple locations across the country during 2024 and 2025.
Registrations are open now for Perth: 16-17 April 2024.
The program is delivered by legal experts and covers:
- Delegation of powers
- Finance for Boards
- Governance documents
- Managing conflicts of interest
- Managing risk
- Principles of good governance
- Structure and role of boards and sub-committees
To register, go here.
For more information, please contact NACCHO using this email link.
