- Community-led COVID-19 plan success
- Kids should not be brought up in prison
- Lowititja Institute Chair steps down
- National recognition for NT POC testing
- Taking the lid of soft drink consumption
- Far West hospitals under enormous pressure
- Melbourne Uni teaching coordinator sought
- New process for job advertising
- Save the Date
Community-led COVID-19 plan successful
One of the world’s toughest lockdowns has just ended for the small community of Binjari in the NT. People haven’t been able to leave home — for even groceries or exercise — as the territory fights its first significant outbreak.
An ABC News report by Dan Conifer says this action has all been aimed at preventing Indigenous deaths. For months, Indigenous health experts have been preparing for a lockdown like this, fearing the virus could spread quickly in populations with high levels of existing health conditions. NACCHO’s Dr Jason Agostino said “The state of housing is so poor and the level of crowding so high , that to leave someone who has COVID-19 in their home is to condemn the rest of the household to also get it.” Dr Jason Agostino helped develop the Binjari’s lockdown plan that’s guided the response to COVID-19 cases, including hard lockdowns and removing people from hotspots.
“It’s great to see that a plan that was led by the community has been implemented successfully and at the moment we are seeing good results” Dr Agostino said.
To watch the ABC 7.30 Report with Leigh Sales episode, including a transcript click here.
Kids should not be brought up in prison
Demonstrators gathered outside Banksia Hill Detention Centre earlier this week to call for an end to child imprisonment, and to support the prospective class action being organised on behalf of current and former detainees of the child prison.
Ramon Vida, 23, did two stints in Banksia Hill at age 16 and 17. He told the rally that it was “terrible to see young fellas, little fellas coming in. They get mistreated, they get locked down. I saw fights. It was pretty violent in there… Too many lockdowns, not much activities. The only help they gave us was the school they built.”
To read the full article in the National Indigenous Times click here.
Banksia Hill protest. Photo: Giovanni Torre. Image source: National Indigenous Times.
Lowitja Institute Chair steps down
Lowitja Institute has today paid tribute to internationally respected Aboriginal health leader Pat Anderson AO as she steps down as Lowitja Institute Chair after nearly 20 years. Ms Anderson was instrumental in the organisation’s establishment and its development as Australia’s renowned national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled health research institute.
Lowitja Institute CEO Dr Janine Mohamed said Ms Anderson played a key role in the first efforts nearly three decades ago in Darwin to advance research led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. “This involved challenging and disrupting Western models of research that was done on and about us, not by and for us — and that was not an easy task,” Dr Mohamed said.
“Pat has been a fearless advocate for justice and equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for decades and an outstanding mentor and strong moral compass. She is a trailblazer and ceiling breaker for all women. Like our founding patron and namesake Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue, Pat is a guiding light for all of us at Lowitja Institute, and we are so grateful she will continue to be involved with us as a patron.”
To view the Lowitja Institute media release in full click here.
Patricia Anderson AO. Image source: Australian of the Year 2021 website.
National recognition for NT POC testing
Flinders University’s NT Point-of-Care Testing program which has been delivering rapid on-site pathology testing across 90 remote communities since 2008, has been recognised for its efforts in being a joint winner of the Outstanding Engagement for Research Impact award at this year’s Engagement Australia Excellence Awards.
Delivered in collaboration with NT Health and AMSANT, with funding from NT Health, the program performs more than 3,000 pathology tests each month, with the point-of-care testing devices delivering results within 2-10 minutes to guide patient triage, clinical management and diagnose a variety of illnesses, including sepsis and heart attack.
To view the Flinders University News article in full click here.
Taking the cap off soft drink consumption
In spite of health warnings about high consumption of carbonated soft drinks, global consumption has been rising rapidly for more than 50 years. Flinders University psychology researchers are looking to arrest this trend by investigating potential individual responses and ‘mechanisms’ for this increase in soft drink consumption.
One contributing factor is believed to be how people respond differently to daily exposure to soft drink ‘cues’, with soft drinks available around-the-clock 24/7 from supermarkets, convenience stores, vending machines and petrol stations. Young adults in this age group are the core consumers of soft drinks, now a major public health problem with 40-50% of adults in Australia consuming at least one soft drink a week.
The Flinders University research will expand in 2022 to investigate targeted interventions to reduce soft drink consumption. With weight gain, tooth decay, risk of diabetes and even lower academic performance among the pitfalls of excessive soft drink consumption, awareness campaigns and medical interventions are in the pipeline in both developing and advanced economies.
You can view the report The predictive value of evaluative bias, attentional bias, approach bias, and self-regulatory control in soft drink consumption here.
Image source: ABC News AM with Sabra Lane.
Far West hospitals under enormous pressure
Walgett Hospital may have to close its beds in February 2022 because it does not have enough staff to manage them. Elderly people are being forced to travel 5,000 kms a month to access dialysis and up to 40 staff have left Broken Hill Hospital in the past two years.
Elizabeth “Betty” Kennedy, a 42-year stalwart of Walgett Hospital’s nursing staff said early in her career there was a suitable ratio of staff to patients, but it had gradually deteriorated to the point where staff routinely work 60-hour weeks or longer. Some women giving birth in Walgett are doing so without a midwife present because they are reluctant to travel to larger facilities and leave their young families behind.
To view the WAtoday article in full click here.
Image source: The Conversation.
Melbourne Uni teaching coordinator sought
The University of Melbourne’s Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health is keen to recruit an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person to a teaching coordinator position within the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health.
This well-supported role is suitable for someone who is interested in developing and coordinating an innovative teaching and learning program that helps to build the next generation of public health professionals to improve Indigenous Health and Health Equity, in alignment with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
This will be integrated with outstanding research/knowledge generation projects and translation into policy and practice to form a coherent program to drive authentic positive health improvements so communities can once again live happy full lives in this abundant land.
You can access a full position description here and for more information you can contact Professor Indigenous Health, Cath Chamberlain by email here or 0428 921 271.
Professor Catherine Chamberlain, Head of the Indigenous Health Equity Unit, University of Melbourne.
New process for job advertising
NACCHO have introduced a new system for the advertising of job adverts via the NACCHO website and you can find the sector job listings here.
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 and go live on the NACCHO website.
Eye Conference Early Bird Rego open
Indigenous Eye Health (IEH) at the University of Melbourne are pleased to announce the 2022 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Eye Health Conference, which will take place on Larrakia country in Darwin on Tuesday 24 to Thursday 26 May 2022.
The conference aims to advance the collective work of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health sector towards the shared goal of improving eye health access and outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Delegates will include representatives from ACCHOs and other primary care service providers, eye care clinicians, policy makers, researchers, non-government organisations, hospitals, professional peak bodies and government departments from across the country.
Early bird registration is now open – register here. To receive conference updates and other IEH news, join can also join their mailing list here.
