• Safely sleeping Aboriginal babies program
• NAIDOC returns to NITV in 2021
• Indigenous doctor academic post
• Winnunga May newsletter
• New mental health service in Armadale WA
• Funding for SISTAQUIT
• Kidney failure decision making webinar
• Save the Date

Safely sleeping Aboriginal babies program

Aboriginal babies die from Sudden Unexplained Death in Infancy (SUDI) and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) 3–4 times more often than non-Aboriginal babies. “This never has been and never will be okay,” say Professor Julian Grant and Dr Nina Sivertsen, who are leading the Safely sleeping Aboriginal babies in South Australia program led by Flinders University.

The program, in collaboration with the Aboriginal Health Council of SA, the Women and Children’s Health Network and SA Health, was conceived after Aboriginal cultural consultant, Ms Wilhelmine Lieberwirth, approached Child and Family Health Services staff to look for ‘culturally safe’ solutions to do more for Aboriginal babies to sleep safely.

The Pepi-Pod program prioritises safe sleep education, while also providing a small bed to create a safe ‘pod’ or sleep space that can be placed in or next to the family bed. “We wanted to see if the Pepi-Pod program was experienced as culturally safe and if First Nations families would even use it,” says Dr Sivertsen of the first small initial pilot trial in SA.

“Families told us that one of the best parts of the Pepi-Pod program is that ‘you don’t have to worry’ babies were in their ‘own little comfort zone’. Babies were ‘peaceful and safe’ and you could ‘see him’, ‘feel him’ ‘touch him’ and ‘hear him’, while baby slept safely in the pod.”

Many families including First Nations peoples sleep with their babies in the family bed. “While bed sharing has many benefits, it is also associated with infant death and is not recommended by SA Health,” says Professor Grant. Sharon Watts, an Aboriginal researcher on the project, says that it is “really important for First Nations families to feel close to their babies all the time, especially when sleeping”.

To view the Flinders University’s media release click here.

NAIDOC returns to NITV in 2021

All Australians are invited to celebrate NAIDOC 2021 with a week-long dedicated schedule on National Indigenous Television (NITV), and a range of programs and content across the SBS network, celebrating and reflecting on the history, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Inspired by the 2021 NAIDOC theme, Heal Country!, the slate focuses on the strength and survival of the oldest continuing cultures on the planet, from Saturday 3 July to Sunday 11 July.

This year’s multiplatform offering includes the exclusive broadcast of the 2021 National NAIDOC Awards, the return of Australia’s only all-Indigenous breakfast television program, the premiere of docu-comedy History Bites Back, as well as a range of documentaries, movies, news and current affairs programs and features across the network.

To view the media release click here.

Indigenous doctor academic post program

The Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA) Academic Post was first earmarked by the Department of Health as part of the Federal Government’s Closing the Gap strategy. The post is an identified training term open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander GPs in training to undertake teaching and research that aims to improve the health and life outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

WA GP Dr Talila Milroy jumped at the chance to undertake the AIDA Academic Post in 2020. Dr Milroy was always interested in developing and furthering general practice research, and the post allowed a structured framework to delve into the data. Now, having undertaken a year as the 2020 AIDA Academic Post holder Dr Milroy is continuing her part-time research role and furthering her study into the experiences and impacts of racism on general practice training.

‘You develop so many skills, not only in research but in teaching as well,’ she told newsGP. ‘It’s also the networking; you gain communication skills because you’re teaching medical students, and you get more of a grasp of how to design research and ask questions that are clinically relevant, useful and translatable.’

To view the full article newsGP article click here.

Winnunga May newsletter

The May 2021 edition of the Winnunga News, the Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services (WNAHCS) monthly newsletter has been released. This edition has a focus on the ACT’s prison crisis and calls from the local Aboriginal community to the ACT Government for a Royal Commission to identify and respond to the over-representation of Aboriginal peoples in the ACT in touch with the criminal justice system or incarcerated.

WNAHCS CEO Julie Tongs OAM says “we have to face the awful truth, the worst-performing government in Australia, when it comes to locking up Aboriginal peoples, is the ACT government.” You can access the newsletter here.

New mental health service in Armadale WA

Mental Health Minister Stephen Dawson has officially opened the new community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Armadale. The new purpose-built facility is centrally located, with easy access to public transport. The facility will support the local community through the provision of mental health services to children and young people from 40 suburbs across the wider Armadale area. The space has been designed to ensure it is culturally appropriate. All rooms have Noongar names and local artist Sally-Anne Greengrass was commissioned to paint murals featuring the Noongar seasons.

To view the full media release click here.

Funding for SISTAQUIT

The Federal Government will invest $5.9 million on cancer prevention among women in vulnerable communities across the world through the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD). $1.8m of the funding has been committed to allow SISTAQUIT (Supporting Indigenous Smokers to Assist Quitting) to expand its free, online training in quit smoking methods to all Australian health services catering to Indigenous women during pregnancy.

To view the media release in full click here.

Kidney failure decision making webinar

Kidney Health Education is holding a health professional webinar Decision Making & Symptom Control in Kidney Failure at 7:30PM AEST Tuesday 22 June 2021.

The webinar will be presented by nephrologist Professor Robyn Langham.

Registration is essential. You can register here.

World Kidney Cancer Day – 17 June 2021

The first World Kidney Cancer Day was celebrated four years ago in June 2017. The international campaign was developed by the International Kidney Cancer Coalition (IKCC), a network of more than 45 Affiliate Organisations, to raise awareness for this little-known type of cancer. In the beginning, the focus was on the basics about kidney cancer – what causes it, how to prevent it, or why it’s on the rise.

While that campaign did a lot to raise the profile of kidney cancer, the incidence of the disease continues to increase globally. The most recent statistics estimate that 431,000 people will be diagnosed around the world each year.

The incidence of kidney cancer has been increasing since the 1970s, yet the worldwide mortality rate has been stable since the 1990s. In the last 14 years, targeted and immunotherapies for metastatic kidney cancer have made living with kidney cancer an entirely different story, compared with the preceding treatment options, and localised tumours have also seen improved outcomes with robotic and nephron-sparing approaches.

For further information about World Kidney Cancer Day click here.

World Continence Week – 21–27 June 2021

The International Continence Society (ICS) World Continence Week (WCW) is an annual initiative (held from Monday to Sunday in the last week of June with the primary aim to raise awareness about incontinence related issues. WCW was initiated in 2008 with the first ever World Continence Day and the following year became WCW with activities being developed worldwide.

Incontinence is the unwanted and involuntary leakage of urine or stool. Incontinence is a sensitive condition that affects an estimated 400 million people across the world. Historically, conditions affecting the bladder and bowel have often been uncomfortable or “taboo” subjects and accordingly these medical disorders have been underreported and under-diagnosed. Surveys have shown that fewer than 40% of persons with urinary incontinence mention their problem to a doctor or nurse and this figure is even higher for those with bowel incontinence. These conditions have been inadequately treated and poorly addressed by medical professionals, despite the substantial impact on individual health, self-esteem and quality of life.

In light of this, WCW seeks to draw attention to and increase public awareness about these conditions and to give sufferers the confidence to seek help and improve their quality of life. For further information about World Continence Week 2021 click here.