- Connected Beginnings national gathering hosted by SNAICC
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Scholarships
- Dr Veronica Matthews work recognised as top 10 First Nations health author
- Grant to research shortage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives
- RACGP announces GP training leadership appointments
- Australian-first cervical cancer screening program aims to reduce high mortality rates among Aboriginal women
- Sector Jobs
The image in the feature tile is from the SNAICC website on the event.
Connected Beginnings national gathering hosted by SNAICC
Powerful stories, sharing and experiences as day one of the Connected Beginnings event. This is the first time services have been able to get together for a few years, and the first with SNAICC as Community Partner.
NACCHO along with the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) are happy to work in partnership with the Australian Government and SNAICC-National Voice for our Children to deliver the health component of this program which makes a real difference towards improving the lives of our kids and building better outcomes for them.
Background Information
The Connected Beginnings program forms part of the first Commonwealth Closing the Gap Implementation Plan.. It aims are to contribute to achieving Outcome 4, that children thrive in their early years, under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. Connected Beginnings currently fund 14 ACCHOs and Aboriginal Medical Services across Australia. In 2021, the Australian Government provided additional funding to expand the Connected Beginnings Program to a minimum of 50 sites by 2025 and are working in partnership with NACCHO on the delivery of the health component of the Connected Beginnings program.
The program demonstrates how change can be made within the new Closing the Gap partnership arrangements and how transformation can happen if everyone has a shared vision, trust, and commitment.
You can find more information about Connected Beginnings on the Australian Government Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations joint website page here.
To read a previous article on a Connected Beginnings program run by one of our affiliates, the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC), an ACCHO for the Tasmanian Aboriginal community click here.
Image source: Senator Malarndirri McCarthy – Northern Territory Facebook page
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Scholarships
CSIRO offer opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students to undertake postgraduate research degrees. Master and PhD scholarships are available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who are enrolled in an Australian university and wish to undertake a postgraduate research degree.
The CSIRO postgraduate scholarships provide additional funding to a research training program (RTP) Scholarship, Centrelink education scheme payment or equivalent scholarship.
Applicants must be of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent and enrolled in an Australian university.
If you have studied in any of the following disciplines, the CSIRO team are happy to hear from you:
- science
- technology
- engineering
- maths.
For more information click here.
Dr Veronica Matthews work recognised as top 10 First Nations health author
Matthews’ work focuses on improving holistic health care systems, the model of comprehensive care embodied by community-controlled primary health services that care for body, mind and spirit for first nations patients. Dr Veronica Matthews is a health systems researcher from the Quandamooka community of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island). She is based at the University Centre for Rural Health (UCRH) on Widjabul/Wyabul Country in Lismore.
Last month Matthews was acknowledged as top 10 First Nations health author by scholarly output in the world along with two other University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine and Health colleagues FMH researchers.
Early influences – as a saltwater Murri, Matthews’ early experiences – the saltwater country around Minjerribah aka North Stradbroke Island – were the initial inspiration for her studies in ecology and environmental toxicology. Her PhD involved assessing persistent organic pollutants in Moreton Bay seafood for consumption advisories and health risk assessments for surrounding communities. This took Matthews to work for more than 20 years in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector across government and research roles. And always, from the get-go, Matthews’ work focused on improving holistic health care systems, the model of comprehensive care embodied by community-controlled primary health services that care for body, mind and spirit.
To read the full story click here.
Image source: University of Sydney website
Grant to research shortage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives
A Charles Sturt University nursing educator is part of a multi-organisation research team to be awarded a large grant to investigate why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are under-represented in the ranks of nurses and midwives.
- $1.1 million ARC Discovery Indigenous Grant awarded to a consortium team of nursing and midwifery education researchers
- A leading Charles Sturt University nursing educator is a member of the research team
- The researchers aim to strengthen anti-racism and cultural safety in healthcare education
A Charles Sturt University nursing educator is part of a multi-organisation research team to be awarded a large grant to investigate why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are under-represented in the ranks of nurses and midwives.
Head of the Charles Sturt School of Nursing, Paramedicine and Healthcare Sciences Associate Professor Linda Deravin is a member of the research team led by Professor Karen Adams, Director of the Gukwonderuk Indigenous Unit in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science at Monash University.
To read the full story click here.
Image source: Queensland Health.
RACGP announces GP training leadership appointments
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has welcomed the appointment of senior leaders to support its Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program delivery in 2023. The RACGP has been recruiting the people required to deliver its profession-led AGPT program across Australia from 1 February 2023.
RACGP Chief GP Training Officer Ms Georgina van de Water joined the RACGP in February 2022, and previously led GP Synergy in NSW and the ACT. Ms van de Water said she knows from 14 years of leadership experience in the sector that regional training organisations have provided a great service to GP training, and the RACGP’s new appointments will enable the college to build on that success. “Our new national and regional leadership appointments come with extensive experience in managing general practice education, to meet the current and future needs of the profession and managing the systems that support trainers and GPs in training,” she said.
One of the RACGP’s key priorities is ensuring a smooth transition for GPs in training, supervisors and practices, and minimising disruption. To this end, the College is recruiting local and regional staff who know the local operations, training practices and participants in each state and territory, and can ensure a seamless transition.
Ms van de Water said, “We continue to work closely with stakeholders to ensure a transition with as little disruption to the delivery of GP training as possible, including the Department of Health, peak bodies representing GP supervisors and registrars, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, rural workforce agencies and clinical schools, primary health networks, state health organisations, local hospitals and community health services.”
To read the full story click here.
Image source: Armidale Express.
Australian-first cervical cancer screening program aims to reduce high mortality rates among Aboriginal women
Reducing the unacceptably high rates of cervical cancer in women from remote Aboriginal communities is the aim of an Australian-first cervical screening program being trialled in WA’s Kimberley region.
The program, developed by the University of Notre Dame Australia in collaboration with health providers and other research partners, enables specialist medical staff to travel to remote communities with the latest portable testing equipment, which can determine within 45 minutes whether a patient is carrying the cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV).
The initiative is only possible through existing partnerships with the WA Country Health Service (WACHS), WA Cervical Cancer Prevention Program, King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women, Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service, Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer, Australian National University, University of Queensland, and the University of Sydney.
UNDA post-doctoral researcher Dr Aime Powell said Aboriginal women were twice as likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer and three times more likely to die from the disease, mainly due to a lack of testing.
She said cervical cancer was one of the most preventable and treatable cancers and cervical screening was the most effective way to detect precancerous cells. Those cells can then be removed before they develop into cancer. However, less than 50% of all eligible Kimberley women participate in routine screening at the recommended interval.
“Given the existing inequitable health outcomes, it was clear that an innovative approach was needed to improve women’s access to participate in cervical screening.” Dr Powell said.
Read the full story here.
Image source: Menshalena, Getty Images.
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.
