- Optimising heart failure care for First Nations people with reduced ejection fraction
- Let’s track flu, COVID-19 & RSV in the community
- Bush medicine partnership to sow seeds of collaboration
- Sustainable partnership supports First Nations health workforce
- Young mob encouraged to FLIP THE VAPE and breathe easy
- Sector Jobs
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.
Optimising heart failure care for First Nations people with reduced ejection fraction
This resource developed by NACCHO and developed through the national MAIA project is designed to support GPs and other clinicians working in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) to deliver holistic, person-centred care that strengthens heart health, promotes wellbeing, and empower individuals and families to get the most from the medicines for HFrEF.
Heart failure (HF) is a complex chronic condition that affects how the heart works, often leading to symptoms like breathlessness or tiredness. Wwith the right care, support, and lifestyle changes, people can live well and enjoy a good quality of life after a diagnosis of heart failure.
- Over 60,000 Australians are diagnosed with heart failure every year.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are 2.8 times more likely to be hospitalised for heart failure.
- The average survival rate following a heart failure diagnosis is around five years.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, there are higher rates of health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart and kidney disease, diabetes, and rheumatic heart disease—many of which can begin earlier in life.4 While these conditions can increase the risk of heart failure, they also present powerful opportunities for early intervention, culturally safe care, and community-led health solutions.
Let’s track flu, COVID-19 & RSV in the community
FluTracking is a quick, 30-second weekly survey where you record if you’ve been feeling sick or well. The more mob that join, the stronger the data becomes — helping us see how illness is moving through community and keeping everyone informed.
It’s simple and quick, and it’s a powerful way to look after each other. Every report matters — whether you’ve got symptoms or not.
Learn more and join
This graph from last weeks data shows the level or respiratory illness among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants. Sign up today to help keep these weekly graphs accurate and stay aware of what is going around!
Graph showing respiratory illness activity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants.
Help keep mob safe and join flutracking today!
Bush medicine partnership to sow seeds of collaboration
The partnership between Menzies School of Health Research (Menzies), Traditional Homeland Enterprises (T.H.E.), Integria Healthcare (Integria) and The University of Queensland has received $363,363 over 18 months in funding from the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA). Project participants have committed $188,845 in cash and $461,074 in-kind contributions towards the project, over the next 18 months.
The Traditional Australian Medicinal Plants Agribusiness collaboration brings together extensive research and industry experience to focus on traditional Australian medicinal plants as an important biological, cultural and economic resource.
The project originated from requests by a Menzies Indigenous Reference Group (IRG) seeking that more research be done on Indigenous medicinal plants. This IRG continues to have oversight of the project. According to Mark Mayo, the partnership’s Indigenous Steering Committee representative and Menzies researcher, the group initiated plans for this project with a view to creating important opportunities for collaboration and mutual learning through the application of modern science to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge.
Sustainable partnership supports First Nations health workforce
Indigenous Allied Health Australia has partnered with leading IT asset lifecycle management company Greenbox to support Aboriginal health students and promote sustainability.
This partnership strengthens Indigenous Allied Health Australia’s (IAHA) purpose to grow and empower the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce through supportive and culturally safe education, training and employment pathways, while also contributing to digital equity and environmentally responsible practices.
The collaboration will see Greenbox provide repurposed and secure IT equipment to support IAHA’s programs, including the innovative IAHA National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Academy.
The Academy program, which operates in five regions nationally, empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to complete a school-based traineeship, a supportive step on their education, training and career journey.
Indigenous Allied Health Australia deputy CEO Kylie Stothers. Image: Croakey.
Young mob encouraged to FLIP THE VAPE and breathe easy
A mob-led health campaign is blazing a trail to encourage Aboriginal youth in Victoria to ditch vaping.
Led by The Koori Way, a Victorian statewide anti-tobacco and anti-vaping health promotion initiative from the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, FLIP THE VAPE is designed to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth to take control of their health and quit vaping.
Co-created with 11 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), FLIP THE VAPE is the first anti-vaping initiative of its kind led by mob, for mob.
With involvement from young Aboriginal ambassadors from across Victoria, the campaign calls on the next generation to reclaim their wellbeing, reject the vape, and breathe easy.
Funded by the National Tackling Indigenous Smoking Program, the campaign takes an alternative approach to anti-vaping or smoking campaigns by skipping lectures, fear-based language, and scare tactics in favour of bold, positive, and empowering messaging, along with a community-driven approach.
Instead, FLIP THE VAPE encourages young people to ‘Be a quitter’, ‘Breathe easy’ and ‘Join the flipping movement’.
Mob-lead health campaign FLIP THE VAPE is encouraging young mob throughout Victoria to ditch vaping.
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.
