- Mental health system needs more than band-aids
- Community-led rural health workforce model
- White Ribbon Day is just the start
- The Journey to Recovery
- Cervical screening complacency
- National Homeless Collective founder wins award
- Liverpool Hospital launches antenatal clinic
- Game changer for youth mental health
- Identity and culture key to healing
- Health key to life satisfaction
- National Medicines Symposium 2020
- Diabetes Education and Management Scholarship
- Job Alert
Mental health system needs more than band-aids
According to the Productivity Commission’s Mental Health Inquiry Report ‘Australia’s current mental health system is not comprehensive and fails to provide the treatment and support that people who need it legitimately expect.’ The report said Australia’s system of community supports was “ad hoc”, with services starting and stopping with little regard to people’s needs. The report identified a host of gaps and barriers in Australia’s mental health system that lead to poor outcomes for people.
Importantly, the report recognised a disproportionate focus on clinical services – “overlooking other determinants of, and contributors to, mental health, including the important role played by family, kinship groups and carers, and providers of social support services, in facilitating a person’s functional recovery within their community”.
To view the full croakey article click here.
Image source: UNSW Newsroom – UNSW Sydney.
Community-led rural health workforce model
A new community-driven workforce solution for Wentworth has been launched. Federal Regional Health Minister Mark Coulton said the new workforce solution will trial a collaborative health service to build high quality, sustainable health care for local patients: “We recognise that a one-size-fits all approach to health care doesn’t meet the unique needs of small, rural communities and that’s why we’re funding new collaborative health care models which are developed and driven by local communities. We know that patients in Wentworth have faced difficulties in accessing health care and this community driven model is an important step in creating a viable local health workforce. I congratulate the people of Wentworth and stakeholders, including the Coomealla Aboriginal Service, for working together to get this model up and running.”
The trial will investigate if viable practices may be better achieved by having a group of GPs, nurses and allied health professionals deliver health services across the region.
To view the full article click here.
Gathay nyilrun – Lets walk together, Artist Krystall Hurst of Gillawarra Arts. Image source: Partyline – The magazine for Health and sustainable rural, regional and remote communities website.
White Ribbon Day is just the start
White Ribbon Day, Friday 20 November 2020, is an opportunity to raise awareness and commit to action to prevent men’s violence against women. White Ribbon Australia is asking people in workplaces, schools and communities all over Australia to stand up, speak out and act to end gendered violence. For more information about White Ribbon Day click here.
The Journey to Recovery
The recovery of all Australians affected by the 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires remains the number one priority for the National Bushfire Recovery Agency (NBRA). They are as committed now as they have ever been, to support this monumental recovery effort.
NBRA have launched Journey to Recovery. Journey to Recovery is made up of the real stories of the impact of the bushfires on people and their transition through relief to recovery with support from charities, the business community and all levels of government. And importantly, examples of individuals, communities, governments, private and not-for-profit sectors, working together to move toward longer term recovery.
The Journey to Recovery doesn’t replace the recovery plans of states and territories. Rather, it demonstrates the connections of how these plans connect, with Australian Government support, to be a nationally coordinated approach to recovery. Recovering from an event of this scale was never going to be easy, or quick, but real action is being seen across all impacted areas. Recovery is different for each community, and it’s done best when it’s led by locals.
To access the Journey to Recovery publication click here.
Image source: National Bushfire Recovery Agency – Journey to recovery publication.
Cervical screening complacency
Pathology Awareness Australia has released new findings indicating a lack of knowledge and awareness of the Cervical Screening Test among Australian women. The survey of over 600 women found that 13% did not know they were overdue for the test and 15% had never had a Cervical Screening Test, putting themselves at risk of developing the cancer. The findings also revealed that the vast number of women are not aware that the Cervical Screening Test is required every five years, or that the test only takes five minutes.
The findings are in line with National Cervical Cancer Awareness Week where organisations including Pathology Awareness Australia and the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation are calling for Australian women to reengage with their healthcare providers to ensure they are informed about the importance of cervical screening and to speak to family and friends about the test.
To view the full article click here.
Image source: World Health Organisation Twitter.
National Homeless Collective founder wins award
Founder and CEO of the National Homeless Collective (NHC), Donna Stolzenberg has been awarded the 2021 Victoria Australian of the Year. When Donna started @Sisters in Safe Housing (a NHC project) to support women experiencing homelessness to access safe, suitable and timely accommodation she knew a larger portion of clients would be, like herself, First Nations women.
Donna’s cultural background as a member of the Ngajtumay and Mirning people connects her to the systematic issues encountered by Indigenous Australians, who are sadly overrepresented in homelessness statistics. In 2019, 3.57% of Indigenous peoples were experiencing homelessness compared to 1.2% on non-Indigenous Australians. This means that 1 in 28 of all Aboriginal peoples have nowhere safe and suitable to live on our own land.
For more information about the NHC click here and to listen to an ABC Radio Melbourne interview with Donna Stolzenberg about what the 2021 Victoria Australian of the Year Award means for her and her collective click here.
Donna Stolzenberg on Evenings with David Astle, ABC Radio Melbourne.
Liverpool Hospital launches antenatal clinic
The Binya Winyangara (which means pregnant mothers in Darug language) Clinic have been officially launched at Liverpool Hospital. The antenatal clinic provides culturally responsive care to pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and connects them to health and community services. The clinic’s Aboriginal registered midwife Kaarina Paasila said: “It’s important to make sure Aboriginal women are getting the right care and someone dedicated specifically to give them the confidence that they are being heard and looked after.”
To view the full Liverpool City Champion News article click here.
Aboriginal Liaison Officer Kristy-Lee White, Binya Wiyangara Midwife Kaarina Paasila and Aboriginal Mental Health Worker for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Service Heidi Duncan. Image source: Liverpool City Champion News.
Game changer for youth mental health
To view the full report click here.
Image source: Clinical Excellence Queensland website.
Health key to life satisfaction
Australians report high levels of life satisfaction but there are gaps – Indigenous Australians and the unemployed fare worse. Measuring the material factors of people’s lives – like finances, work and health – can tell a lot about the state of Australian society and the policy challenges, but what are the things that matter most to people? To help answer this question we need to know not just what people have and don’t have, but how they feel – what researchers call subjective wellbeing.
The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics In Australia (HILDA) Survey asks this question of around 17,000 Australians every year. The results highlight the central importance of basic things like health and safety in life satisfaction, as well as social contact. Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians overall reported similar levels of life satisfaction in 2018, but there are relatively large differences in some important domains that suggest Indigenous Australians do worse. Compared to non-Indigenous people, Indigenous Australians report lower satisfaction with finances, housing and health.
To read the full article published by the University of Melbourne click here.
Image source: Australian Geographic.
Identity and culture key to healing
The Healing Foundation has launched its second podcast in its new series on intergenerational trauma and healing. This latest episode explores what identity means to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing and discusses how connection to culture plays an essential role in healing for young First Nations people and Stolen Generations descendants. The Healing Foundation CEO Fiona Petersen said the latest Healing Our Way podcast offered a unique perspective from young people on the importance of staying connected to culture and identity.
“The Healing Our Way podcast takes us on a journey with strong young minds as they share their lived experience on their journey to healing,” Fiona Petersen said. “Our people have always had the answers to their own healing. Now we’re asking our young people about their perspectives about what it’s been like to grow up as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person in Australia. These stories, our young people’s lived experience, is all part of the truth telling and part of Australia’s past and ongoing narrative.”
To view the Healing Foundation’s media release regarding their latest podcast click here and to read a transcript of Fiona Petersen’s related interview on ABC Radio Canberra Mornings click here.
Image source: The Healing Foundation.
National Medicines Symposium 2020
NPS MedicineWise invites you to register for the National Medicines Symposium (NMS) 2020 to be held as fully virtual event on Monday 7 December 2020.
With the theme Rising to the medication safety challenge, NMS 2020 will bring together influential organisations, individuals and decision makers within the health sector to discuss and consider collaborative approaches to improving medication safety that focus on the needs of the consumer. NMS 2020 will feature expert speakers including Prof Alex Broom, Prof Amanda Wheeler and Prof Clara Chow to provide the latest updates on medicine safety and the challenges being faced in the current health environment. Australian comedian Tim Ferguson facilitating the event.
Australian comedian Tim Ferguson. Image source: Serious Comedy.
Diabetes Education and Management Scholarship
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) hopes to help increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people working in Diabetes Education and Management with its Diabetes Education and Management Scholarship. The scholarship aims to support an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person studying the Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Education and Management at UTS Faculty of Health.
For details of the eligibility requirements for the scholarship and how to apply click here. Applications close Sunday 31 January 2021.
Image source: Diabetes Victoria.
NSW – Sydney – University of New South Wales – The Kirby Institute
Manager-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research
The Kirby Institute is a leading global research institute dedicated to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, with a long-standing program of research focusing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health. An opportunity exists for a Manager, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research, to play a leadership role in the development and implementation of an enhanced strategic commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led research at the Kirby Institute.
This will involve the development of appropriate systems, policies, processes and a cultural framework to support and guide the Institute’s research in this area. The position will establish and manage strategic partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, communities and other relevant stakeholders including research organisations, policy makers and industry partners.
For further information about the position click here. Applications close Sunday 29 November 2020.
Image source: UNSW Sydney.