• Health services holding communities together
• Improving hearing health for children
• What’s best for tackling type 2 diabetes
• Head injury 69 times more likely for First Nations women
• HESTA Nursing and Midwifery Awards
• Medicine safety depends on working together
• Sector Jobs

The image in the feature tile is from an article Kerang residents now urged to leave, Echuca braces for more flooding published in the Bendigo Advertiser on 22 October 2022. Photo: Dareen Howe.

Health services holding communities together

Health services in rural and regional communities have been inundated with increased needs for their services after flooding around the country stretches into a third year. Some health services – including ACCHOs and nursing homes – have found themselves under water while unsafe roads have made it harder for people to reach healthcare. Health workers are contending with new health concerns including illnesses related to contaminated flood waters, mould and mosquitoes as well as high stress levels as people lose their homes, food sources and livelihoods. Growing concerns about Australia’s continued inaction on climate change is also contributing to the distress felt by communities. Some have now experienced successive extreme floods, fires and droughts. Community and primary health services in Victoria, including ACCHOs, have been integral in the flood response.

ACCHOs are the “beating heart” of Aboriginal communities, many of which have been directly affected by recent floods, Abe Ropitini, Executive Director of Population Health at the VACCHO said. VACCHO was quick to respond after floods hit some of its member organisations last month, providing immediate food and housing relief, in part supported by its own appeal.

Many of VACCHO’s 32 member organisations are spread along the Murray River which has experienced extensive flooding. Njernda Aboriginal Corporation in Echuca and Kerang Aboriginal Community Centre have been damaged and are facing operational challenges due to flooding and the Cummeragunja Housing & Development Aboriginal Corp on the banks of the Murray River was entirely evacuated. As Ropitini explained, these organisations provide a range of health services, including housing, contributing to the significant investment needed for rebuilding.

To read the Croakey Health Media article Inundated health services holding communities together in full click here.

Improving hearing health for children

Combining Indigenous and western research methods, a new Flinders University project is aiming to stop Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from falling through the cracks when it comes to their hearing. Recently awarded over $1.1 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the project will provide culturally appropriate pathways to ensure children are not missing out on crucial ear health checks.

“All children have the right to hear well as it is vital for language development,” says project Chief Investigator Dr Jacqueline Stephens, an epidemiologist from Flinders University’s College of Medicine and Public Health. “For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children this is especially important as language is a key component of their identity and for the passing on of history and knowledge, as well as building relationships with family and Country.”

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have the highest prevalence of poor hearing health in the world, experiencing earlier, more frequent, more prolonged and more complicated ear disease and consequent hearing loss than other children, despite ongoing efforts to address the issue.

To view the Flinders University article Improving hearing health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in full click here.

What’s best for tackling type 2 diabetes

Australian scientists reviewed seven previous studies that looked at interventions to address type 2 diabetes in Indigenous communities in Australia, NZ, Canada, and the USA, to see which worked and which were less effective. Although these communities are distinct, they also share some similarities, the authors say. This study analysed a decade of research in a field with disproportionate burden of disease and limited research. Indigenous group engagement with chronic disease management, including T2DM, is challenged by the ongoing impacts of colonialism, socioeconomic hardship, and racism. High income economies have relatively large pools of resources for their health systems that need more effective application to reduce barriers preventing healthcare access and use for Indigenous communities, given the ongoing disproportionate burden of disease.

The team identified seven components of effective interventions: reducing barriers to healthcare; a focus on community consultation; adaptable primary care programs; involvement of community-based health workers; empowerment of Indigenous people to help strengthen community ties and self-management; short, intensive programs; and group-based programs. The authors say policymakers should apply these seven components when designing approaches to tackle type 2 Diabetes in Indigenous communities.

To view the SCIMEX article What works best for tackling type 2 diabetes in Indigenous communities? in full click here and a link to the research article Effective primary care management of type 2 diabetes for indigenous populations: A systematic review in full here.

Head injury 69 times more likely for First Nations women

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 69 times more likely than non-First Nations women to go to hospital with a head injury because of an assault. But not all First Nations women get the support they need. A new study shows how health and support services working in remote areas are not equipped with the tools to identify the potential of a head injury for women who experience violence.

Not only are service workers not asking women about a potential traumatic brain injury, there’s a lack of referral options, and often no diagnosis, limiting women’s access to services and supports for recovery. The study tries to understand the needs and priorities of First Nations women who have experienced a traumatic brain injury due to family violence. Timely and culturally safe care, and support, following such brain injury is vital.

To view The Conversation article First Nations women are 69 times more likely to have a head injury after being assaulted. We show how hard it is to get help in full click here.

HESTA Nursing and Midwifery awards

Heading into its 17th year, the HESTA Australian Nursing & Midwifery Awards ecognise the amazing nurses, midwives, nurse educators, researchers, and personal care workers for their work, providing exceptional care across Australia. Healthcare workers are heroic. They go above and beyond daily with dedication, compassion and support while keeping our communities safe and delivering care for patients during challenging times. Each exceptional health professional has their own story worth celebrating.

Three winners will receive $10,000 to support their future-shaping work thanks to our long-term sponsor ME Bank. The categories include Nurse of the Year, Midwife of the Year and Outstanding Organisation.

Nominations are open until midnight on Sunday 5 February 2023.

You can read HESTA’s media release here and you can find more information about the awards here.

The 2022 Midwife of the Year winner was Melanie Briggs, as Senior Midwife at Waminda South Coast Women’s Health & Welfare Aboriginal Corporation (Waminda) Nowra NSW. Melanie Briggs was recognised for her tireless work to improve First Nations maternal and infant health. A descendant of the Dharawal and Gumbayngirr peoples, Melanie is the Director and Founder of Binjilaani, the first Aboriginal-led maternity model of care in Australia.

Renowned for her strong advocacy, Melanie implemented the Waminda Birthing on Country Model, incorporating culture into maternity care to improve outcomes for First Nations women and babies. Her vision is to see Aboriginal women birthing on their homelands, practising traditional lore and continuing cultural connections to country for their baby and their families.

Medicine safety depends on working together

The AMA said today that the global #MedSafetyWeek was a timely reminder of the need for medicine safety to remain a key priority for policy makers, including the preservation of the separation of prescribing and dispensing to protect the community. The AMA marked this week’s global #MedSafetyWeek (7-13 November) saying that patients are best served when doctors and pharmacists work together in providing care for the community.

AMA President Professor Stephen Robson said he was concerned poor policy decisions by State governments were undermining the important safeguard for patients, evidenced by the move to over-the-counter urinary tract infection (UTI) prescribing by pharmacists in Queensland and a “dangerous” prescribing experiment approved for North Queensland. “This is a model that promotes pharmacy profits at the cost of patient safety,” he said.

“Pharmacists are experts in medications and medication management and the AMA wants to work with pharmacists to develop models where we can contribute more to the delivery of health care in this country in a safe and collaborative way. “Unfortunately, we are seeing models being pushed that do the opposite. They fragment care and lead to negative health outcomes, as we have seen in Queensland.”

To view the AMA media release Medicine safety depends on doctors and pharmacists working together in full click here.

Sector Jobs

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.