- We need to work together across the community on vaccine rollout: ACOSS
- AIHA partners with Northern Rivers ACCHOs
- Mainstream health model ignores connection to Country
- Yarning Up After Stroke wins funding
- AMA welcomes COVID-19 national roadmap
- MedicineWise app
- Australia’s Chernobyl – Maralinga
- BRAMS June newsletter
- Road accident survivor CTP experience study
- New process for job advertising
We need to work together across the community on vaccine rollout: ACOSS
ACOSS welcomes the support of business groups on the vaccine roll out and is looking forward to engaging with the vaccine taskforce on the community sector’s crucial role, along with other key stakeholders, such as the union movement.
Australian Council of Social Service CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie said: “Government needs to go beyond working with the business community on the vaccine roll out and there is support from the community sector, unions and business leaders to all work together. Community services are on the ground helping people to understand how they can access vaccines. We need to see community sector leaders also empowered and resourced to communicate clear messages to the people their services support, especially people facing poverty and disadvantage.
“Communities across the country need to be hearing about the vaccination roll-out from local leaders who they trust, for example, from First Nations leaders and culturally diverse leaders,” Dr Goldie said.
CEO of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Pat Turner, said: “When First Nations leaders get vaccinated it really helps to encourage the rest of the community and I’ve seen great examples of that. First Nations leaders are absolutely vital to the success of our vaccine roll out, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people more susceptible to the virus. First Nations health leaders have done an exceptional job keeping our people safe from the virus, particularly in remote areas, and their experience and relationships are also crucial on the vaccine front.”
To read the full media release by ACOSS click here.
AIHA partners with Northern Rivers ACCHOs
A new Indigenous Allied Health Australia Ltd (IAHA) National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Academy in Lismore is aiming to support education and increase career opportunities in the health and social assistance sectors, thanks to a new partnership between IAHA, the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) and local Aboriginal Medical Services.
IAHA National Academy will give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Year 11 and 12 in the Northern Rivers region the opportunity to complete a school based traineeship undertaking a nationally recognised Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance (HLT33015) qualification through TAFE NSW.
The partnership will build on existing relationships and also strengthen local health workforce development strategies, including paid employment for school-based trainees, mentoring, leadership development and career planning. Pathway options for students range from gaining employment in the health field, to continuing study with partner organisations, including Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation, Rekindling the Spirit Aboriginal Medical Service, Bullinah Aboriginal Medical Service, Northern NSW Local Health District, TAFE NSW and Southern Cross University.
Donna Murray, IAHA Chief Executive Officer, said: “The IAHA national academy program has been developed with community and is Aboriginal-led, providing a culturally safe and responsive holistic approach to education, training and employment at the local level. To date, many of the graduates are first in family to complete year 12, and graduates have transitioned successfully into further education, and employment across the health and related sectors.”
Kirsty Glanville, NNSWLHD Associate Director Aboriginal Health said the Academy in Northern Rivers is unique to others around the country, being the first to have direct engagement with the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector. “This partnership highlights the very important role Aboriginal Medical Services provide in our communities in improving the health outcomes for Aboriginal communities and empowering people to take an active role in their health journey,” Ms Glanville said.
To view the full AIHA article click here.
A related news article describes the near doubly of the proportion of Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) staff who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in the past two years as the district takes steps to remove historical barriers and create new opportunities. WSLHD is currently working on a partnership with IAHA in providing Year 11 and Year 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students the opportunity to complete a nationally recognised Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance qualification through TAFE NSW.
To view the full article in The Pulse click here.
Cleaners Codie Fuller, porter Darrin Smith and cleaner Jade Hookey were among 15 new Aboriginal staff to join the general services team at Westmead Hospital in March this year. Image source: The PULSE.
Mainstream health model ignores connection to Country
Associate Professor Luke Burchill from the University of Melbourne has written an article called Healing Country in which he says the theme for NAIDOC 2021: Health Country! comes at an important time when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are calling for greater protection of their lands, waters and sacred sites, “In the past year alone, we have observed repeated failures to protect sites that are sacred to our communities; the destruction of 46,000-year-old caves at Juukan Gorge in WA, the removal of the Kuyan ancient eel rock formation at Lake Bolac and the felling of sacred Djab Wurrung trees in Western Victoria.”
“This devastation is not only physical. For Aboriginal people, the impact is emotional, cultural and spiritual – directly affecting mental health, family and community wellbeing. Country is the place from which we come and to which we will return. Country sustains us culturally, physically, linguistically, spiritually and emotionally. As custodians of the land, it is our duty to protect Country. With climate change our Country is hurting and so are we.”
Having worked in Australia’s mainstream health care system, Professor Burchill said he can say that connection to Country is not included when assessing someone’s health and wellbeing. The mainstream model is one of risk factors, lifestyle choices and genetic factors that underpin a condition or health outcome. The problem here is that when drawn entirely from a Western perspective this point of view fails to capture Indigenous dimensions of wellbeing including the importance of connectedness to family, community and Country for social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. For these connections to be strong, we need to live our lives free of racism.
To read Professor Burchill’s article in full click here.
The Juukan Gorge rock shelters in WA. Picture: AAP/Supplied by PKKP and PKKP Aboriginal Corporation.
Yarning Up After Stroke wins funding
A program designed to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with stroke to take control of their stroke recovery has won Federal Government funding of almost $500,000. This program arises from the Yarning Up After Stroke collaborative project co-led by Tamworth Aboriginal communities, Professor Chris Levi and Dr Heidi Janssen of Hunter New England Local Health District (NSW) and University of Newcastle. Dr Janssen was initially given a funding kick start by the Stroke Foundation, and this proof-of-concept work has now secured a significant grant through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
The funding commitment to Yarning Up After Stroke is timely as NAIDOC Week gets underway. This year’s NAIDOC Week theme is Heal Country! and aims to raise awareness and promote greater understanding of the need to protect the traditional lands, waters, sacred sites and cultural heritage of First Nations communities.
The Yarning up After Stroke team’s approach uses ‘yarning’, which is a culturally respectful, conversational way to learn, listen, share and receive information. In Aboriginal culture Yarning Circles are safe spaces in which everyone can have a say. Stroke Foundation Chief Executive Sharon McGowan said she is immensely pleased to see Yarning Up After Stroke secure the additional funding grant, “Introducing stroke recovery support services which use tools already embraced by Indigenous cultures, offers a more relatable way forward and are therefore likely to be more successful.”
To view the Stroke Foundation’s media release click here.
Coral and Bill Toomey, a stroke survivor. Photo: Gareth Gardner. Image source: The Northern Daily Leader.
AMA welcomes COVID-19 national roadmap
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) welcomes the leadership shown by National Cabinet in the release of the national roadmap allowing Australia to open up in a safe and sustainable way. AMA President, Dr Omar Khorshid said it was important that any plan be based on science, and this plan is to be based on modelling of a Delta outbreak on a vaccinated community.
“The AMA has repeatedly called for consistency in responses across the nation – including in our May Communique Prepare Australia before opening up to the world and National Cabinet’s plan will move us towards that goal,” he said. “We need a clear vision, as a community, on how to live in a world where COVID will continue to exist. This plan, with four stages, recognises the important fact that our road out of this crisis is vaccination. Of that there is no doubt.”
To view the AMA’s media release click here.
Image source: Daily Mail Australia website.
MedicineWise app
NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. This year’s NAIDOC Week theme is Heal Country! – calling for stronger measures to recognise, protect, and maintain all aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage.
This week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
Did you know? You can receive information specific to the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members by following these steps in your MedicineWise app:
- Tap on your profile.
- Go to ‘Personal Details’ module.
- Scroll down to switch on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander toggle(s) most appropriate to you
For further information visit the NPS MedicineWise website here.
Australia’s Chernobyl – Maralinga
For tens of thousands of years, the Aṉangu people lived on the warm, red earth of their country. The land provided them with food, water and shelter as they travelled around an area we now know as outback Far North SA.
But after colonisation, they were moved off their land: forcibly removed, sent into missions across the region and displaced by train lines linking Australia’s east and west that impacted their water supply. In 1984, the SA government handed much of the land back to its traditional owners. But by this point, parts of it were uninhabitable because of British nuclear testing.
The theme of NAIDOC Week 2021 is Heal Country! but much of the Aṉangu lands in and around Maralinga are beyond healing. Glen Wingfield, whose mother Eileen Wani Wingfield co-founded the Coober Pedy Women’s Council to campaign against a government proposal in the 1990s for a nuclear waste dump on their lands, said “A lot of the Aboriginal communities that live in and around that area, they just will not and do not go back near that country. I think that’s a word, healing, that we can’t use in the same sentence with that area.” There are parts of the area that will be uninhabitable for a quarter of a million years.
To view the full article click here.
Image source: Mamamia website.
BRAMS June newsletter
Broom Regional Aboriginal Medical Service have released the June 2021 edition of their newsletter. This edition includes articles on World No Tobacco Month, the Yawardani Jan-Ga program and the Social and Emotional Wellbeing Men’s and Women’s Groups.
To access the BRAMS Newsletter click here.
Road accident survivor CTP experience study
A new partnership between Griffith University and the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) will examine the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders injured in road accidents and their interactions with the Compulsory Third Party (CTP) scheme.
The Hopkins Centre’s Dr Leda Barnett, assisted by Griffith University PhD candidate Andrew Gall, will lead the three year study, funded by a $460,000 MAIC grant and supported by partnerships with Griffith’s Indigenous Research Unit (IRU), Synapse and the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH).
“Indigenous Australians living in Queensland are up to six times more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle accident than a non-Indigenous citizen, but also 1.4 times more likely to be seriously injured, and 2.9 times more likely to die in an accident,” Dr Barnett said. The research will examine the factors that influence Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to engage with the CTP scheme following a motor vehicle accident, the nature of their experience and ways in which the scheme could better align with their requirements.”
To view the full Griffith News article click here.
Griffith researchers will consult with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland to better understand their experiences with the Compulsory Third Party scheme. Image source: Griffith News.
New process for job advertising
NACCHO have introduced a new system for the advertising of job adverts via NACCHO’s communication platforms.
Click here to go to the NACCHO website where you can complete a form with job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting to the NACCHO website and once approved it will go live.