4 November 2024

The NACCHO Sector News is a platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

NACCHO National Youth Conference 2024

Calling all young people aged 18-26, this is your opportunity to make your voice heard and help shape the future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. The 2024 NACCHO National Youth Conference is just around the corner, happening on Monday, December 2nd, on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country at the National Convention Centre in Canberra.

The National Youth Conference will bring together up to 100 youth from around Australia to gain experience and exposure to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sector on a national level. During the conference the youth will engage in discussion, share their experience and learn from other peers from across the country. The conference will allow the youth to learn about informing policy, influencing change and provide a pathway so their voices are heard and represented by NACCHO throughout the sector.

For more information and to register, go here.

 

We need to better understand how exercise can help diabetes

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are three times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than non-Indigenous Australians and are 4.4 times more likely to die from it. Among other factors, physical activity plays an important role in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes. But a new study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, shows we don’t know enough about the role of physical activity in preventing and managing type 2 diabetes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

As well as playing a role in diabetes prevention, there’s good evidence exercise is beneficial for people already diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Physical activity has been associated with lower levels of glycated haemoglobin in the blood (an index of glucose control), reduced blood lipids such as cholesterol, and weight loss. Evidence suggests a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise may be superior to either mode alone.

Factors that might influence the uptake of physical activity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people include access to safe, accessible, family-friendly and inexpensive locations to do exercise. These can be limited in regional and remote communities.

Given physical activity is a cornerstone in the management of type 2 diabetes, we need more rigorous research in this area. These studies must be well designed and culturally appropriate. They must involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at all levels of the research process.

To read The Conversation article in full, go here.

Image source: The Conversation.

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress shows us how the Connected Beginnings program operates in their community

The first 5 years of a child’s life is so important for their development. These are the years where growing up in a supportive and engaging environment can help set the trajectory of their life.

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress shows us how the Connected Beginnings program operates in their community of Mpwarntwe/Alice Springs. Congress provides wrap-around and culturally safe supports for Aboriginal children and their families so that they are equipped with the right tools to thrive in their early childhood education and care journeys.

To learn more about the Connected Beginnings program, go here.

Health workers head south for Deadly Sex Congress

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sexual health and health workers from across the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area have returned home better informed and prepared to serve their communities after attending a sexual health conference in Brisbane earlier this month. The Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS) cohort headed to the state capital from 9-10 October for the 2024 Deadly Sex Congress, an annual forum for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and practitioners.

Information sessions included updates on current and emerging issues in blood-borne viruses (BBVs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Lily-Annie Ahmat, TCHHS men’s and women’s health program co-ordinator said the congress represented an invaluable opportunity for attendees to enhance their knowledge, build workforce capacity, and share stories.

To read more, go here.

Indigenous health and sexual health workers from the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area made the trek south to attend the Deadly Sex Congress in Brisbane earlier this month. Photo: Supplied to Cape York Weekly.

Providing sustainable dialysis services to families in remote Australia

In a community-led initiative, Flinders University Rural and Remote Health and Wakaid Tribal Council are working together to plan the building of a new renal unit that will provide vital dialysis treatment for patients with advanced kidney disease on Badu Island (Queensland). The project has received $3.5 million from the Federal Department of Health and Aged Care Better Renal Services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ program to establish a four-chair nurse/ health worker assisted haemodialysis unit in Badu Island, servicing families of Badu Island, Mao Island and Mabuyag Island.

Flinders University’s Professor Jaquelyne Hughes, a Wagadagam woman of Mabuyag Island is delighted to be part of the team contributing to health advancement within communities of the near western region (Badu, Kubin, St Paul and Mabuyag).

“My cultural acceptance within that community is important, as both family and in terms of the research technical leadership, because the project is such a community-led initiative,” says Professor Hughes.

“By opening a renal unit on Badu Island, it means people will have options to receive care locally, as they have previously needed to relocate to Waibene, or mainland Australia, to receive treatment.”

To read more, go here.

Image source: Getty Images.

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.