Mar 16 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: 2023 CTG report calls for greater and faster change

2023 CTG report calls for greater and faster change
Early Years Strategy must focus on equity and justice
First podcast for mob with disability
Culture + Kinship program has positive outcomes
Scholarship helps Palm Is health worker follow dream
Pioneering Cape ear health program gaining traction
Sector Jobs

The image in the feature tile is a photo taken by Lukas Coch/AAP published in The Guardian on 8 October 2020.

The NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health 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.

2023 CTG report calls for greater and faster change

This years 2023 Close the Gap (CTG) Campaign Report was launched earlier today at the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AH&MRC) in Little Bay Sydney. The theme this year is, ‘Strong Culture, Strong Youth: Our Legacy Our Future’ which highlights the essential role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led decision-making and self-determination in shaping a vision of health and wellbeing built upon a strong cultural foundation.

You can download the report here and watch a video of the launch using this link. You can also watch a short ABC News video Close the Gap report calls for greater and faster change here.

A bit of history. . .

The CTG Campaign is an independent, Indigenous-led campaign that calls on political leaders from all levels of government to take action on health and life expectancy equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It is separate to Closing the Gap, which is an Australian Government strategy.

The CTG Campaign, launched in 2006 to address the unacceptable gap in life expectancy and other health indicators between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians, helped influence the establishment of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap, and the formation of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap in July 2020.

The Campaign is made up of 52 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous health, NGO and human rights organisations. More than 200,000 Australians have signed a pledge supporting the Campaign.

Early Years Strategy must focus on equity and justice

Experts in child and family health are developing submissions for the Federal Government’s new Early Years Strategy, which it says will “shape its vision for the future of Australia’s children and their families”. Among a number of groups who have shared their concerns and priorities the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is concerned the early focus of the strategy “does not demonstrate a health equity lens”. We note the verdict on that is mixed. The ACN points to the Discussion Paper’s aim that a national Strategy “will seek to ensure that all children, wherever they live, enjoy the same opportunities to learn, develop and thrive.”

The ACN says “this is not a health equity lens. Instead, it assumes all children, irrespective of class, culture and context, require the same opportunities. This ignores some of the children who need this most, like those children that have different abilities or grow up in specific cultural contexts like First Nations children.”

Maybe the Federal Government should also be turning a sharp eye on all the policies, programs and, of course, politics that are currently causing major harm to young people in Australia, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and/or threaten to further entrench inequity.

To view the Croakey Health Media article As governments entrench disadvantage, will Australia’s Early Years Strategy focus on equity and justice? in full click here.

First podcast for mob with disabilities

Having to learn how to walk and talk again after an incident left him in an induced coma, Bernard Namok, a proud St Paul, Badu, and Erub Torres Strait Islander man, is now advocating for Indigenous people living with disabilities in the Far North. Mr Namok is teaming up with the First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN) to help empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with a focus on giving a voice to the voiceless. Today, on National Closing the Gap Day, Mr Namok and the FPDN launched a first-ever podcast dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disabilities.

Mr Namok said one of the barriers facing people with disabilities from Indigenous communities is simply knowing what help is out there and how to access it. “Creating the podcast was about finding a way to get information to people who may be living in remote areas in places like Thursday Island where I grew up, as well as telling their stories,” he said

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has found that almost a quarter (24%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia living in households lived with a disability with 8.8% living with a profound or severe limitation.

The above story featured in the Herald Sun article First podcast for First Nations people with disabilities launches published earlier today.

Bernard has been working in disability advocacy in Cairns after previously working in radio broadcasting in the NT.

Culture + Kinship program has positive outcomes

Yesterday the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) launched the groundbreaking Culture + Kinship program evaluation report in the lead up to today’s National Close the Gap Day. VACCHO noted that last year’s Closing The Gap report data and the Coroners Court of Victoria suicide Report in February this year provided “unmistakable evidence” that the devastating gaps in health and wellbeing outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous Victorians continue to blight health equality in Victoria.

VACCHO said its Culture + Kinship Report demonstrates that by focusing on the cultural determinants of health, “there are constructive approaches that can be taken to close the gaps in health and wellbeing disadvantage”. The report notes that through the Culture + Kinship program, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have been able to re-connect with Community, Culture and Country.

VACCHO said “The Culture + Kinship program was uniquely Community driven with a flexible funding model that empowered Communities to lead the way with their own solutions in the form of self-determined, locally led programs.” VACCHO also said a social return on investment analysis showed the program “produced significant value for its stakeholders, with Community Members benefiting especially through reconnecting with Community, Culture and Country, and in doing so, experiencing a range of positive health and wellbeing outcomes”.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Aboriginal-led Culture + Kinship program makes breakthroughs in health and wellbeing in full click here.

Budja Budja Yarning Circle

Scholarship helps Palm Is AHW realise dream

A young Indigenous woman awarded a scholarship to study nursing at Mater Private Hospital Townsville is realising a dream to follow in her family’s footsteps. “My grandma is a twin and she and her sister worked at Mater for many years as registered nurses,” said Tehanna Tanerau-Love, who works part-time as a health worker on Palm Island.

Ms Tanerau-Love, 20, a Yorta Yorta woman with Māori ties, said she had a number of great role models. “My other grandma is a CEO of an Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation and my sister is a social worker,” she said.

Ms Tanerau-Love said the Indigenous scholarship to study a Diploma of Nursing at Mater would help her connect with her community and provide the opportunity to give back to her mob. “My ultimate goal is to work in remote and rural Aboriginal communities to have a meaningful impact on people’s lives,” she said.

The above story featured yesterday in the Cairns Post article Palm Island health-worker Tehanna Tanerau-Love to become nurse at Mater Townsville.

Young North Queensland woman Tehanna Tanerau-Love has been awarded an Indigenous scholarship to study a Diploma of Nursing at Mater Private Hospital Townsville. Image source: Cairns Post.

Pioneering Cape ear health program gaining traction

The Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Integrated Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) program, launched as a pilot in 2021 to target hearing problems in Cape York and the Torres Strait, is seeing exponential growth, with the number of patients seen almost doubling within 12 months.

The team includes a GP with specialist ENT training, a senior ENT nurse, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker, an audiologist and a speech pathologist who travel to 13 remote communities across the region. They treat both children and adults, predominantly for hearing issues, but also with other ear, nose and throat conditions. The team saw more than 1,300 patients during 2022, well up from the 861 seen in 2021.

A further $1.6m of state government funding has been committed to the program over 18 months which will allow for additional staff to support the huge growth. Senior audiologist Kristen Tregenza said she believed the project’s success was due to the culturally-appropriate service they were providing, with patients now seeking them out instead of learning about them via referral. She said most of the hearing conditions being seen and treated were caused by treatable ear infections. “It is well documented that remoteness, lower socio-economic living and all the things that come with that – access to nutritious foods, housing conditions, exposure to passive cigarette smoke – significantly increase the number of ear infections, severity and recovery time,” she said. “It is all preventable.”

To view the Cape York Weekly article Pioneering program launched in Cape gaining traction in full click here.

Kowanyama’s Naveen Accoom getting his ears tested by Dr Stephen Johnston as part of the successful ENT program. Image source: Cape York Weekly.

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.

Mar 15 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Genuine engagement needed over consultation

Genuine engagement needed over consultation
$32m+ for First Nations health research projects
Program to help teens get a good night’s sleep
Conference to examine rural health challenges
Scholarship opportunities for First Nations nurses
Sector Jobs
Key Date – Close the Gap Day

The image in the feature tile has been extracted from a YouTube video of NACCHO Chair Donnella Mills sharing her message on COIVD-19 and the vaccines in early 2021.

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

Genuine engagement needed over consultation

The Australia and NZ School of Government’s (ANZSOG’s) 2023 First Nations Public Administration Conference, held earlier this month, focused on the importance of genuine engagement rather than consultation. Delegates supported a strengths-based approach to policy and programs which recognised First Nations knowledge and culture. The conference was divided into four sessions based around the priority reforms of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. These were: formal partnerships and shared decision-making; building the First Nations community-controlled sector; transforming Government organisations, and shared data and access to information.

Chair of the NACCHO, Donnella Mills told the conference that Governments needed to recognise they did not have the answers, and that Indigenous people would “work harder than anyone else to take care of our people”. She said structural reform was needed to change the way power was distributed. “If the National Agreement on Closing the Gap isn’t on your desk; if you can’t rattle off the priority reforms, if your Agency hasn’t resourced it — you need to lean in, and quickly. We are now in a new way of operating,” Ms Mills said.

The conference featured more than 20 First Nations speakers who discussed the transformation that was happening in First Nations policy. They outlined how approaches that included First Nations knowledge, perspectives and values could serve the wider public and First Nations interests — and how Governments needed to change to better serve First Nations communities.

To view the PS News article ANZSOC conference backs PS Indigenous in full click here.

portrait shots of John Paterson, AMSANT CEO & Robert Skeen, AH&MRC CEO

AMSANT CEO John Paterson and AH&MRC CEO Robert Skeen, were both speakers on Day Two of the conference. Image sources: ANZSOG website and AH&MRC website.

$32m+ for First Nations health research projects

Through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), nearly 200 ground-breaking medical research projects will share in more than $382m in grants, including more than $32m to improve First Nations health. The projects will help Australia’s outstanding medical researchers, including clinician researchers, discover new ways to diagnose, treat and care for people with a variety of health conditions. They will also support early and mid-career researchers and give more Australians access to clinical trials.

Research projects on cardiovascular disease, primary and preventive health care, respiratory diseases, maternal health, mental health and First Nations health, will receive funding to progress important work.

Two innovative First Nations-led projects to receive funding are:

University of Newcastle – $2m – Gulibaa (Coolamon) Project
This will be a co-designed model of care supporting Aboriginal mothers across NSW to be smoke-free in pregnancy and beyond. The project will co-design, embed in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, and evaluate a group-based smoking cessation program.

The Sax Institute – $1.5m – Healthy Ageing for Aboriginal people
This project will evaluate the implementation and uptake of prevention programs to support healthy ageing amongst Aboriginal people. The Institute will collaborate with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services which run holistic and culturally safe preventive healthy ageing programs for their communities.

Of the 193 projects funded, 19 grants worth more than $32.3m are related to First Nations health and a further 13 grants worth more than $16.9m are related to mental health.

To view the Hon Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health and Aged Care’s media release Nearly $400 million for exceptional medical research projects including projects to improve First Nations health in full click here.

Image sources: SBS; Aged Care Online website; Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.

Program to help teens get a good night’s sleep

Karen Chong is the world’s first Indigenous sleep coach. “We are the people of the Dreamtime with the oldest continuing culture shaped by dreams, which is why I became a sleep coach and I want to train others,” she said. Mother of seven and grandmother of 10 Ms Chong, a Waanyi Garawa Gangalida woman, knows all too well how much harder parenting can be if your kids aren’t sleeping properly. “If they weren’t having a proper night’s sleep, they were waking up cranky and moody and it affects their eating too,” she said. “The biggest issue I’ve had with my two girls is that they want to stay up all night on their phones – if you’re a parent you’ll know what kids are like.”

The University of Queensland and Beyond Blue have partnered to deliver culturally responsive sleep health services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents in Queensland. Project lead Associate Professor Yaqoot Fatima from UQ’s Poche Centre for Indigenous Health said Indigenous teens experience up to twice the rates of poor sleep as other adolescents. “Poor sleep can be caused by medical conditions like sleep apnoea and restless leg syndrome, or behavioural issues such as an irregular bedtime, late nights, and not getting enough sleep,” she said.

“Indigenous adolescents sleep better when they feel connected to their culture, which is why this program is important.” The 10-week Sleep for Strong Souls program is holding workshops with more than a hundred 12-18-year-olds in north and western Queensland communities.

To view the Kyabram Free Press article Indigenous sleep coach wants a score of 40 winks all in full click here.

ATSI teenage school kids looking at table of Sleep for Strong Souls program resources with coach

The Sleep for Strong Souls program is aiming to help Indigenous teenagers get a good night’s sleep. Image source: Kyabram Free Press.

Conference to examine rural health challenges

The challenges facing the rural health system are well-documented and well-known: difficulty attracting and retaining staff, fewer resources, lack of access to services, and building capacity and resilience in times of disaster and emergency. The 2023 Shoalhaven Rural Health Research Conference aims to unpack many of these issues, and more, while focusing on how to improve rural health services through collaboration, research and innovation.

The inaugural, nation-wide conference will be held at the University of Wollongong’s (UOW) Shoalhaven Campus on Saturday 18 March 2023 with a theme of Connection and Capacity Building. Associate Professor Marlene Longbottom ,a proud Yuin woman from Roseby Park (Jerrinja) Mission in the Shoalhaven, will deliver the keynote address, titled ‘Connection and Country’.

As Principal Research Fellow at the Ngarruwan Ngadju First Peoples Health and Wellbeing Research Centre at UOW, Associate Professor Longbottom has worked extensively in the health and human services sector with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities from urban, regional and remote areas of New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory. The keynote address will be followed by a series of workshops on the rural health and research landscape, hosted by UOW academics and primary healthcare professional across the fields of dietetics and nutrition, nursing, medicine and Indigenous health.

To view the University of Wollongong Australia article Inaugural conference to examine acute challenges facing rural health system in full click here.

portrait of Associate Professor Marlene Longbottom, University of Wollongong

Associate Professor Marlene Longbottom. Image source: LinkedIn.

Scholarship opportunities for First Nations nurses

As part of the Australian College of Nursing’s (ACN) commitment to advancing the nursing profession, the ACN Foundation has just released scholarships, grants and awards exclusively available to First Nations nurses to advance their nursing careers. Applications for the below scholarships are now open:

Graduate Certificate Nursing Scholarship, Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies – 20 scholarships are available for registered nurses to undertake selected ACN Graduate Certificate courses including Cancer Nursing, Community and Primary Health Care Nursing, Critical Care Nursing, Digital Health, Leadership and Management, Orthopaedic Nursing or Perioperative Nursing. Of the twenty available, five scholarships will be allocated to First Nations nurses and five will be allocated to nurses working in rural and remote areas of Australia.

Graduate Certificate Scholarships for First Nations nurses, Sponsored by HESTA – two scholarships are available for First Nations registered nurses to complete an ACN Graduate Certificate course of their choice out of ACN’s Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Management, Aged Care Nursing, Perioperative Nursing, Critical Care Nursing or Community and Primary Health Care Nursing, commencing in July 2023.

If you are not at a career stage to apply for a postgraduate nursing scholarship, discover ACN’s scholarships for undergraduates, nursing leadership courses, research and more on their website here.

Applications close 11:59 PM AEDT – Monday 3 April 2023. To apply click here.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

National Close the Gap Day

National Close the Gap Day is being held tomorrow, Thursday 16 March 2023, to raise community awareness about health inequalities facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In the SBS News – News in Depth broadcast Health differences for First Nations people targets on Close the Gap Day,available here, Karl Briscoe, CEO of the National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (NAATSIHWP) said “we believe the Close the Gap campaign priority reform areas are the biggest areas that will get the better gains that are required to close the gap”. Mr Briscoe said First Nations people must have access to appropriate housing, he said that with “Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) a fix that can be done straight away is adequate housing, we know that overcrowding is a huge component of RHD being prevalent within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and it is really quite solvable by having adequate housing.”

In this broadcast, Dr Thalia Anthony, University of Sydney Law Professor commented on the National Agreement on Closing the Gap target of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults and young people not being overrepresented in the criminal justice system.

banner SBS News, News in Depth, text: Health differences for First Nations people targeted on Close the Gap Day; image of Uni of Sydney Law Professor Thalia Anthony

University of Sydney Law Professor Thalia Anthony. Image source: SBS News.

Mar 8 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: International Women’s Day 2023

International Women’s Day 2023
NACCHO delegation to Timor-Leste
ACCHO worker makes inspirational women list
Prison healthcare should match community standards
NACCHO provides quality use of medicines program for mob
Data shows gap closing too slowly
Ambassador for First Nations People appointed
Sector Jobs

The image in the feature tile is from the International Women’s Development Agency website, available here.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly. The content included in these new stories are not necessarily NACCHO endorsed.

International Women’s Day 2023

International Women’s Day (IWD) is held on 8 March each year, with events and activities taking place across the globe. It celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. IWD is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions women make to our communities and marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality to create a world where women and girls everywhere have equal rights and opportunities.

The IWD 2023 theme is Cracking the Code: Innovation for a gender-equal future. The theme emphasises the importance of bold, transformative ideas, inclusive technologies, and accessible education in combating discrimination and marginalisation of women around the world. The message being that innovation can accelerate our progress towards a gender equal future.

In an interview on NITV Radio earlier today Reconciliation Australia CEO Karen Mundine reflected on IWD 2023 and the opportunities for First Nations women. With more than 20 years’ experience leading community engagement, public advocacy, communications and social marketing campaigns; Karen has shaped the national journey towards a just, equitable and reconciled Australia. You can listen to her interview in full here. You can also find out more about IWD on the International Women’s Development Agency’s website here.

Karen Mundine, Reconciliation Australia CEO. Image source: NIT 1 March 2023.

NACCHO delegation to Timor-Leste

A NACCHO delegation, accompanied by a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade representative, are in Timor-Leste this week (Sunday 5 – Friday 10 March 2023) to:

gain an understanding of the country, cultural, political and health service delivery context of a potential First Nations partnership
gain an understanding of a Timorese perspective of how primary health care is delivered, with a focus on workforce training and community ownership of primary health care programs
initiate relationships with key Ministry of Health officials that could form the basis of future potential First Nations partnership work

and along with DFAT:

identify key issues which may be addressed in partnership
identify issues to inform the further refinement of the concept note and key stages and timeframes for the potential First Nations partnership

The delegation is comprised of:

Donnella Mills, NACCHO Chair (Cairns)
Pat Turner, NACCHO CEO and Lead Convenor of the Coalition of Peaks (Canberra)
Rob McPhee, CEO of the Danila Dilba Health Service (Darwin)
Jenny Bedford, Executive Manager, Kimberley Aboriginal Health Services (Broome)
Alice Kemble (Dili)
Sara Moriarty, First Nations Taskforce (Canberra), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

During the visit the delegation will meet with:

Partnerships for Human Development (overview of the structure of the Timorese health system)
East Timor Development Agency (NFP provided training and guidance to strengthen the capacity of Timorese people to plan an integral, role in the development of their Nation)
Ministry of Health (introduction to community health services in Timor Leste, including model of care, workforce training and service delivery)
National Health Institute (responsible for planning and delivery of health workforce and clinical training)
Maluk Timor (an Australian and Timorese NGO seeking to advance primary healthcare in Timor-Leste)
Agora Food Studio (a social enterprise mentoring Timorese innovators and storytellers and elevating local food)
Comoro Community Health Clinic in Dili (urban health centre)
Gleno, Ermera district (remote health post)
Nabilan (program to end violence against women and improve wellbeing for women and children affected by violence)
ProEma (NFP promoting capacity-building for vulnerable girls and young women living in underdeveloped communities in Timor-Leste)

Left-Right: Rob McPhee, CEO Danila Dilba Health Service, Dr Odete Maria Freitas Belo, Minister for Health, Timor-Leste, Pat Turner, NACCHO CEO and Lead Convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, Jenny Bedford, Executive Manager, Kimberley Aboriginal Health Services and Donnella Mills, NACCHO Chair.

ACCHO worker makes inspirational women list

Goondir Health Services’ Medicare co-ordinator Ethel Hayden has been named as one of the 50 most inspirational women in the Western Downs region in celebration of International Women’s Day 2023. Ethel Hayden hopes to leave behind a legacy of helping others and having made a difference in her community. The Dalby woman has achieved so much in her life, which included beginning life-changing programs for young people.

Ms Hayden was responsible for rolling out some of the onsite health services for Goondir Health in 2014 when they moved into their Jimbour St location. She also developed a Youth Project with programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the Western Downs region such as the Big Buddy Program, which aimed to empower Indigenous youth to achieve their full potential through mentorship and education.

She said she was most passionate about making a difference, and knows she has the experience to do so. A major achievement under Ms Hayden’s belt was being involved in the ‘Closing the Gap’ event that’s held each year, with the upcoming event being in Dalby next week.

To view The Courier Mail article Celebrating 50 of the most inspirational women in the Western Downs region for International Women’s Day in full click here. You can also access the Goondir Health Services’ website here to learn more about their clinics in Chincilla, Dalby, Oakey and St George, Queensland.

Ethel Hayden, Goondir Health Services, Dalby QLD

Ethel Hayden. Image source: The Courier Mail.

Prison healthcare should match community standards

On this International Women’s Day, let’s not forget women in prison. There are 3,088 women imprisoned in Australia on any given day, representing 7.5% of the prison population. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are over-represented in these numbers.

Annually Australia spends over $4b on prisons. Despite this, reproductive health care equivalent to that in the community is often not available where women are being detained. Reproductive health care must be delivered in appropriate ways to those who require it. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people require culturally safe health care, free from racism. There must also be inclusive care for non-binary and transgender people.

Failing to provide access to sanitary pads and tampons is a form of degrading treatment, according to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It can leave women and people who menstruate vulnerable to exploitation. For example, limited access to sanitary pads can lead to them being traded for favours.

In Australia, there have been instances of an Aboriginal woman giving birth alone in a locked prison cell while staff observed through the hatch. Another example featured attempts to remove a baby from their Aboriginal mother against medical advice due to insufficient capacity at the prison. And an Aboriginal woman was denied the right to bond with her newborn and breastfeed them.

To view The Conversation article Health care offered to women in prison should match community standards – and their rights in full click here.

torsos of ATSI women in prison, green clothes

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women make up a third of all female prisoners in Australia. Image source: ABC News.

NACCHO provides quality use of medicines program for mob

NACCHO will now provide the NPS MedicineWise online learning modules and resources, which are available on the NACCHO website. Programs include:

Good Medicines Better Health – eLearning modules and consumer resources developed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners and their communities to improve quality use of medicines and medical tests. The online learning modules are available now.
Medicines Lists and Templates – Principles for producing best possible medicines lists for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Remote Area Aboriginal Health Services – Tools and resources to support the safe and effective provision of medicines in remote communities.

You can view the eLearning modules and resources here and here.

NACCHO looks forward to being able to provide sustained support in quality use of medicines programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people based on ongoing funding from the Department of Health and Aged Care. We acknowledge some of these programs were developed by NPS MedicineWise prior to their closure and thank NPS staff for their work.

If you have any queries regarding these resources, you can contact the NACCHO Medicines team by email by clicking here.

Data shows gap closing too slowly

The gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians isn’t closing fast enough, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney admits. Productivity Commission data shows a number of key Closing the Gap targets are not on track and some are going backwards. Closing the Gap is a strategy that aims to achieve equality for Indigenous people by improving health, social, education and economic outcomes. “I know many people are frustrated by the lack of progress,” Ms Burney said.

Last month, in partnership with the Coalition of Peaks – which represents more than 80 Indigenous organisations – the federal government announced its implementation plan for Closing the Gap, which included more than $400m in extra funding. There are 19 socio-economic targets in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. The Productivity Commission has released data on nine of those targets, which shows two are on track to meet their goals, but seven are not.

Ms Burney said the data showed “encouraging” increases in employment and land rights, but in other areas figures were going backwards. “It is particularly disappointing to see the target for healthy birth weights for babies has gone from being on track to not on track,” she said. “More of the same isn’t good enough. We need to do things differently by working in partnership with communities to get better results.”

To view The Canberra Times article Data shows Indigenous gap closing too slowly: Minister in full click here.

Minister Linda Burney carrying folders in Parliament

Minister Linda Burney says there is a lot of frustration surrounding the lack of progress. Photo: Mick Tsikas/AAP. Image source: The Canberra Times.

Ambassador for First Nations People appointed

The federal government has appointed Mr Justin Mohamed as Australia’s inaugural Ambassador for First Nations People. Mr Mohamed will lead the Office of First Nations Engagement in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Special Envoy Senator Pat Dodson announced the appointment in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The government said the Office of First Nations Engagement and the foreign affairs and trade department will work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people “to progress Indigenous rights globally, and help grow First Nations trade and investment”. The joint statement said that “elevating the perspectives of First Nations people – this land’s first diplomats – enables deeper engagement with many of our closest partners including the Pacific family”. The new position marks the first time Australia will have dedicated Indigenous representation in international engagement.

Mr Mohamed said he felt honoured to be appointed is” looking forward to sitting down and listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the country, as we develop foreign policies that have First Nations People’s knowledges, voice and connection to country front and centre,” he said.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Australian government appoints the first official Ambassador for First Nations People in full click here.

Incoming Ambassador Justin Mohamed and Minister Linda Burney. Photo source: National Indigenous Times.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Feb 15 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: NIAA adopts new ‘Closing the Gap’ targets

NIAA adopts new ‘Closing the Gap’ targets
Mob need to co-design diabetes remission strategies
New network for GPs in areas of poverty
New report celebrates CATSINaM’s achievements
Sector Jobs

The image in the feature tile is from an an article Some Closing the Gap targets missed published in The Senior on 31 March 2022.

The NACCHO Daily Health News is 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.

NIAA adopts new ‘Closing the Gap’ targets

The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) has launched a new plan to turn the tide on stalled and backsliding measures in the National Agreement on ‘Closing the Gap’ with the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Welcoming the NIAA’s 2023 Commonwealth Closing the Gap Implementation Plan, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney said the Plan was about practical action.

“The gap is not closing fast enough and on some measures it is going backwards,” Ms Burney said. “[The Plan] moves beyond the foundational Commonwealth attitude to Closing the Gap planning,” she said. “It outlines specific and actionable plans for accelerating efforts to embed the Priority Reforms and achieve the socio-economic targets.”

Ms Burney said the new Implementation Plan responded directly to the NIAA’s Commonwealth Closing the Gap Annual Report 2022 which found only four socio-economic targets were on track and 14 targets were worsening or not on tack. She said the whole-of-government approach outlined in the Plan brought together all the actions that each Department and Agency was taking to achieve the Closing the Gap outcomes, “so that we can be held to account and coordinate with the Coalition of Peaks and our State and Territory Government and local government partners.”

The above has been extracted from an article published yesterday on the psnews.com.au website’s APS News webpage. The article, including a link to NIAA’s 137-page Plan are available in full here.

Cover of the Commonwealth Closing the Gap Implementation Plan 2023. Image source: Analysis & Policy Observatory (APO) webpage.

Mob need to co-design diabetes remission strategies

Effective targeting of diabetes and metabolic syndrome in Australian Indigenous people requires remission strategies that are co-designed by Indigenous communities, according to a team of Flinders University researchers. An article published in Nature Medicine identifies a project in SA’s Coorong region being led by Flinders University that takes a fresh approach through involving Ngarrindjeri leaders with clinicians trained in Eurocentric-based medicine to help tackle diabetes remission within its local community.

Diabetes contributes to 11% of all deaths in Australia, costing the healthcare system $2.7 million each year, and Australian Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected. Their prevalence rates are three times greater, hospitalisation rates four times higher, and death due to complications five times more likely than in non-Indigenous Australians. Of equal concern is metabolic syndrome, responsible for earlier and more severe complications in individuals diagnosed with diabetes, including such conditions as hypertension, dyslipidemia, abdominal obesity and insulin resistance.

“Rates of diabetes in Australian Indigenous communities are rising, which suggests that current approaches for detection, care and management are failing,” says Associate Professor Courtney Ryder, from Flinders University’s College of Medicine and Public Health. This leaves many Australian Indigenous communities feeling that a diagnosis of diabetes or metabolic syndrome is an unavoidable death sentence, creating a ripple effect beyond the individual, affecting the whole family and community.”

To view the Community co-design targets Indigenous diabetes article published earlier today in Open Forum (a policy discussion website produced by Global Access Partners – Australia’s Institute for Active Policy) in full click here.

Image source: Open Forum website.

New network for GPs in areas of poverty

Dr Tim Senior is a GP who practices, teaches, develops policy and writes about general practice and primary care. He works at Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation, the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service in South West Sydney and is on the The Medical Republic (TMR) editorial board. In an article published yesterday, Dr Senior says when covid took hold it exposed “exactly the cracks in our society and health services that we already knew about.”

“One of the main geographical areas affected was west and southwest Sydney. That covid took hold here was entirely predictable. People living here were on lower income jobs, the sort of jobs that are essential, and can’t be done from home. People lived in overcrowded housing or high-density apartments, because that’s what people can afford when housing is so expensive. This profoundly affected the ability of people to follow the advice about social distancing. People in these communities at the lower end of the social gradient already had more pre-existing diabetes, heart disease or renal disease, and often multi-morbidity at a younger age, making them more vulnerable to severe covid.”

“Working as a GP in an area of deprivation, then, is a specific interest, and being effective requires us to draw on the legacy of academic research, thought and specific teaching. It requires peer support and discussion, especially as the work itself, like all work that is worth doing, can be challenging. For this reason, Dr Liz Sturgiss and I have set up the Specific Interests Network on Poverty and Deprivation within the RACGP’s Specific Interests Faculty. We hope to provide support for those of us working in this area, and guide each other to better practice. We hope to make working in areas of poverty visible to our peers, and to be able to provide reminders of the joys of effective general practice to our registrars. The voice of the RACGP’s advocacy will also be enhanced in advocating alongside other specific interest groups on issues of health equity.”

You can view Dr Senior’s article Support for GPs Working at the Deep End, published in TMR in full here.

Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation (TAC), Airds, NSW. Image source: TAC website.

New report celebrates CATSINaM’s achievements

A new report, which compiles a series of articles celebrating the achievements of the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM), and the organisations’ Elders and members. The articles contained in the report were produced by Croakey Professional Services to mark the 25-year anniversary of CATSINaM and published between March 2022 and February 2023.

Croakey Health Media says it encourages readers to share the publication widely, and to draw upon the knowledge it contains in health education and training, service delivery and policy-making.

You can download the report Celebrating #CATSINaM25Years Articles published March, 2022 – February, 2023 in full here.

Cover of the Croakey Professional Services Report containing CATSINaM articles from March 2022 to February 2023. Image source: Croakey Health Media.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Feb 14 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: How will the Voice help close the gap?

How will the Voice help close the gap?
Anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations
$242m for second CTG Implementation Plan
Needs cannot be met without Indigenous Voices
Sector Jobs

How will the Voice close the gap?

y and Coalition of Peaks Lead Convenor and NACCHO CEO Pat Turner and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burne spoke on ABC News last night about specific actions required on investments in Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, and how the Voice to parliament will help close the gap.

Click here to watch the interview on ABC News in full.

Anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations

In a speech yesterday marking the 15th anniversary of The Apology to the Stolen Generations, Minister for Indigenous Australians, The Hon Linder Burney MP read out a verse from the late great Archie Roach’s song “Took the Children Away” which was first performed more than 33 year ago. Minister Burney said “Archie spoke of a truth that for many years was denied. Denied by governments. And denied by parliaments. Children were removed from their families because of the colour of their skin. And it was governments that did it. Most Australians did not know of this reality. For decades there was a stubborn silence. While many of those removed suffered a private pain of unbearable loss. It was and is one the darkest chapters in our history.”

Minister Burney went on to speak about the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Deaths in Custody which found that of the 99 deaths it investigated 43 were of people who were separated from their families and the subsequent 1997 Bringing Them Home report which took evidence from hundreds of people from across the country. A key recommendation of the Bringing Them Home report was for an apology to be given by governments.

Minister Burney then spoke of the Closing The Gap Implementation Plan and the government’s commitment to work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the Coalition of Peaks towards achieving the targets and priority reforms of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

You can access Minister Burney’s speech in full published in The National Tribune here.

Linda Burney made the comments during an event in Canberra marking the anniversary of the apology. Image source: ABC News: Matt Roberts, file.

$242m for second CTG Implementation Plan

The Federal Government will spend over $420 million to provide clean water, food security and housing to Indigenous Australians.

The next step in the government’s Closing the Gap implementation plan accompanies the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations (Coalition of Peaks) annual implementation plan.

Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, says that “foundational work” has been completed over the past two years, and “now we can really turn our efforts towards real action and real change”.

“We saw the outcomes in the 2022 Closing the Gap Annual Report and know that we need to be doing more as a government,” Ms Burney said.

“Our measures are going to be more specific and more targeted, making real impacts that complement work underway in states and territories, and back-in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations to lead work in their communities.”

The Coalition of Peaks lead convenor and chief executive of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Pat Turner, says the funding will help accelerate reforms.

“We have decades of underinvestment in our communities and organisations to be addressed and this funding will go some way to overturning that,” she said.

The funding is set to be delivered through formal partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities, with support from state, territory and local governments.

The above new story was published yesterday on the Local GovernmentCareer website under the title Gap goals backed further, and is available here.

Image source: Local Government Career website.

Needs cannot be met without Indigenous voices

Opponents of an Indigenous Voice to parliament say the Voice is merely symbolic and another pointless layer of bureaucracy. They say that what is needed are “practical measures”.

However decades of government-led “practical measures” have achieved little measurable progress and in some cases, caused considerable harm to Indigenous communities. So the question is, will the Voice, in delivering Indigenous perspectives direct to parliament, make any practical difference to outcomes for Indigenous peoples?

Indigenous people have long been calling for more Indigenous-informed solutions. The current debate on alcohol bans in the NTis just one recent example.

Our research has found including the perspectives of Indigenous people can disrupt long-held assumptions behind previously accepted policy measures. This indicates mechanisms such as the Voice could help deliver better policy by building better understanding of Indigenous affairs.

The above is an excerpt from the article Our research has shown Indigenous peoples’ needs cannot be understood and met, without Indigenous voices published in The Conversation today. To view the article in full click here. You can also listen to Stolen Generation survivor Judith Kelly here as she reflects on the 15th anniversary of the National Apology.

South West woman and survivor of the stolen generation Judith Kelly reflects on the 15th anniversary of then-prime minister Kevin Rudd’s historic apology. Photo. Zoe Keenan, ABC News.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Oct 11 2022

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Our Mob and Cancer website launched

Our Mob and Cancer website launched
Health students get taste of rural life
Indigenous Doctor of the Year 2022 named
Close the Gap September 2022 newsletter
Benefits of early mental health interventions
ACCHO recipients of oral health grants
SWAMS develops syphilis awareness video
Sector Jobs

The image in the feature tile is artwork by Riki Salam, an artist and graphic designer and the digital designer of the Our Mob and Cancer website. Born and raised in Cairns on Yidindji land, Riki has connections to Muralag, Kala Lagaw Ya, Meriam Mer, Kuku Yalanji peoples on his father’s side and the Ngai Tahu people in the South Island of NZ on his mother’s side. Image source: Our Mob and Cancer Artworks webpage of the Our Mob and Cancer website.

Our Mob and Cancer website launched

Australia’s first comprehensive cancer website developed by and for Indigenous Australians was officially launched yesterday in a bid to boost health outcomes and care across the country. Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, launched the Our Mob and Cancer website which provides culturally-safe support and information for patients, their families, communities and health professionals. The website includes critical information about how cancer affects Our Mob, ways to protect against cancer, types of cancer, diagnosis, treatment and living with cancer, how cancer spreads and where to get help and support.

In 2015–2019, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were 1.4 times more likely to die from cancer compared to non-Indigenous Australians and they experience higher incidence rates, and lower participation rates in bowel, breast, and cervical cancer population screening programs.

To view Senator the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy’s media release Ground-breaking platform launched for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by cancer in full click here.

Health students get a taste of rural life

First year health students have had a taste of what it would be like to work in a rural or remote area during a recent trip to the Atherton Tablelands as part of three Health Workforce Queensland’s GROW Rural Programs, aimed at encouraging them to return and work in the region. The program is focused on ensuring remote, rural, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities have access to highly skilled health professionals when and where they need them, now and into the future.

It is being supported by Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) over the next three years. GROW Rural NQ presents first-year medical, nursing, midwifery, dentistry, and allied health students with a unique experience to develop familiarity and a deeper understanding of the potential of a professional and personal life they could have working in rural Queensland.

By cultivating strong connections with the health workforce community and the broader community, the GROW Rural program encourages health students to return to rural communities for their clinical placements and to consider rural practice as a future career opportunity. HWQ Future Workforce team leader Meredith Connor said the 25 students visited Atherton, Ravenshoe, and Mareeba. “Mulungu Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre welcomed the students with fantastic cultural activities including traditional dance and an art workshop in which the students painted boomerangs and clapsticks,” Ms Connor said.

To view The Express article Health students get a taste of rural life in full click here.

Seven of the GROW Rural students (from left) Savindie Abeynayak, Louis Huynh, Maddy Harris, Elliot Hunt, Caitlin Brims, Karif Hung, and Jessica Lanza on the Tablelands. Image source: The Express.

Indigenous Doctor of the Year 2022

Tennant Creek’s Dr Sarah Goddard has been crowned Australia’s Indigenous Doctor of the Year award for 2022. She won the award at the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association conference after being nominated by her community and practice for going above and beyond and making a difference within healthcare. Dr Goddard said she was shocked, overwhelmed and very honoured to receive the award. Dr Goddard grew up in Tennant Creek. Her mother was very unwell for a time and Dr Goddard said she was inspired by the doctors and medical crew around her mother to go off and study and come back to the Barkley.

You can listen to ABC Radio National Drive presenter Rohan Barwick speaking to Dr Sarah Goddard here.

Dr Sarah Goddard has been named Indigenous Doctor of the Year 2022 by the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association. Image source: ABC News Alice Springs.

Close the Gap September 2022 newsletter

The September edition of the 2022 Close the Gap Quarterly Newsletter has been released. It includes information about the Deadly Physios Podcast show; words from the Close the Gap Campaign Co-Chair Commissioner June Oscar AO; and upcoming events:

ANTAR Celebrating 25 Years – ANTAR National Forum, Canberra or online – Wednesday 12 October 2022
launch of the Recommendations for Culturally Safe Kidney Care for First Nations Australians – Sunday 16 October 2022
CEO forum on how your organisation can support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Sydney – Wednesday 16 November 2022

You can access the Close the Gap Quarterly Newsletter September 2022 edition here.

Benefits of early mental health interventions

Sueanne Gola is a Kamilaroi (Aboriginal) woman and Clinical Psychologist who has worked in mainstream mental health for 15 years says World Mental Health Day (yesterday) was an opportunity to share and showcase First Nations perspectives of Mental Wellness such as the Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) Framework. The framework takes into account the complexity and holistic nature of our experiences of mental wellbeing and includes connection to land, culture, and community. SEWB also takes into account the historical, political and societal experiences continuing to impact on our experiences of individual and community mental wellness and mental illness.

Yesterday, she said, was also an opportunity to talk about infant mental health. Infant mental health is well established worldwide, however across much of Australia is still a relatively unknown and fledgling area of mental health. Ms Gola supports families in the first weeks of an infant’s life as they get to know the unique addition to their family. She gets to work with families to support the social and emotional development of their young children and most importantly support parents to improve the mental wellness of the family unit which aides in the recovery from intergenerational trauma and provides the next generation with a strong foundation of mental wellness.

Ms Gola said that lastly, but no less importantly, yesterday was an opportunity to reflect on Mental Wellness. All too often we talk about mental illnesses and what can be done to reduce a) symptom severity or b) the impact of mental illness symptoms on the individual and/or society. Yesterday was an opportunity to have conversations about Mental Wellness.

To view the Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA) article Celebrating 2022 World Mental Health Day with IAHA Member Sueanne Gola, Clinical Psychologist/Infant Mental Health Clinician in full click here.

Image source: myDr.com.au.

ACCHO recipients of oral health grants

While Australia has seen substantial improvements in oral health over recent years, we are beginning to see this positive trend decline in disadvantaged and remote communities. In fact, Australians from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds are now almost half as likely to consult a dental professional, and nine times more likely to suffer complete tooth loss. While there are a number of factors at play, barriers such as lower access to dental facilities, financial pressures, and lower health literacy all contribute to Australia’s dental health inequity.

Now in its 11th year, the Mars Wrigley Foundation and Australian Dental Health Foundation (ADHF). Healthier Smiles Community Service Grants program is a well-established initiative supporting dentists and dental students from across Australia who seek to improve oral health outcomes by providing screening, treatment, and education to those most in need. This year, the Mars Wrigley Foundation has awarded approx. AU$111,000 in grant funding to 10 worthy projects. Among the 2022 recipients are:

Cherbourg Volunteer Dental Clinic

Indigenous people of Cherbourg – Australia’s most disadvantaged community – experience many health inequalities, including a lack of access to regular dental services. With the grant funding, the project team will work in conjunction with the Cherbourg Regional Aboriginal and Islander Community Controlled Health Services to provide volunteer dental screening, treatment, and education. The clinic’s aim is to allow the community of Cherbourg to transition from emergency intervention to preventative dental health through ongoing education and support.

Biripi Aboriginal Medical Corporation

Many Indigenous elders are unable to afford dental care and treatment, resulting in the loss of teeth or poorly fitted dentures that affect their lifestyle and ability to derive proper nutrition. The grant funding will assist the Biripi Aboriginal Medical Corporation in supporting Elders of the Biripi community through the provision of comprehensive dental care, including fillings, extractions and specialised denture services. The project team also aims to create awareness of the importance of maintaining oral health and the harmful effects of drugs, alcohol and smoking on the deterioration of oral health.

To view The National Tribune article Recipients announced for 2022 Healthier Smiles Community Service Grants in full click here.

Image source: Australian Dental Health Foundation website.

SWAMS develops syphilis awareness video

The short video (below), developed by South West Aboriginal Medial Service (SWAMS), aims to increase awareness around syphilis in the south-west region of WA, due to an ongoing outbreak. The video briefly discusses:

transmission
symptoms
treatment
- risk if untreated during pregnancy
testing
prevention

You can access the SWAMS website here.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Oct 4 2022

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Bowel screening test kits for ACCHOs

Bowel Cancer screening test kits for ACCHOs
Lack of telecommunications creates divide
Improving newborn outcomes
Mob encouraged to slow COVID-19 spread
Baabayn Mums and Bubs Group initiative
Advocacy for Bathurst mental health facility
Mala’la Health Service turning its health crisis on heart disease around
Sector Jobs
Save the Date – Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The image in the feature tile is from the article Targeted screening could improve bowel cancer diagnosis, but not cost-effective published in The Senior on 21 November 2019.

Bowel Cancer screening test kits for ACCHOs

NACCHO is working with the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program to roll out bowel cancer screening kits to all ACCHOs. This new approach means that more community members can be supported to participate in bowel cancer screening. All participating ACCHOs will soon be able to issue kits directly to community members and bulk order additional kits from the Healthcare Provider Portal.

NACCHO is holding a free training webinar for all participating community-controlled organisations.

A live training webinar will be held from 12.30 PM – 2.00 PM (AEST) Monday 10 October 2022.

The training will guide staff through the simple steps to:

issue a kit to ensure that the completed kit can be easily linked to the participating community member. Linking completed kits to people means that the results of the screening can be successfully communicated to both you as the provider and the community member
bulk order additional kits
engage in conversations with community members about the importance of screening.

Attendees will also hear from community-controlled organisations who participated in the pilot program for this work and there will be lots of opportunities for questions.

NAATSIHWP and RACGP have provided CPD endorsement of the training webinar.

You can register for the training here.

If you have any questions, please contact the NACCHO Cancer team via this email link.

In the short video, Bowel Cancer Get Tested Early, Chris Lee, Assistant Director of Aged Care and Disability Programs from NACCHO, encourages mob to get tested and catch bowel cancer early so you can be around for your family and grannies.

Lack of telecommunications creates divide

A new AMA position statement looks at the many reasons telecommunication infrastructure and platforms must be rolled out and secured across the country. The AMA’s position statement on ‘Better Digital Connectivity to Improve Health Care of Rural Australians, available here, emphasises that technology telecommunication platforms must be able to accommodate developments in information and communications technologies, and provide digital connectivity through suitable combinations of fibre, mobile phone, wireless, and satellite technologies.

The position statement also highlights the need for enhancing the resilience of telecommunications infrastructure to natural disasters throughout the country to provide sustainable health care services for all Australians. The federal government’s decision on 1 July to remove Medicare rebate for longer telephone consultation but keep patient rebates for video calls of the same duration (20–40 minutes) and longer has excluded rural patients to access Medicare rebate through video telehealth.

Conducting video consultations is challenging with black spots and low internet speeds in rural setting. Government policies play a tremendous role in bringing internet access to remote regions and to ensure broadband services are reliable and affordable for all communities, business and services throughout the country.

To read the AMA article AMA says lack of telecommunication creates another health divide in the bush in full click here.

Image source: AMA website.

Improving newborn outcomes

Indigenous babies are generally born earlier and smaller than the rest of the population. The Government wants to close the gap, aiming for 91% of newborns to be at a healthy birthweight in the next decade. Michelle Kennedy from the University of Newcastle says “if we are going to close the gap we really need investment in ACCHOs who will drive the biggest change in our health and wellbeing.”

You can view the ABC News video VIDEO: Govt aims to improve Indigenous newborn outcomes featuring staff from Awabakal Aboriginal Health Service NSW by clicking on this link.

Mob encouraged to slow COVID-19 spread

The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care has recently released the video below with Dr Aleeta Fejo, Aboriginal GP and senior Doctor, encouraging us all to do our part to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The collection also contains information on:

COVID-19 vaccination – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcare workers talking about the COVID-19 vaccines
Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Living with COVID-19 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

You can access the Department of Health and Aged Care webpage Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Dr Aleeta encourages us all to help slow the spread of COVID-19 here.

Baabayn Mums and Bubs Group initiative

Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) works closely to support Baabayn, an Aboriginal Corporation that connects with individuals and families and provides them support and links to services that help them heal from the past and nurture their sense of confidence and pride in the future. One Baabayn initiative, Baabayan Mums and Bubs Group, helps young people in western Sydney grow and contribute to an Aboriginal-led movement for better outcomes for First Nations women and children.

Mercy Works supports the “bubs” component of the group which engages Aboriginal children in cultural, educational, health-promoting and healing activities in weekly three-hour sessions. This includes storytelling, learning culture, native gardening projects, motor skills activities and pre-school literacy and learning sessions.

The mums also participate in programs such as WSLHD’s Public Health Unit ‘Bedazzled Bras’ breast cancer initiative and Real Futures Job Training ‘Bring Your Bills Day’ with Legal Aid designed to empower, promote healthy lifestyles, and enhance life skills.

To read The Pulse article Western Sydney Baabayn mums shine a light at Vivid in full click here.

Advocacy for Bathurst mental health facility

A mental health facility which has had strong results for patients in other regional areas could be operating in Bathurst in the near future. Member for Bathurst Paul Toole has confirmed he will be advocating for a Safe Haven in Bathurst, similar to the ones already operating in Parkes and Dubbo, following news there is “one on the cards” for Orange.

There have been increased calls for improved mental health services for teenagers in regional areas following the death of Bathurst teen Tilly Rosewarne earlier this year. Tilly took her own life following what has been described as years of relentless online and schoolyard bullying. This call to reduce the number of young lives being lost to suicide across the western region is being led by Australian Community Media, publisher of the Western Advocate. Parkes’ Safe Haven opened in December 2021, which was followed by the opening of a similar facility in Dubbo in March 2022.

To read the Western Advocate article Toole confirms he will be advocating for Bathurst to have its own Safe Haven in full click here. The video below is from the NSW Government NSW Health webpage Safe Haven, available here, explains what a Safe Haven is.

Mala’la Health Service turning its health crisis on heart disease around

The National Indigenous Times (NIT) featured a story on how a local-led effort with an NT community is turning around the shockingly high rate of two dangerous heart diseases in Arnhem Land’s remote Maningrida community. Mala’la Health and community service manager Lesley Woolf said Maningrida was desperate for action to tackle the high rate of heart disease.

“Prior to the commencement of our program, Maningrida had the highest incidence of rheumatic heart disease and acute rheumatic fever in Australia, if not the world,” she said.

“In 2019, we had the opportunity to get Commonwealth funds. That gave us the chance to work with the community, who were very passionate about getting action, to develop and implement a plan. We were able to get additional staff and to look at environmental issues and addressing them.”

In 2018 more than 600 school children in the community were screened for RHD and one in 20 were diagnosed with rheumatic disease. Mala’la worked closely with the local school to provide education, health screening, health promotion, secondary prophylaxis and treatment to school children and their families. This also included working with One Disease in treating scabies and providing education about skincare from a community-based approach.

Community engagement and awareness, as well as active case finding through echocardiographic screening, contributed to an increase in the number of people accessing care for RHD.

Read the story published in NIT here.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and women are being urged to listen to their bodies and react quickly to any unusual changes. Being aware of changes in your breasts can mean prompt screening and early diagnosis which, in turn, can improve treatment outcomes.

“If you’re unsure about a possible symptom, you should make an appointment to discuss the change with your doctor, clinic nurse or Aboriginal health worker as soon as possible. This is particularly important if it’s been more than four weeks since you first noticed the change.”

“Everyone’s breasts are different. It is important that you get to know what your breasts look and feel like, so you know what is normal for you. There is no right or wrong way to check your breasts.”

What to look out for

A lump or hard area in your breast or underarm, especially if it is only on one side.
Change in the look of your breast: your skin looks like the skin of an orange, your skin looks and feels different in one area, redness, or rash.
Changes to the nipple: pulled inwards, leaking, itchy or has a sore that won’t heal.
Breast pain or discomfort, especially if it is only on one side.
A change in the size, shape or feel of your breast.

To access the WA Cancer Council webpage Listen to your body this Breast Cancer Awareness Month in full click here.

The graphic below is from the Know Your Lemons Foundation website and lists the 12 symptoms of breast cancer. Dr. Corrine Ellsworth-Beaumont MFA, PhD, is the founder of the Know Your Lemons Foundation (formerly known as “Worldwide Breast Cancer”) and the designer behind Know Your Lemons, an innovative campaign teaching about the symptoms of breast cancer and the process for detection. Her groundbreaking work is creating a new paradigm of healthcare communication and has been viewed by over 1.5 billion people worldwide in 32 languages. Because the familiar, friendly lemon crosses common healthcare communication barriers of literacy, taboo and fear, #knowyourlemons is the only truly global breast cancer education campaign that works for diverse audiences regardless of age, ethnicity or gender.

Jun 14 2022

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Men’s Health, Our Way – Let’s Own It!

Men’s Health, Our Way – Let’s Own It!
Apunipima hosts Men’s Health Summit
Life expectancy improvement too slow
Qld mob to have bigger healthcare say
Funding for eating disorders research
Additional $400m NSW CTG funding
TB treatment safe during pregnancy
HESTA Excellence Awards nominations open
New process for job advertising
Save the Date – World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Image in feature tile is of Tristan who features in an Australian Government Department of Health Twitter post, saying “It’s best that we all get the 715 check.”

Men’s Health, Our Way – Let’s Own It!

Earlier this morning NACCHO released the following media release to mark Men’s Health Week 2022:

Men’s Health, Our Way – Let’s Own It!

Men’s Health Week 2022: Building Healthy Environments for Men and Boys

In the 2022 Men’s Health Week, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), draws attention to the importance of improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, across Australia.

The Aboriginal community-controlled health sector has made vast changes to outreach, education, and engagement with men, providing a wide range of preventative and early intervention, and culturally sound men’s programs that address critical social and emotional issues that some men face.

Donnella Mills, NACCHO Chair, states, ‘Our goal is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males to live longer, healthier lives and we urge them to visit their local Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services more often to discuss their health.’

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men access primary health care services at the lowest rate, compared to other Australians, and health statistics indicate they have the poorest health outcomes in Australia. Research shows there are various barriers for Aboriginal men accessing health services including, societal related issues such as, stigma and gender differences; cultural differences, including language, beliefs, and law; logistical challenges, such as distance and transportation; trust in health services, financial challenges, and individual reasons including, health understanding, previous experiences and illnesses, self-esteem, and confidence, etc.

Ms Mills said, ‘The theme of this year’s National Men’s Health Week, Building Healthy Environments for Men and Boys is about the importance of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services creating a holistic, culturally safe and engaged space for men to discuss and treat their health issues.

‘NACCHO are committed to reducing the rate of hospitalisations, which is almost three times higher than for other Australian men; and reducing suicide rates, which is one of the highest leading causes of death for Aboriginal males in this country.’

Chris Bin Kali, NACCHO Deputy Chair, said, ‘NACCHO works alongside the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector to ensure quality health services reach all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in a culturally appropriate and safe environment. Ongoing support from governments to ensure these services continue, are essential.

‘A great way to check on your overall health is with a 715 Health Check that our health services offer, and I would stress the importance to get them done regularly for our men! The 715 Health Check assesses your overall health with the aim to provide health care matched to your specific needs via early detection, diagnosis, and intervention for common, treatable conditions. It is designed to support the physical, social, and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients of all ages.’

Case study Yerin Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Health Services, NSW:

The Yerin Men’s Group sessions are a local group that partner with other Aboriginal health organisations and host a session every month touching upon various issues that support men’s business, sharing knowledge, assistance and guidance amongst each other.

The Glen Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation centre recently joined the Men’s Group session to share their personal stories and assist with information. In March, they invited Yadhaba Aboriginal Health Workers and community Elders to host a day of yarning about mental health and well-being and fishing on Country.

You can access this media release on NACCHO’s website here.

Image source: Australian Nursing & Midwifery Journal.

Apunipima hosts Men’s Health Summit

Apunipima Cape York Health Council (ACYHC) is hosting its annual Cape York Men’s Health Summit in Hope Vale this week. The event will see 120 males from all over Cape York descend on Elim Beach for a week of camping with a focus on men’s health. The theme of the week is ‘growing together as fathers, providers and protectors’ and there will be a range of activities and discussions throughout the week, focusing on men’s business with a host of talented guest speakers presenting over the whole week.

“We’re very excited about the return of the Apunipima Men’s Health Summit in 2022. We haven’t been able to hold a Men’s Summit for the last two years due to Covid, so there’s been a lot of interest in this year’s event. Our male staff are excited to be hosting so many men from across the Cape and providing a space where they can come together to talk about issues that are important to them,” said Apunipima CEO, Debra Malthouse.

Headlining the week will be one of FNQ’s funniest comedians, Sean Choolburra. The very popular former cultural dancer will address the summit with his unique blend of history, cultural knowledge and spiritual wisdom, delivered with loads of energy and plenty of cheek. Also speaking throughout the summit will be BBM Cairns’ National TalkBlack radio host Trevor Tim, former Gold Coast Titans player Davin Crompton and more including academics, athletes, motivational speakers and health industry professionals.

The event runs all week from Monday 13 to Friday 17 June, 2022.

To view the ACYHC’s media release Apunipima Hosts Men’s Health Summit in Hope Vale in full click here.

Elim Beach, 25km east of Hope Vale. Image source: ACYHC.

Life expectancy improvement too slow

The main point of an editorial from the current online issue of the Medical Journal of Australia is that while it is possible to Close the Gap, current efforts are inadequate. Life expectancy for Indigenous people is improving, but closing the gap remains unacceptably slow

Although recent boosts to funding are welcome, much more needs to be done by the Commonwealth to fill service gaps with ACCHOs and by jurisdictional governments on social determinants especially housing, justice and education. In key matters like housing, national leadership would be welcome and it may be time to reintroduce National Partnership Agreements. Despite the editorial comments referencing an NT article, it has national relevance.

You can read the editorial Life expectancy for Indigenous people is improving, but closing the gap remains unacceptably slow in full click here.

Photo: Chloe Geraghty. Image source: Amnesty International Australia website.

Qld mob to have bigger healthcare say

Indigenous Queensland communities are set to have a much bigger say on their own healthcare and housing needs, as well as how their children are educated. The state’s 26 Indigenous councils will soon start deciding how Queensland government services such as health care, housing and education are delivered.

Advisory panels will be appointed in each Indigenous community within two years to advise the government. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Partnerships Minister Craig Crawford says the move is an important step towards self-determination. “Progressing local solutions and decision-making with Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people is critical for communities to thrive,” he said yesterday. The new Local Decision Making Bodies (LDMBs) will be told how much money the government is investing in each community. Information will include details such as how much is spent on services, the amount of funding for each service contract, who is delivering the contracts, and whether they employ local people.

To view the Northern Beaches Review article Qld Indigenous to be handed more control in full click here.

Image source: Northern Beaches Review.

Funding for eating disorders research

Sydney’s first eating disorders research and translation centre is offering a nationwide grant opportunity to progress prevention, treatments and support in partnership with research, lived experience, clinical and community experts. The Australian Eating Disorders Research and Translation Centre, led by InsideOut Institute at the University of Sydney, has launched the IgnitED Fund to unearth new ideas that have the potential to solve the problem of eating disorders. IgnitED is offering grants of up to $25,000 to develop and test innovative ideas that have potential to improve outcomes for people with eating disorders and their loved ones. It is the Centre’s first funding initiative following the $13 million grant awarded in January to establish the new national centre.

According to the Centre’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Co-Lead, Leilani Darwin, First Nations Australians are believed to experience high rates of eating disorders, disordered eating and food insecurity issues. People with lived experience expertise and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are encouraged to apply for the grants. To view The University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health News article National eating disorders centre ignites research fund for new solutions in full click here.

Additional $400m NSW CTG funding

The NSW Government has announced $401 million in additional funding over four years in the 2022-23 Budget, to prioritise Closing the Gap and other projects that improve outcomes for Aboriginal people across the state. Premier Dominic Perrottet said the significant investment reflected the need for a fresh approach to meaningfully shift the dial on Closing the Gap targets.

It’s clear traditional Government-led approaches haven’t worked. This needs to be done hand-in-hand with Aboriginal communities, who know best what changes need to be made to help communities thrive, Mr Perrottet said. That’s why we’ve worked in partnership with Aboriginal stakeholders to co-design a suite of initiatives across all areas of Government to make a greater difference.

To view the media release $400 million to empower Aboriginal communities & deliver outcomes in full click here.

Image source: Canberra Times website.

TB treatment safe during pregnancy

Seven out of 10 pregnant women were cured of their multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and delivered healthy babies after taking a medication that had previously been considered unsafe in pregnancy, a new Curtin and Telethon Kids Institute study has found. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study examined the experiences of 275 pregnant women with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis living in South Africa, Peru, Brazil, Iran and Uganda.

Lead researcher Dr Kefyalew Alene, from the Curtin School of Population Health and Telethon Kids Institute, said the study had found a medication used to treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, Linezolid, was associated with favourable pregnancy outcomes and high treatment success. “This is the first comprehensive review of treatment outcomes for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in pregnant women, who remain one of the most vulnerable groups among the half a million people living with the disease globally,” Dr Alene said. Dr Alene said the study answered a challenging global issue of when to treat pregnant patients living with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

You can view the full paper Treatment Outcomes Among Pregnant Patients With Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis’ online here and the Curtin University article Study finds TB treatment during pregnancy is safe for mum and baby here.

Image source: SBS NITV website.

HESTA Excellence Awards nominations open

HESTA has opened nominations for the 2022 HESTA Excellence Awards to celebrate exceptional professionals working in disability, allied health, aged care and community services in Australia. With a $60,000 prize pool on offer, the national Awards celebrate professionals from the four sectors who are going above and beyond the everyday high-quality care they provide to achieve outstanding health outcomes for Australians.

HESTA CEO Debby Blakey said coming out of the pandemic and adapting to a ‘new normal’ has demonstrated the critical importance of these professionals to protecting and supporting our communities and our economic recovery. “Our world has changed so much these past few years and through it all, these amazing professionals adapted and innovated to continue supporting our communities, our families and our nation to keep us safe and healthy,” Ms Blakey said.

“Each year we’re privileged to find and recognise incredible people and organisations for their exceptional work. I’m very proud of the platform HESTA and these Awards provides to help share their stories and draw attention to the extensive impact these individuals have had on so many lives.” Anyone working in the four sectors – allied health, disability services, aged care or community services – and who are involved in the delivery of exceptional care or service can nominate or be nominated.

Nominations are open for both the Outstanding Organisation and Team Excellence categories. Independent judging panels comprising industry experts will select finalists and choose a winner from each sector and for each category. Nominations will close at midnight on Sunday 14 August 2022.

For more information or to submit a nomination, visit the HESTA Awards webpage here.

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.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) is commemorated each year on 15 June to highlight one of the worst manifestations of ageism and inequality in our society, elder abuse. Elder abuse is any act which causes harm to an older person and is carried out by someone they know and trust such as a family member or friend. The abuse may be physical, social, financial, psychological or sexual and can include mistreatment and neglect. In many parts of the world elder abuse occurs with little recognition or response. It is a global social issue which affects the health, well-being, independence and human rights of millions of older people around the world, and an issue which deserves the attention of all in the community.

In Australia the safety of older Aboriginal people and a better understanding of Elder abuse prevention is a clear priority as the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 55 years and over is increasing and is projected to more than double from 59,400 in 2011 to up to 130,800 in 2026. Identifying and measuring Elder abuse in Indigenous settings is challenging. The Australian Institute of Family Studies (2016) reported that mainstream conceptualisation of elder mistreatment requires reconsideration in Indigenous contexts; substantially more work and the collection of quality and consistent data is required to better understand Elder mistreatment amongst Indigenous peoples. There are no precise statistics on the prevalence of Elder abuse in the Aboriginal population in Australia and the strategies which would be effective in preventing this abuse have not been identified.

You can read more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elder abuse in the South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute report What keeps you safe: approaches to promote the safety of older Aboriginal people here. You can also access a range of resources associated with the The Queensland Government’s Together we can stop elder abuse campaign, including the video below here.

May 6 2022

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Midwife program closing infant mortality gap

Midwife program closing infant mortality gap
Helping older Australians avoid ED
Lower healthcare costs, but no PHC reform
Inquiry highlights rural NSW’s healthcare crisis
80% + Aboriginal people speak Kriol
Research Institute to tackle health inequities
People urged to get vax as flu cases rise
New process for job advertising
Save the Date – World Ovarian Cancer Day

Image if the feature tile is by Aboriginal photographer Bobbi-lee Hille, Daily Mail.

Midwife program closing infant mortality gap

When Kelsey Muhl’s midwife caught her new baby in a hospital shower it was a shared moment between two women who had built a relationship over months. “Gravity helped,” The mother of three described her latest birth as poles apart from her earlier experiences. Ms Muhl and her midwife, Storm Henry, are part of a midwifery program pairing First Nations mothers with midwives for the duration of their pregnancy, delivery and the first days of the baby’s life. About one in 10 Australian mothers opt to have a single midwife, or caseload midwife, throughout their pregnancy, but for mothers of First Nations babies that rate has historically been much lower. “We know when women have a main midwife or continuity-of-care model there’s reduced childbirth complications,” La Trobe University professor Helen McLachlan said. “Babies are less likely to get sick, mothers are less likely to need caesarean sections.”

More than 18,000 First Nations babies are born across the country each year. Those babies are at a higher risk of arriving early, being born underweight or needing special care. “Outcomes for [First Nations] mothers and babies are pretty much twice as bad as non-Aboriginal mothers and babies — double the rate of preterm birth, almost triple the rate of maternal mortality,” Professor McLachlan said. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 13% of Indigenous babies were born underweight in 2019. Reducing that number is a key target of the Closing the Gap agreement.

The culturally safe Baggarrook midwifery care program, being led by Latrobe University and the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, has now matched more than 700 women giving birth to Indigenous babies with either a First Nations midwife or one who has been through cultural awareness training. “We’ve gone from 5% of Aboriginal women receiving access to this gold-standard model of care to over 90% of Aboriginal women presenting at one of the three hospitals participating,” Professor McLachlan said.

To view the ABC News article Aboriginal midwife program works to close the gap in infant mortality and birth complications in full click here.

Kelsey Muhl enlisted a midwife from a First Nations program to help deliver her daughter Emilia. Photo: Nicole Asher, ABC News.

Helping older Australians avoid ED

Improving the care of older Australians in a bid to help them avoid hospital emergency departments will be the focus of a new project that federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says has been awarded funding from the Medical Research Future Fund. Led by Flinders University in partnership with SA Health’s Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN) and the SA Ambulance Service, the research will engage patients and the medical community to find the best way forward for treating older Australians, who make up almost a quarter of all ED visits. “Emergency departments across Australia are often overwhelmed by the high demand from our growing ageing population but nearly half of the visits are potentially preventable,” says Flinders University’s Associate Professor Craig Whitehead, Director of Rehabilitation, Aged, and Palliative Care at SAHLN and the project’s Chief Investigator.

The project will also explore what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers look for in emergency care, as well as seek to understand the barriers they face, with the team including two Aboriginal researchers – Associate Professor Tamara Mackean and Shane D’Angelo – from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Public Health group in Flinders University’s College of Medicine and Public Health. They bring both public health and Indigenous health research experience and will engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through yarning circles. “This is an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander worldviews and experiences to be incorporated into the conduct of the research from the beginning,” said Associate Professor Mackean.

To view the Flinders University article Helping older Australians avoid ED click here.

Image source: Flinders University News webpage.

Lower healthcare costs, but no PHC reform

The Consumers Health Forum (CHF) welcomes recent announcements from both major parties that the cost of prescriptions will be eased by reducing the PBS co-payment. In addition, both parties have committed to raising the threshold for access to the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC). CHF CEO, Leanne Wells, said that these two measures will help to bring down costs for people on fixed incomes in the face of rising inflation pressures. “Commitments to lower the cost of prescriptions if either side wins the election will be a much needed saving for health care consumers. When medicines become unaffordable, the costs to the nation’s healthcare system becomes more burdensome, as people are missing essential treatment,” said Ms Wells.

“However, we remind both parties that there are many others in the community such as young people, those who have had their NDIS packages cut, and people living in poverty on Jobseeker for whom access to affordable healthcare is dire. Measures to support their capacity to access healthcare are sorely needed. CHF would like see more health care affordability measures directed to people on low incomes, who need it most,” she said. “We are acutely aware that many families in Australia will be forgoing items in the household budget to make ends meet,” said Ms Wells, “but affordability and access to healthcare goes beyond the cost of medicines.”

To view the CHF media release Parties promise to reduce costs but what about health care reform? in full click here.

Image source: The Conversation.

Inquiry highlights rural NSW’s health crisis

The NSW government has been handed a scathing report finding the rural health system is “in crisis and is failing residents of rural, regional and remote areas”. A cross-party committee has made 44 recommendations, following hundreds of hours of evidence held across NSW, to try to overhaul the system. What was found was people living outside of the city have “significantly poorer health outcomes, greater incidents of chronic disease, and greater premature deaths”.

To address “historic failures” by both levels of government to fix workforce shortages, particularly in relation to doctors and nurses, it put forward a range of sweeping changes. They include the state government collaborating with the Commonwealth on a 10-year workforce strategy, a single employer model for GPs, and for the committee to hold another inquiry in two years’ time to see if the changes have been implemented.

You can view the ABC News article Inquiry into rural, regional and remote healthcare hands down findings to NSW government in full here.

The AMA (NSW) has welcomed the final report from the NSW parliamentary inquiry into health outcomes and access to health and hospital services in rural, regional, and remote New South Wales, but says achieving the report’s recommendations will not be feasible unless Governments make a meaningful funding commitment to improving health. “The report underscores the paucity of investment made into rural health to date and the absolute necessity to rethink current funding arrangements,” said AMA (NSW) President, Dr Danielle McMullen. “The

To view the AMA’s media release Rural health inquiry highlights desperate need for more funding, AMA (NSW) says in full click here.

Image source: Careers Connections.

80% + Aboriginal people speak Kriol

Sylvia Tkac was born to be an Aboriginal interpreter but fell into the profession quite by accident. “My grandmother was an interpreter,” Ms Tkac said. “She said to me, ‘I need another interpreter, are you interested in interpreting?’ “I did it for the first time and I thought, ‘Gee I’m fluent’, because I spoke it as a child.” Kriol interpreter services are still used regularly across Australia. Interpreters hold an important role in communities for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. “A Kriol interpreter is needed in the local courts,” Ms Tkac said. “Darwin use them, (as well as) Katherine and Alice Springs — they’re also used in the Supreme Court and in hospitals as well.”

Ms Tkac is an Anindilyakwa Interpreter from the Groote Eylandt archipelago and is based in Darwin with the Aboriginal Interpreter Service. She interprets for a wide range of service providers in topics such as health, education, and law at the Local, Supreme and Children’s courts. The service collaborates on recordings with other agencies and mining companies, and produces a range of aids and resources, including DVDs, animations, driving apps and video interpreting. The service is vital to the 80% of Aboriginal people in Australia who speak Aboriginal English or Kriol, which has been recognised as a language since the 1970s.

To view the ABC News article More than 80% of Aboriginal people speak Kriol — why is it still widely misunderstood? in full click here.

Research Institute to tackle health inequities

Charles Sturt University’s new Rural and Regional Health Research Institute will work with communities to address the local burden of disease in lower socio-economic communities within rural, regional, and remote areas. Professor of Medicine and Executive Director of the Institute, Professor Allen Ross is applying his extensive international experience in rural and remote health to establish an organisation that delivers regional, national, and international impact. The Institute received $18 million over five years from the Australian Government to develop a world-class rural health and medical research facility that will support the needs of rural communities in Australia and beyond.

The Institute will focus on conducting research that:

addresses First Nations people’s health inequities
improves the experience of ageing and aged care in rural communities
improves child development health outcomes
promotes consumer-driven rural health research
boosts clinical research capability and
enables research to improve health and medical service delivery in regional cities, rural towns, and remote communities.

Professor Ross said “We will work with community leaders, such as the local Aboriginal Medical Services, to identify chronic health issues of the highest priority.”

To view the Charles Sturt University article Rural and Regional Health Research Institute, a world-class facility to tackle health inequalities in full click here.

Image source: Charles Sturt University.

People urged to get vax as flu cases rise

Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Sonya Bennett, and Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Professor Alison McMillan, say with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s winter season will likely see both an increase in transmission of the coronavirus and, for the first time since 2019, a resurgence in influenza. Given this, it is important that people, particularly those in at-risk population groups, maximise their protection against both viruses by being vaccinated – and continue to practise all of the safe hygiene measures we have become accustomed to throughout the pandemic. Both influenza and COVID-19 are highly contagious viral infections that can lead to serious illness, hospitalisation or even death. Everyone 6 months and older is recommended to get a flu vaccine each year.

To read the Dr Bennett and Professor McMillan’s media release in full click here.

In a related media release NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said flu is circulating widely in the community for the first time in two years, coinciding with ongoing high levels of transmission of COVID-19. “It is crucial everyone gets vaccinated against flu to not only protect themselves, but their colleagues and loved ones against serious illness or worse,” Mr Hazzard said. “Whilst we know there is vaccination fatigue, I urge the more vulnerable members of our community to book in for a flu jab with their GP or pharmacist as soon as possible. The elderly, pregnant women, children aged under five years, Aboriginal people and those with serious health conditions can get a free flu shot now, so please book in.”

To read Minister Hazzard’s media release in full click here.

Image source: The Department of Health website.

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.

World Ovarian Cancer Day

World Ovarian Cancer Day was stablished in 2013 by a group of leaders from ovarian cancer advocacy organisations around the world. May 8 – World Ovarian Cancer Day, is the one day of the year we globally raise our voices in solidarity in the fight against ovarian cancer.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are 1.4 times as likely to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer as non-Indigenous Australians, are 0.9 times as likely to die and have only a 45% change of surviving for five years. You can access the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report containing these figures about ovarian cancer in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here.

For more information about World Ovarian Cancer Day click here.

Apr 5 2022

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: NACCHO selected to drive home care workforce

NACCHO selected to drive home care workforce
Dementia rates show racism’s lifelong impact
ACCHO model lauded by CHF
Gap widens for children in early years
AKction project transforms kidney care
Tom Calma delivers Basil Hetzel Oration
Nominate for national eye health awards
New process for job advertising
Save the Date – Indigenous Eye Health Conference

Image in feature tile from IRT Group article Booraja Home Care Secures Funding Through End of June, 3 February 2020.

NACCHO selected to drive home care workforce

NACCHO is one of six organisations selected by the federal government to drive the growth of the Australia’s home care workforce by 13,000 over the next two years, and support more senior Australians to access Home Care Packages and remain independent at home. More than $91 million under the Home Care Workforce Support Program has been allocated to organisations in each state and territory, and to the NACCHO.

Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, said all home care providers can work with these organisations to grow and upskill their workforce. “The Home Care Workforce Support Program will help senior Australians to remain at home by growing the personal care workforce. This will allow people to access home care services where and when they need them,” Minister Hunt said.

To view Minister Hunt’s media release in full click here.

Booraja project manager Bunja Smith helps Veronica Holmes tidy the front yard of her Moruya home. Photo: Rhett Wyman. Image source: SMH.

Dementia rates show racism’s lifelong impact

In his article Dementia Rates of Indigenous Australians show the lifelong impact of racism Nick Keppler argues “The collective trauma of Australia’s Indigenous population may have begat one of the highest dementia rates in the world.” Mr Keppler said “A new study published last month in Neurology, that found the prevalence of dementia in a group of Indigenous Australians living in urban areas was double that of non-Indigenous Australians, echos the findings of a growing body of research.”

Mr Keppler continued “Several health problems and unfortunate life circumstances increase one’s risk of dementia, and many of them are heaped disproportionately onto marginalised and persecuted groups. To look at dementia among Australia’s First Nations population is to look at how the effects of colonialism, racism, and inequity pile up in the brain over a lifetime.”

To view the Inverse article in full click here.

Bidyadanga residents with dementia supported by workers L-R Angelina Nanudie, Zarena Richards, Rosie Spencer and Faye Dean

Bidyadanga residents with dementia are supported by workers at the community care centre. From left: Angelina Nanudie, Zarena Richards, Rosie Spencer and Faye Dean. Photo: Erin Parke. ABC Kimberley. Image source: ABC News website.

ACCHO model lauded by CHF

The Consumers Health Forum (CHF) has welcomed the recommendations in the Community Affairs References Committee’s interim report into the provision of general practitioner and related primary health care services to outer metropolitan, rural and regional Australia. CHF CEO, Leanne Wells said that the report focuses on some of the major issues encountered by regional health consumers, who “have very different experiences accessing primary health care than do people living in cities.”

Ms Wells was disappointed however that the report made no mention of the more systemic reforms to primary care, such as a connected system of primary care, integrating general practice with other health services. “Incorporating new models of care which have already been tested with great success in location-based, or state-based initiatives would be a huge step forward in changing the infrastructure needed to support general practice,” said Ms Wells.

There are existing models of care already demonstrating system reform, such as ACCHOs which operate clinics across Australia delivering holistic community-based is health care services for First Nations people, as well as some state-based models offering community-based medical services.

To view the CHF media release in full click here.

Image source: Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation, NSW website.

Gap widens for children in early years

SNAICC have issued a media release saying it is critical that Governments act now to better support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children if there is to be progress on closing the gap. For the second time in a week new data shows the gap is widening in critical areas relating to young people. The Australian Early Development Census National Report released yesterday shows there has been a decrease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child development overall across key measures (domains). SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle said the declines highlighted the importance of Governments acting on the solutions put forward by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled early childhood services.

To view SNAICC’s media release in full click here.

Image source: National Indigenous Australians Agency website.

AKction project transforms kidney health

In 2018, a funding cut put an end to a free shuttle bus that took Aboriginal patients in Adelaide to and from the dialysis treatments. Nari Sinclair, a Ngarrindjeri and Yorta Yorta woman, was furious about the implications, for herself and others. Reliant on a wheelchair because both her legs have been amputated, Nari is unable to drive, catch public transport or take a standard taxi, and face significant inconvenience and costs as a result of the funding cut. She knew of other kidney patients who were also hit hard.

Determined to fight the decision, Nari joined forces with Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara Elder Inawinytji (Ina) Williamson, a renowned artist who was forced more than a decade ago to move to Adelaide, away from Country, family and friends, for dialysis treatment that cannot be access in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.

They got together for a yarn about how the complex clinical, cultural and social determinants impact Aboriginal people, families and communities affected by chronic kidney disease. Nari and Ina then met with Kidney Health Australia and University Adelaide researcher Dr Janet Kelly, who was working with kidney health professionals on a project to improve the quality and cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s healthcare journeys, particularly for those from remote communities. “And it’s gone from there,” Nari sad of how she, Ina and Janet worked with others to launch what would become the landmark Aboriginal Kidney Care Together – Improving Outcomes Now (AKction) project. It is transforming kidney health research and care.

To view the Croakey Health Media article in full click here.

From back L: Amy Graham, Dr Kim O’Donnell, Kelli Owen, Ina Williamson. Image source: Croakey Health Media.

Tom Calma presents Basil Hetzel Oration

A transcript of the 2021 Basil Hetzel Oration delivered by Professor Tom Calma AO was published in the 2022 Online Australian and NZ Journal of Public Health last week. In his oration Professor Calma specifically addressed the crises of COVID-19, racism, mental health and smoking. Below are two extracts for the oration:

“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges and opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are at increased risk from COVID-19 given the higher prevalence of health risk factors amongst our populations, implicated with coloniality and systemic racism. However, the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders has meant that we have taken the pandemic seriously from the outset. In bringing prevention measures to communities, Indigenous skill and excellence have been highlighted. We must use this momentum to address ongoing issues among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples brought through colonisation, systemic racism and associated health inequalities.”

“We have known for over 60 years that, when used as directed, tobacco will kill you. Colonisation introduced and continues to support tobacco use. Tobacco was often used in first encounters between colonisers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as a gesture of goodwill and to establish and build relationships. It was also used as a form of payment in lieu of wages until the mid to late 1960s. This entrenched smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Colonisation has also actively placed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder – an outcome that has impacted over generations through mechanics of colonisation that have actively excluded us from the education system and the economy. Socioeconomic status is strongly linked to smoking, and other health and wellbeing outcomes, in an unjust, perpetual and predacious cycle.”

To view Tom Calma’s oration in full click here.

Professor Tom Calma AO. Image source: The Guardian.

Nominate for eye health awards

Nominations are invited for the 2022 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Eye Health Awards. The awards – formerly known as the Leaky Pipe Awards – recognise achievements and contributions in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health.

Nominations are open in the following categories:

Contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health by Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHO)
Contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health (Individual)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in eye health
Allyship in contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health

‘Unsung heroes’ in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health are particularly sought.

Click here to find out more. Nominations must be received before close of business on Friday 22 April 2022.

Kristopher Rallah-Baker has become Australia’s first Indigenous ophthalmologist. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

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.

Indigenous Eye Health Conference

The 2022 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Eye Health Conference (NATSIEHC22) will take place on Larrakia country in Darwin from 22-24 May 2022. Presented by Indigenous Eye Health (IEH), the NATSIEHC22 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.

Key note speakers at this conferences are: Jaki Adams, Thomas Mayor and Nicole Turner. 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.

To find out more about the conference and key note speakers click here and/or register to attend here.

NACCHO Aboriginal Health News Alerts

The national authority in Aboriginal primary health care – Aboriginal health in Aboriginal hands

Category Close the Gap

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: How will the Voice help close the gap?

How will the Voice close the gap?

Anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations

$242m for second CTG Implementation Plan

Needs cannot be met without Indigenous voices

Sector Jobs

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Our Mob and Cancer website launched

Our Mob and Cancer website launched

Health students get a taste of rural life

Indigenous Doctor of the Year 2022

Close the Gap September 2022 newsletter

Benefits of early mental health interventions

ACCHO recipients of oral health grants

SWAMS develops syphilis awareness video

Sector Jobs

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Bowel screening test kits for ACCHOs

Bowel Cancer screening test kits for ACCHOs

Lack of telecommunications creates divide

Improving newborn outcomes

Mob encouraged to slow COVID-19 spread

Baabayn Mums and Bubs Group initiative

Advocacy for Bathurst mental health facility

Mala’la Health Service turning its health crisis on heart disease around

Sector Jobs

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

What to look out for

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Men’s Health, Our Way – Let’s Own It!

Men’s Health, Our Way – Let’s Own It!

Apunipima hosts Men’s Health Summit

Life expectancy improvement too slow

Qld mob to have bigger healthcare say

Funding for eating disorders research

Additional $400m NSW CTG funding

TB treatment safe during pregnancy

HESTA Excellence Awards nominations open

New process for job advertising

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

2023 CTG report calls for greater and faster change

Early Years Strategy must focus on equity and justice

First podcast for mob with disabilities

Culture + Kinship program has positive outcomes

Scholarship helps Palm Is AHW realise dream

Pioneering Cape ear health program gaining traction

Sector Jobs

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Genuine engagement needed over consultation

$32m+ for First Nations health research projects

Program to help teens get a good night’s sleep

Conference to examine rural health challenges

Scholarship opportunities for First Nations nurses

Sector Jobs

National Close the Gap Day

Share this:

International Women’s Day 2023

NACCHO delegation to Timor-Leste

ACCHO worker makes inspirational women list

Prison healthcare should match community standards

NACCHO provides quality use of medicines program for mob

Data shows gap closing too slowly

Ambassador for First Nations People appointed

Sector Jobs

Share this:

NIAA adopts new ‘Closing the Gap’ targets

Mob need to co-design diabetes remission strategies

New network for GPs in areas of poverty

New report celebrates CATSINaM’s achievements

Sector Jobs

Share this:

How will the Voice close the gap?

Anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations

$242m for second CTG Implementation Plan

Needs cannot be met without Indigenous voices

Sector Jobs

Share this:

Our Mob and Cancer website launched

Health students get a taste of rural life

Indigenous Doctor of the Year 2022

Close the Gap September 2022 newsletter

Benefits of early mental health interventions

ACCHO recipients of oral health grants

SWAMS develops syphilis awareness video

Sector Jobs

Share this:

Bowel Cancer screening test kits for ACCHOs

Lack of telecommunications creates divide

Improving newborn outcomes

Mob encouraged to slow COVID-19 spread

Baabayn Mums and Bubs Group initiative

Advocacy for Bathurst mental health facility

Mala’la Health Service turning its health crisis on heart disease around

Sector Jobs

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

What to look out for

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Men’s Health, Our Way – Let’s Own It!

Apunipima hosts Men’s Health Summit

Life expectancy improvement too slow

Qld mob to have bigger healthcare say

Funding for eating disorders research

Additional $400m NSW CTG funding

TB treatment safe during pregnancy

HESTA Excellence Awards nominations open

New process for job advertising

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

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Midwife program closing infant mortality gap

Helping older Australians avoid ED

Lower healthcare costs, but no PHC reform

Inquiry highlights rural NSW’s health crisis

80% + Aboriginal people speak Kriol

Research Institute to tackle health inequities

People urged to get vax as flu cases rise

New process for job advertising

World Ovarian Cancer Day

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NACCHO selected to drive home care workforce

Dementia rates show racism’s lifelong impact