Category Cultural safety

1 May 2024

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.

Indigenous mums taking measures into own hands

Aboriginal mothers and their babies have higher death rates and poorer health outcomes than non-Indigenous Australians. New community-led services are trying to change that. Edie recently gave birth to her fourth child. After the birth she took her placenta with her from hospital and buried it close to where she was born. It is something Edie has done with each of her three children. The placenta, she says, is a baby’s first home, so it is buried “on Country” to identify that place as the baby’s home. It gives the newborns their first connection to the generations of ancestors that came before then and the land they inhabit.

The 35-year-old from Brisbane, Qld, is one of a growing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who are turning to a movement known as “Birthing on Country” as an alternative to standard maternal services offered by the Australian healthcare system. It is a concept that aims to better meet the needs of Indigenous Australian mothers and their babies. “Birthing on Country connects what we know as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the modern world to what our ancestors did,” says Yvette Roe, a professor of Indigenous health at Charles Darwin University.

Roe, a proud Njikena Jawuru woman herself, is one of the co-directors of the Molly Wardaguga Research Centre at Charles Darwin University’s Qld campus, alongside Sue Kildea, a professor of midwifery. They are at the forefront of research, implementation and collaboration with Indigenous and non-Indigenous health and maternal services. The organisation, established in 2019, was born out of a growing recognition that standard maternal care in Australia was failing to meet the needs of Indigenous women. “The principle of Birthing on Country is that it is baby and woman-centred, rather than seeing birthing through a biomedical model where it is often just a transaction between a mother and a clinician,” says Roe.

To view the BBC article Indigenous mothers are being ‘failed’ in Australia – so they are taking measures into their own hands in full click here.

drawing of ATSI baby held by roots of tree with a border of wattle

Credit Emmanuel Lafont/BBC. Image source: BBC website.

Data underscores rural health investment urgency

A new update released yesterday (30 April 2024) from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows that people living in very remote areas were hospitalised at almost twice the rate compared to major cities. Data also shows that access to General Practitioner visits was lowest in remote and very remote communities. “Such appalling disparities should be rectified with targeted investment and innovative approaches. Your postcode should not determine your access to health care,” said National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) Chairperson, Nicole O’Reilly.

According to the AIHW analysis of data from the 2022 Australian Bureau of Statistics National Health Survey, health risks due to alcohol and smoking as well as arthritis, mental health issues and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are some of the significant health concerns that take a toll on rural communities. “We need high quality, culturally safe primary healthcare in rural areas, especially for prevention and management of health and behavioural risk factors and chronic conditions. This would significantly reduce the reliance on the acute hospital sector and rectify enduring disparities in health outcomes,” said Ms O’Reilly.

“The annual health underspend in rural Australian areas is a whopping $6.55 billion which equates to about $850 less spent on health per person per year. It shows that our rural communities are treated as second-class citizens when it comes to health care. The government, therefore, needs to invest in place-based models of care which meet local needs and recognise that funding models that work in the city do not work where markets are thin or failing. The Alliance has proposed a model of care and funding – Primary care Rural Integrated Multidisciplinary Health Services (PRIM-HS) which would be a solution for many rural communities.,” said Ms O’Reilly.

To view the National Rural Health Alliance media release AIHW data reinforces the need for targeted investment in rural health in full click here.

aerial view of remote outback town

Image source: RACGP newsGP article ‘The tyranny of distance’: rural health inequities persist published on 15 December 2023.

Murder of Indigenous women a national crisis

PM Anthony Albanese is discussing the topic of gendered violence, which he describes as a national crisis, with state and territory leaders today.  The latest Homicide in Australia report shows a rise in the number of women murdered by current or former partners. The number of women killed by intimate partners rose by 28% in the 2022/23 financial year with 89% of all intimate partner homicide victims being women, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology report.

Mr Albanese said previous statistics from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) also painted an alarming picture of the murder rate for Indigenous women. “This is a national crisis, and for Indigenous women, they’re 7.6 times more likely to die from homicide, to be killed, than non-Indigenous women,” he told ABC Radio yesterday. “(Preventing violence against women) requires a whole of government and whole of society, including the media and others, to be engaged.”

Updated figures from the Homicides in Australia report showed the homicide rate for Indigenous women was 3.07 per 100,000 people, compared to 0.45 for non-Indigenous women. The PM said national cabinet discussions will focus on solutions to prevent violence against women. The meeting will examine measures to strengthen prevention and focus on online harms, including countering violent and misogynistic content. Further opportunities for states and the Commonwealth to share information about high-risk perpetrators and serial offenders will also be examined.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Murder of Indigenous women a national crisis: PM in full click here.

rally re: violence against women

Indigenous women are far more likely to be murdered than non-Indigenous women. Photo: Steven Markham/AAP. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

PM says $20m investment ‘making a difference’

PM Anthony Albanese says the purpose of his trip to Alice Springs this week has been to “listen to local people” and determine whether the federal government’s $250m support package for Central Australia has seen positive outcomes. The four-year support package, announced by the Commonwealth after the PM’s last visit to the town in January 2023, includes $40m for on-country learning and $23.5m to improve First Nations health outcomes.

Mr Albanese claimed an increase in school engagement across the Central Australia was due to the recent federal funding boost. “Improved school retention is a pretty good start,” he said. “Enrolments in remote government schools are increasing and the number of children who haven’t been attending schools for 20 consecutive days has gone down and there’s also very early signs that attendance is up right across Central Australia. “The investment is making a difference.”

Michelle Ayres, the Australian Education Union’s NT branch president, said it was too early to tell if the funding boost had meaningfully contributed to improving school attendance. However Ms Ayres said she had received positive feedback from principals in Central Australia whose teachers have benefited from the additional funding. Mr Albanese said Centralian Senior College had used the new funding to support some of its “most disengaged” students, with a marked attendance increase for those taking part in the program. “Attendance is up 37%, a remarkable figure in a short period of time,” he said. Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said “education is the absolute key to turning around the lives and the life outcomes for all students in this region”. But the PM conceded long-term change would take time. “You don’t solve intergenerational disadvantage overnight,” he said.

To view the ABC News article Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Alice Springs, says $20m investment is ‘making a difference’ in full click here.

PM Albanese taking selfie with students of Centralian Senior College

Mr Albanese says attendance rates in Centralian Senior College have improved because of the funding. Lee Robinson. ABC News.

Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale online module

NACCHO has a new online elearning module Perinatal Mental Health Screening and Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women using the Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale for members and non-members.

This module provides a detailed description of how to perform a routine psychosocial assessment with Aboriginal clients using the Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale. It also explains pathways for follow-up and referral, and the importance of psychosocial care.

Those who complete the module should be able to:

  • Understand the unique context of Aboriginal perinatal mental health.
  • Understand approaches to screening that are acceptable for Aboriginal women.
  • Use the KMMS to perform a routine psychosocial assessment for Aboriginal women during pregnancy and in the first year post birth.
  • Understand pathways for follow-up and referral for women at risk of perinatal mental health conditions.
  • Describe psychosocial supports that may be useful for clients with risk factors and/or mild symptoms of a perinatal mental health condition.

You can access details about the module on the NACCHO website here and enrol here.

Rural Clinical School of WA Research Fellow Erica Spry with the KMMS online training program on her laptop

Rural Clinical School of WA Research Fellow Erica Spry with the KMMS online training program for healthcare professionals. Image source: NRHA Partyline online magazine.

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.

World Maternal Mental Health Day

World Maternal Mental Health Day draws attention to essential mental health concerns for mothers and families. Life changes around pregnancy make women more vulnerable to mental illness. The negative cycle of poverty and mental illness impact on a woman’s ability to function and thrive. This may also directly affect her foetus or child, with long-lasting physical, cognitive and emotional outcomes.

Mental health care provides the necessary support to empower women to identify resources and personal capabilities. This can enhance their resilience to difficult life circumstances and support them to nurture their children optimally. Caring for mothers is a positive intervention for long-term social development.

You can find more information on the World Maternal Mental Health Day – 1 May 2024 website here.

World Maternal Mental Health Day 2024 tile - map of world with yellow dots for global partners

Image source: World Maternal Mental Health Day Facebook page.

Free, specialised governance workshops for ACCHOs will be delivered in multiple locations across the country during 2024 and 2025. 

Registrations are open now for Perth: 16-17 April 2024. 

The program is delivered by legal experts and covers:  

  • Delegation of powers 
  • Finance for Boards
  • Governance documents
  • Managing conflicts of interest 
  • Managing risk  
  • Principles of good governance  
  • Structure and role of boards and sub-committees 

To register, go here.

For more information, please contact NACCHO using this email link.

4 April 2024

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.

Community Dialysis Unit Expression of Interest information webinar

The Community Dialysis Unit Expression of Interest information webinar, hosted by NACCHO and the Department of Health and Aged Care on March 18 focused on improving access to dialysis treatments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote communities. During this information session, the presenters discussed the significant investment under the Better Renal Services for First Nations Peoples measure towards the establishment of up to 30 four-chair dialysis units, and the community expression of interest process that has been developed to support communities to self-report information to help identify locations that will be considered to receive a dialysis unit.

To learn more, go here.

Aboriginal Chronic Conditions Conference

The Aboriginal Chronic Conditions Conference, hosted by The Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AH&MRC) and the Aboriginal Chronic Conditions Network is underway, focusing on promoting innovations in Aboriginal Chronic Care that are culturally responsive and aligned with Closing the Gap Priority Reform Areas. From strategic partnerships to cultural healing, the conference delves into key topics that impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

This includes:

  • Strategic partnerships that strengthen Aboriginal leadership and shared decision making.
  • Building community control capability as guided by community control.
  • Success and key learnings in the design and delivery of programs and services.
  • Leading initiatives for shared access to data and information at a regional level.
  • Pathways to Aboriginal employment and procurement for Aboriginal business.
  • Aboriginal culture as the core element to healing and wellbeing for Aboriginal peoples.

To learn more, go here.

Brittney Finch and Dr Shannon Lin on Empowering Diabetes Care: A Model of Holistic Approach with Continuous Glucose Monitoring at Illawarra AMS. Image source: AH&MRC.

Working alongside ACCHOs to support social and emotional wellbeing

The Emerging Minds, Positive partnerships: Working alongside Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing fact sheet is a resource designed to support non-Indigenous practitioners who work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, parents, and families. While it is suitable for all practitioners, it may be especially helpful in building the cultural competency of psychologists and other mental health professionals.

The fact sheet covers background on ACCHOs and the key role they play in offering culturally secure and empowered ways of working with their communities. It also covers holistic Aboriginal concepts of health, mental health, and wellbeing:

“They account for the social, cultural, and political determinants of health at the individual, family, and community level, and are often referred to as ‘social and emotional wellbeing.

“Working in culturally secure and strengths-based ways with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and their families is optimised by an understanding of Aboriginal concepts of health and wellbeing and partnerships with Aboriginal Community Controlled health services.”

To read the full fact sheet, go here.  

Positive partnerships: Working alongside Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing fact sheet.

Martu people set out new vision for climate-appropriate housing

Martu people living in remote communities in the Western Desert have set out a new vision for climate-appropriate housing and community infrastructure. As rising temperatures put even more stress on remote communities, extreme weather will force people out of homes that are too hot, leading to overcrowding when other family members take them in. Having languished in poor and increasingly overheated housing, Martu are taking matters into their own hands. Working with their land council, Jamukurnu-Yapalikurnu Aboriginal Corporation (JYAC), they have developed their own plans for housing and community infrastructure.

The Martu Community Co-Design Process – a partnership between Martu, JYAC and The Fulcrum Agency and funded by the WA Government – determined a realistic plan for sustainable, culturally appropriate housing that will accommodate future growth. Communities talked for several years about their histories and ambitions for the future, and the result is a holistic review of the three on-country Martu communities of Parnngurr, Punmu and Kunawarritji. Past attempts to improve housing have been narrow and short-term responses. New houses are delivered without proper engagement or family decision-making.

Planned maintenance, critically necessary in this harsh environment, has not been carried out in a systemic and sustained way. For example, positioning for optimal solar performance would mean designing new houses that face north to capture airflow and natural light. While this is true in most urban settings, it can cause problems in communities where cultural protocol determines how you occupy space. Applying general standards without community engagement can result in poor outcomes for culture, with unwanted or taboo views towards ngurra or neighbours. Any new housing and community plan needs to address these mistakes. It is not simply about materials, orientation, or speed of delivery – they must have regard for culture, family, and community sustainability.

Read the full National Indigenous Times article here.

Image source: National Indigenous Times.

New InGeNA Consumer Advisory Group

InGeNA (the industry association for organisations (for profit and not for profit) working in the genomics field) have formed a Consumer Advisory Group (CAG). Monica Ferrie, CEO of The Genetic Support Network of Victoria has agreed to be Chair. The purpose of the Consumer Advisory Group (CAG) is to provide an independent voice to the InGeNA Board that promotes genomics and the advancement of precision medicine that is respectful and responsive to the preferences, needs and values of consumers and partners and advise the InGeNA Board and members in areas of strategy, advocacy, education and communication, and policy development.

Members will bring a cross section of attributes and experience in the following areas:

  • cultural including First Nations and CALD
  • geographical spread, across Australia and metro/regional
  • age groups
  • gender
  • lived and living experience across a range of disease groups (rare, chronic and cancers), of different types of prediction, prevention, diagnostics, treatment and management, and at different stages of the health/wellbeing journey
  • professional experience and/or qualifications in genomics and/or healthcare

Participants will have the opportunity to influence industry policy positions and how industry engages with consumers, connect with peers and learn about issues and challenges different consumers face, explore issues collaboratively, and potentially engage with members or partners on research projects or in consumer consultation activities.

At this stage these roles are unpaid (InGeNA Board roles are also voluntary), however consideration may be given to payment in the future as InGeNA grows. If you are interested in being involved and would like to find out more information, please email the Chair, Kathy Campbell, chair@ingena.org.au

Image source: Shutterstock.

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.

Auditory Processing Disorder Awareness Day – 4 April 2024

Auditory processing disorder (APD) Awareness Day is held on 4 April each year to highlight the effects and challenges associated with living with auditory processing disorders.

APD, also called central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), is a problem with the way your hearing and brain work together to understand sound. Children with APD might have normal hearing, but have difficulty recognising and interpreting the sounds they hear. They might also be unusually sensitive to sounds. These difficulties make it hard for children with APD to work out what a sound is, where the sound came from and when the sound happened. And this means it can be hard for children with APD to listen properly when there’s background noise or the sound is muffled. As a result, APD can affect children’s learning, language and reading.

APD can be hard to diagnose. That’s because the difficulties it causes can look like the signs of deafness or hearing loss, intellectual disability, a language problem, a learning difficulty, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

It’s estimated that APD affects around 2-5% of school-age children.

With the right intervention and support, children with APD can improve their ability to listen in the classroom and other noisy environments. In some cases, intervention can improve listening ability to a typical level. Treatment for APD is tailored to each child.

You can find more information about auditory processing disorder on the Australian parenting website Raising Children here.

Image source: Lumiere Children’s Therapy website.

Free, specialised governance workshops for ACCHOs will be delivered in multiple locations across the country during 2024 and 2025. 

Registrations are open now for Perth: 16-17 April 2024. 

The program is delivered by legal experts and covers:  

  • Delegation of powers 
  • Finance for Boards
  • Governance documents
  • Managing conflicts of interest 
  • Managing risk  
  • Principles of good governance  
  • Structure and role of boards and sub-committees 

To register, go here.

For more information, please contact NACCHO using this email link.

19 March 2024

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.

Locking up children is not the answer

President of the NSW Bar Association, Dr Ruth Higgins SC says the NSW government’s proposed Bail and Crimes Amendment Bill 2024 (NSW), which will apply specifically and only to children, would, if enacted, represent a troubling turn in the criminal law of the state, making it potentially more difficult for a child aged between 14 and 18 to be released from custody than it would be for an adult charged with the same offence. Juvenile incarceration disproportionately affects Indigenous children. In 2022, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that Indigenous young people aged 10 to 17 were 18 times more likely than non-Indigenous young people to be in detention.

Children who commit offences bear responsibility for their actions. However, their level of dependency and immaturity should guide the state’s response. Wherever possible, it is desirable to allow the education and development of a child to proceed without interruption. These ideas are orthodox, and are enshrined in principles governing criminal proceedings involving children. None of this is to deny that criminal offences committed by children can be extremely serious, however, the children who commit these offences almost universally lack functional support and a stable home life. Some grow up in a family environment where crime, violence, and substance abuse are endemic due to complex intergenerational disadvantage.

Juvenile offending is a complex social phenomenon, not amenable to quick fixes. It is well-documented that juvenile offending is produced by a range of socioeconomic factors including poor education, lack of opportunities, intergenerational poverty, and persistent social deprivation. The remoteness of regional areas can exacerbate this. The government’s proposed laws are likely to aggravate these root causes and make our communities, especially our regional communities, less safe.

That may seem counterintuitive. But research indicates that incarceration at an early age is more likely to lead to a higher incidence of criminal behaviour later in life. In 2022, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research found that 64.4%t of young people released from detention in 2017 were convicted of another offence within 12 months. Yet, only 44.3% of young people who were convicted and received a noncustodial sentence were re-convicted over the same period.

To view The Age article Locking up children is not the answer, Premier Minns in full click here.

male youth with basketball under arm & hand gripping prison bars

Banksia Hill is one of the most notorious juvenile detention centres in Australia. Image: Fairfax Media. Image source: WAtoday.

TAMS submits $18m medical centre plans

New plans reveal the future construction of an $18m medical centre in South Tamworth. Tamworth Aboriginal Medical Service (TAMS) has lodged a statement of environmental effects (SEE), with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. The SEE report details the development of a 1.60-hectare lot into one of the regional City’s largest medical centres. If approved, the centre would be made up of three main buildings: a medical service, a wellbeing centre, and allied health services.

TAMS would operate the medical services building, which would consist of 39 consulting rooms, a small pharmacy, treatment, pathology, physiotherapy, and more, as well as the wellbeing building, which would be used for the general physical and mental health of community members. This includes spaces dedicated for fitness classes, group therapy for all ages, wakes, meetings, and more. In the allied health services building, one section would be operated by TAMS as a dental surgery, and the remaining two sections would be available to lease for other healthcare services. The centre would also offer different community areas, such as a reflection space, an outdoor gathering/performance area, and a yarning circle.

The aim of the new centre would be to provide culturally appropriate preventative primary healthcare services for Tamworth’s Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities. If approved, the site would house 10 qualified doctors, four registered nurses, and six health professionals. The facility would also staff a range of other services, including drug and alcohol support, social and emotional wellbeing, NDIS, aged care, homelessness, and suicide prevention.

To view The Northern Daily Leader article TAMS submits new plans in full click here.

image of TAMS' proposed $18m new medical centre

Tamworth Aboriginal Medical Services submits plans for $18m medical centre. Image source: The Northern Daily Leader.

Pregnancy Connect to improve health care access

Women and their babies in rural and regional NSW will soon have better and earlier access to pregnancy care as part of a new multimillion-dollar government scheme. The Pregnancy Connect initiative will ensure women have early access to specialist maternity care closer to home, particularly for women in rural and regional areas. Services will focus on virtual care, the safe transfer of women who need higher levels of care, and antenatal care available earlier and more regularly for women with high risks to their health and wellbeing during pregnancy.

The program, supported by an ongoing annual investment of $6.19m, will connect health services in rural and regional areas that are often centralised in metropolitan areas. Pregnancy Connect Care Coordinator Jodie Adams said the program isn’t just about maternity services, with mental health, drug and alcohol, social work, and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander resources also being prioritised. “It’s about tailoring the services to the woman: that right care, right place, right time,” she said.

Early intervention care is another key focus of the initiative, with Ms Adams saying: “preventive care is always the best”. “We want (women) to have the best outcomes, and we know we can deliver that for them if we give them care in their communities with people they trust, that is in a continuity of care settings so they’re not retelling their story all the time,” she said. The program will also aim to bring help to women rather than relying on transfers to metropolitan hospitals, which can cause women to feel “disconnected and become very stressed”. “Often we’re doing that (transfers) because we’re at the pointy end of the crisis and we’re needing to intervene … things have not gone well for whatever reason, so we want to avoid that from happening in the first place,” Ms Adams said.

To view the Perth Now article NSW Health Minister to announce a new Pregnancy Connect initiative aimed at making health care better and more accessible for pregnant women in full click here.

pregnant Aboriginal woman having ultrasound

Photo: Shutterstock. Image source: The Conversation.

Chronic wounds: Australia’s hidden epidemic

The hidden epidemic of chronic wounds in Australia will be tackled through new initiatives funded with more than $3m from the Albanese Government. It is estimated that approximately 450,000 Australians currently live with a chronic wound. Wounds Australia and the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) will each receive grants for innovative new projects to improve understanding of wound care among health professionals and the broader community.

Wounds Australia will receive $2m to deliver a national education and awareness campaign on chronic wound prevention and treatment. The campaign will aim to improve public awareness and patient knowledge of how to care for wounds to give them the best chance to heal. ACN will receive $1.073m for scholarships to encourage and assist nurses and Aboriginal Health Workers to undertake formal training, to improve wound management in primary care settings.

The grant will provide at least 120 scholarships each year for advanced training short courses for nurses, 5 scholarships for graduate certificates in wound care and one scholarship for a Masters of Wound Care course. The grants are part of the Government’s $47.8m Chronic Wound Consumables Scheme. While the scheme is targeted to people with diabetes aged 65 years and over, or 50 years and over for First Nations people, the grants will help people of all ages at risk of chronic wounds.

To the Minster for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler MP’s media release $3m for better wound care in full click here.

You can also read the related ABC News story Chronic wounds affect 420,000 Australians each day, cost $3b a year to treat in full here.

The image below is from a 5 July 2021 Batchelor Institute article Plastic surgeons teach Batchelor Institute Aboriginal health students wound care, available here.

surgeon teaching Aboriginal health students how to suture

Surgeon teaching health students how to suture. Image source: Batchelor Institute.

Tumut’s newest health hero, AWH Tana Scott

A Tumut man has joined one of the region’s most in-demand workforces, helping shape health outcomes for his local Aboriginal community. A proud Wiradjuri/Ngunnawal man, Tana Scott was unsure of his future career path before a snap decision in Year 12 at Tumut High changed the course of his professional life. The 19-year-old enrolled in a school-based traineeship as an allied health assistant – a fast-growing profession in the booming healthcare sector. The role offers support to the nearly 200,000 allied health professionals nationwide, in areas including physiotherapy, optometry, speech pathology, occupational therapy and more.

Tana is a fully qualified allied health assistant and working as an Aboriginal Health Worker (AHW), specialising in physiotherapy at Tumut Hospital after completing two TAFE NSW courses. He acts in a support role for the on-duty physiotherapist, coordinating patient care by organising appointments, coordinating health and welfare programs and completing administrative tasks. The allied health assistant has urged other young people to consider a career in the in-demand field as it offers a rare mix of job security and satisfaction. “It’s so rewarding to be able to help my mob and be a positive figure in their lives,” Tana said. “Watching them recover and knowing you played a part in helping them overcome their health challenges is an amazing feeling.”

Tana is passionate about being a role model for young Aboriginal males and would love the opportunity to chat with them about his experiences. When Tana was enrolled in the school-based traineeship he split his time between working at Tumut Hospital, studying at school and completing a Certificate III and Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance at TAFE NSW. He said the practical, hands-on nature of his TAFE NSW course meant he could immediately have an impact on the job. “My TAFE NSW teachers were so experienced and supportive, and we did so many simulations and so much practical learning during the course,” Tana said.

To view the Region Riverina article Tumut’s newest health hero: Tana Scott making waves in Aboriginal Health in full click here.

AHW Tana Scott & brother Taine Scott

TAFE NSW Tumut graduate and Tumut Hospital AHW Tana Scott with brother and Tumut Hospital Aboriginal Mental Health trainee Taine Scott. Photo: TAFE NSW. Image source: Region Riverina.

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.

Neurodiversity Celebration Week – 18–24 March 2024

Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences. It aims to transform how neurodivergent individuals are perceived and supported by providing schools, universities, and organisations with the opportunity to recognise the many talents and advantages of being neurodivergent, while creating more inclusive and equitable cultures that celebrate differences and empower every individual.

Siena Castellon founded Neurodiversity Celebration Week in 2018 because she wanted to change the way learning differences are perceived. Siena, who is autistic and has ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia, said her experience as a teenager was that people often focus on the challenges of neurological diversity. Sienna wanted to change the narrative and create a balanced view which focuses equally on talents and strengths.

The purpose of Neurodiversity Celebration Week is to help the world to understand, value and celebrate the talents of neurodiverse minds, and the mission is to change the narrative, by working together with schools, universities, and organisations to:

  • increase acceptance and understanding
  • provide education
  • celebrate neurodiversity

You can find more information on the Neurodiversity Celebration Week website here.

banner with logo - vector brain in lightbulb & text: 'Neurodiversity Celebration Week'

World Social Work Day – 19 March 2024

This year World Social Work Day takes place on 19 March. This year’s theme is ‘Buen Vivir: Shared Future for Transformative Change’, which is rooted in the Global Agenda and emphasises the need for social workers to adopt innovative, community-led approaches that are grounded in Indigenous wisdom and harmonious coexistence with nature. You can find out more about the background of the theme here.

The theme serves as a timely reminder of the transformative role social workers play in driving positive change and fostering communities that thrive on mutual respect and sustainability.

Joachim Mumba, International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) President, commented: “Buen Vivir resonates deeply with the core values of social work. As we celebrate World Social Work Day, let’s embrace this principle and champion a future where communities and nature coexist in harmony a future where social workers will, together with local people co-design and co-build peaceful communities critical to our shared sustainable futures.”

To learn more about World Social Work Day, including the history of the day, click here.

green tile image of cut out hands, flowers growing through' text 'Buen Vivir shared future for transformative change - World Social Work Day 19th March 2024 - www.ifsw.org'

Image source: International Federation of Social Workers website.

Free, specialised governance workshops for ACCHOs will be delivered in multiple locations across the country during 2024 and 2025. 

Registrations are open now for Sydney and Perth:  

  • Sydney 19–20 March 2024
  • Perth 16–17 April 2024

The program is delivered by legal experts and covers:  

  • Delegation of powers 
  • Finance for Boards
  • Governance documents
  • Managing conflicts of interest 
  • Managing risk  
  • Principles of good governance  
  • Structure and role of boards and sub-committees 

To register, go here.

For more information, please contact NACCHO using this email link.

15 March 2024

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.

Millions pledged for remote NT water projects

The Federal and Northern Territory governments have announced a water security project worth tens of millions of dollars, designed to deliver clean, reliable water to more communities across the Top End. The $53.1 million investment will see water infrastructure upgrades in Maningrida, Numbulwar and Yirrkala and Gunyangara on the Grove Peninsula, part of the Federal government’s $150 million investment to ensure remote First Nations communities have access to clean drinking water.

Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek said in Australia, most people take safe drinking water for granted, however “for more than 25,000 people in remote Australia, that isn’t the case”.

“These Australians live in places without access to water that meets basic health guidelines. And another 600,000 people live in places without access to water that meets recognised standards – relying on water that’s murky, or contains unsafe levels of minerals, heavy metals and chemicals,” Ms Plibersek said.

“This is simply not ok. That’s why we’re investing in projects to deliver critical water infrastructure projects in First Nations remote communities.”

Ms Plibersek said there is still a lot of work to be done to Close the Gap on water security, and the federal government cannot do it alone.

“That’s why our government is working closely with our state and territory partners and First Nations organisations and representatives across the nation to identify, plan and deliver water security projects,” she said.

Read the full National Indigenous Times article here.

More than $50 million has been pledged by the federal and Northern Territory governments for remote NT water infrastructure. (Image: Isabella Higgins/ABC News).

OAMS employee helping children “navigate the forever changing health system”

Ebony Hay’s job is complex and full of moving pieces. The Orange Aboriginal Medical Service (OAMS) employee’s role involves helping children “navigate the forever changing health system.” Towards the end of 2023, Ms Hay accepted the position of child health navigator at OAMS, making it her mission to help support the city’s youth.

“Education and health, they’re the two big determinants of our mob that’s always seemed to lag behind others,” she said.

“I just want to be able to reach everyone in the community and be able to assist children.

Ms Hay’s team at OAMS do health checks every six to nine months, with the goal of being proactive, rather than reactive.

“We want to ensure that children will have the best possible future and no be behind the rest of their peers just due to the fact they weren’t screened or had a hearing assessment that could have prevented that.”

Although she jumped from job to job prior to landing at OAMS, the child health navigator believes she’ll be there for the long haul. Nourished by the sense that she is making an important difference in young people’s lives.

“When you walk out the doors at 5pm you leave feeling satisfied knowing you’ve done the best you can. It’s a sweet feeling,” she said.

Read the full article here.

The Orange Aboriginal Medical Service (OAMS) child health navigator, Ebony Hay. Image source: Central Western Daily.

Sunrise Biginini MECSH program supporting mums and bubs

The Biginini MECSH program is open to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who are pregnant or have had a baby discharged from the hospital less than 8 weeks ago. MECSH supports mums to care for themselves, ensures they have support from family and other services, provides immunisations, helps with breastfeeding and healthy eating, the program also assists mums with accessing Centrelink, Medicare, birth certificates, housing, and other external agencies.

A Barunga family in the Sunrise Biginini MECSH program is getting ready to go home with their new baby boy. As part of the Biginini MECSH program, they receive a baby bag full of essential items to support mum and baby. The bag includes nappies, baby wipes, swaddles, onesies, socks, toiletries, and a collapsible baby bath to help the family.

To learn more, visit the website.

Image source: Sunrise Health Service Aboriginal Corporation.

AIDA cultural program focused on closing healthcare gap

Healthcare professionals have rallied in response to February’s Closing the Gap report that highlighted significant target shortfalls related to institutional racism across the medical sector. The Productivity Commission’s February report brought to light the urgent need for health reform, with the inequity gap described as a “chasm”. The Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association has since expanded its cultural safety program for medical professionals to provide culturally-appropriate care, with great success. AIDA’s series of workshops include online cultural awareness courses and face-to-face cultural safety training, with 21 workshops already locked in this year with various organisations eager to drive change and help close the gap.

Each workshop was developed and is led by Indigenous doctors and enhances AIDA’s commitment to weave cultural safety principles into every aspect of medical education and clinical practice. Individual workshops will soon be held across Australia’s major cities too, enabling medical professionals and students to be armed with the tools and insights required to champion cultural safety in their own spheres of influence.

Indigenous medical student and recent participant Zamri Burns said the workshops fostered cultural competence and safety for attendees and provided her with new and practical lessons to implement in clinical practice.

“The workshop’s content was a treasure trove of knowledge, providing us with an extensive toolkit for practising clinical care with cultural awareness as a core component,” she told the National Indigenous Times.

“They also delve into the complexities of cultural and social determinants of health within Indigenous communities, shedding light on the unique challenges we face.

“It was a really transformative experience, building cultural competence and safety and empowering me to be more effective, empathetic and culturally-aware as a healthcare provider.”

More information on AIDA’s cultural safety program and individual workshops is online. You can also read the National Indigenous Times article here.

AIDA is putting extra emphasis on cultural awareness training in the wake of February’s Closing the Gap review. (Image: The Fred Hollows Foundation).

New study demonstrates yet more health benefits from cultural burning

Cultural burning brings many health benefits, and research recently undertaken on Murramarang Country on the Mid South Coast of NSW has provided further evidence of this. The practice of cultural burning – a traditional method of patch burning during cooler weather – is an important determinant of health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It plays an important role in passing on local knowledge and connection to land, as well as being beneficial for land management, according to the Lowitja Institute.

New research compared cultural burning to agency-led prescribed burning or no burning. Studying the effects on soil properties such as moisture content, density and nutrient levels. Both fire treatments increased soil moisture and organic matter, while reducing soil density. That means burning improved soil health overall. However, cultural burning had a more pronounced effect on reducing soil density and increasing organic matter content. Having more organic matter in the soil means more nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen are available to plants. Lower density improves soil structure. Both improve the capacity of ecosystems to withstand environmental stress such as drought and wildfire. These findings suggest cultural burning not only benefits soil health but also helps make ecosystems more resilient, by providing more water and nutrients that native plants need.

Read the full Croakey Health Media article here.

Image source: Cultural Burning.

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.

Free, specialised governance workshops for ACCHOs will be delivered in multiple locations across the country during 2024 and 2025. 

Registrations are open now for Sydney and Perth:  

  • Sydney 19–20 March 2024
  • Perth 16–17 April 2024

The program is delivered by legal experts and covers:  

  • Delegation of powers 
  • Finance for Boards
  • Governance documents
  • Managing conflicts of interest 
  • Managing risk  
  • Principles of good governance  
  • Structure and role of boards and sub-committees 

To register, go here.

For more information, please contact NACCHO using this email link.

6 March 2024

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.

Saving mums and bubs from dangerous birth deliveries

Charles Darwin University’s (CDU) mission to save Indigenous mothers and their babies from dangerous birth deliveries has been given a major lift. CDU’s Molly Wardaguga Research Centre has received $5m from the federal government’s Medical Research Future Fund to expand its support for Birthing on Country services, aimed at enabling First Nations women to undergo childbirth in rural, remote and very remote locations.

Centre director Professor Yvette Roe said the research would be “informed” by First Nations people and support “maternal health justice”. “Preterm birth is one of the largest causes of stillbirth, infant and child mortality, and a significant contributor to lifelong disability and chronic diseases in First Nations Australians,” Prof Roe said. Alice Springs and Galiwin’ku have been nominated, to evaluate the remote and very remote demonstration sites respectively and Nowra, NSW, was selected as the rural location.

“Our goal in these three demonstration sites is to reduce preterm babies,” Prof Roe said. “This has already been done in an urban setting where a study has found a 38 per cent reduction in preterm babies.” As part of the new funding, the centre will look to develop and evaluate an educational program on supervision, cultural safety and trauma-informed care as well as a clinical midwifery program. Deputy director Professor Sue Kildea said the funding would support future efforts to provide Birthing on Country services.

The above has been extracted from an article CDU’s Birthing on Country Program gets Federal Government backing published in the Gold Coast Bulletin earlier today, Wednesday 6 March 2024.

Aboriginal hands holding feet of Aboriginal baby

Indigenous women face greater risk in childbirth than other Australians. Image source: Gold Coast Bulletin.

Hot weather making those on low incomes sick

Australians say they’re experiencing heat stroke as they try and keep power bills down amid record heatwaves across the country, a new report by the Australian Council of Social Services has found. Of 1,007 people surveyed 60% were having trouble paying their energy bills, and 80% said high temperatures in their home had made them unwell. ACOSS chief executive Dr Cassandra Goldie said 14% also went to see a doctor. “Heatwaves are by far the biggest cause of hospitalisations when it comes to extreme weather events and we’ve got to do more to protect people on low incomes from the damage they cause,” she said. “It’s hugely concerning that people are suffering from headaches, heat rash, breathing problems and even nose bleeds because their houses are too hot. Not only is this a health crisis, but also a cost-of-living crisis.”

National Rural Health Alliance chief executive Susi Tegan said Donna’s plight was common around the country. “When you’re only earning $100 a week or are on very low income, any increase in electricity fees has a major impact,” she said. “I think we need to have some basic standards that every Australian can rely on, whether it’s public or private housing.” Ms Tegan said as temperatures began to rise, governments need to consider how poorly built social housing was becoming a public health issue. “It’s particularly important for rural and remote and regional people for this to be addressed, because those people already have to deal with the impact of droughts, floods and fires more than any other Australian, because they’re dealing with it regularly,” she said.

The ACOSS report also found 72% of Indigenous people had problems cooling their homes, an issue long advocated for in the top end of the country. Daniel Kelly is a remote housing advocate and was part of the legal team that took on the NT government over poor housing in Aboriginal communities near Alice Springs. He said getting the government to come to the table on remote housing was near impossible.

To view the ABC News article Hot weather making Australians on low incomes sick, says Australian Council of Social Services in full click here.

aerial view of remote Indigenous community

Many Indigenous communities and remote towns have trouble getting access to reasonably priced electricity providers. Photo: Andrew Seabourne, ABC News. Image source: ABC News.

Critical Health Services to return to Wujal Wujal

Works to establish a temporary health service in a southern Cape York community devastated by flooding have started, with authorities hoping to provide services to residents by late April. Wujal Wujal Primary Health Centre was inundated in December 2023 with hundreds of residents evacuated from the remote Indigenous community just days before Christmas.

The new facility, located at Yindili’mu Bayan Eco Lodge, will include four consultation rooms and two emergency beds, Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS) chief executive Rex O’Rourke said. “Within 60 days we will have a clinic up and running there,” Mr O’Rourke said. “It will be temporary. It won’t have everything but it will have a significant amount of people (working onsite). It will have a service with four nurses and health workers as well. Doctors will come in-and-out. It won’t have x-ray or dental (services) but people will transport patients into Cooktown.”

Mr O’Rourke, who took over at TCHHS in January, said he was overwhelmed by the damage caused by flooding in Degarra, Bloomfield and Wujal Wujal after visiting the disaster affected communities last month. “It was a sobering experience but at the same time I saw the dedication and commitment of our staff,” he said. The work of ACCHOs who have provided care to Wujal Wujal residents living away from home in Cairns, Mossman, Cooktown, Mareeba and beyond was to be commended, Mr O’Rourke said. “We have great partners,” he said. “Services like Wuchopperen and Apunipima have been fantastic. We’re also working with RFDS (Royal Flying Doctors Service) in terms of providing psychological and psychosocial support.

The above is an extract from an article Critical health services set to return to disaster stricken remote Indigenous community of Wujal Wujal next month published in the Mercury yesterday, Tuesday 5 March 2024.

man shows how high water reached at clinic during floods

Wujal Wujal Director of Nursing Vince Connellan shows Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS) chief executive Rex O’Rourke how high the water reached at the town’s clinic during the December floods. Image source: Mercury.

Study looks at use of Quitline by mob

The Australian Government Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) program aims to reduce tobacco use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, delivering locally tailored health promotion messages, including promoting the Quitline. Earlier this week, the results of an analysis of data on use of the Quitline by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples nationally, specifically in TIS and non-TIS areas was published in the Sax Institute’s peer-reviewed journal Public Health Research and Practice.

The usage of the Quitline in seven jurisdictions across Australia in areas with and without TIS teams (TIS areas and non-TIS areas respectively) between 2016–2020 was analysed. Demographic and usage characteristics were quantified, and clients and referrals as a proportion of the current smoking population were calculated for each year, 2016–2020. From 2016–2020, 12,274 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were clients of the Quitline in included jurisdictions. Most (69%) clients were living in a TIS area. Two-thirds (66.4%) of referrals were from third party referrers rather than self-referrals. Overall, between 1.25% and 1.62% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who currently smoked were clients of Quitline (between 1.15–1.57% in TIS areas and 0.82–0.97% in non-TIS areas).

The researchers concluded that Quitline provided smoking cessation support to approximately 2,500–3,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients annually between 2016–2020. Referrals from third parties including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander services were found to be an important pathway connecting community members to an evidenced-based cessation support service.

To view the paper Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ Quitline use and the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program in full click here.

 

Dr Amy Thunig on breaking generational cycles

Writer and academic Dr Amy Thunig knows what it’s like to be ostracised. Growing up, Amy and their family experienced adversity and racism. As a child, Amy Thunig did well in school and followed all the rules. But the teachers still hated her. “For no reason other than where my family was from,” says Amy. If you can acknowledge that I’ve developed strong analytical skills and I’ve learned to be articulate and to navigate certain systems, where do you think I learned that from? Like, I’m the first in my family to get a PhD, but I’m not the first in my family to have been capable. My success is reflective of the kind of parents that they were because they were incredibly loving. They were the first people to tell me that I could succeed and they repeatedly told me that I would.

Today Dr Thunig is a prominent academic and writer who advocates for better representation of Indigenous voices and knowledge.

In an SBS Audio SEEN podcast episode, Dr Thunig challenges us to check our own biases. Dr Thunig and Yumi Stynes reflect on the generational cycles that shape us, and in spite of the challenges, how beautiful they can be. They share stories of their experiences with racism and classism, reminding us that parents are doing their best with what they have.

To listen to the SBS Audio Seen podcast Dr Amy Thunig: Gomeroi writer and academic breaking generational cycles in full here.

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.

March into Yellow – March 2024

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. The March into Yellow campaign has been designed as a fun and easy way to open up a conversation about this invisible disease, an opportunity for others community to show support, and a way to raise funds for Endometriosis Australia who support endometriosis education and research.

Endometriosis is a common yet under-recognised chronic disease with one in nine (more than 830,000) women and those assigned female at birth diagnosed with endometriosis by the age of 44 years in Australia. In 2018, Australia was the first country to develop a roadmap and blueprint to tackle endometriosis in a nationwide, coordinated manner. This blueprint is outlined in the National Action Plan for Endometriosis (NAPE), created from a partnership between government, endometriosis experts and advocacy groups. The NAPE aims to improve patient outcomes in the areas of awareness and education, clinical management and care and research. A priority under the Australian Government’s National Action Plan for Endometriosis, available here, is the identification and support to develop endometriosis-specific education and awareness materials that are tailored for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

You can find more information about the March into Yellow campaign on the Endometriosis Australia website here.

You can also read a recent research paper Indigenous Peoples’ Experience and Understanding of Menstrual and Gynecological Health in Australia, Canada and New Zealand: A Scoping Review here.

yellow tile, vector image uterus, text 'March into yellow this month for endometriosis awareness'

Image source: IPN Medical Centres.

Free, specialised governance workshops for ACCHOs will be delivered in multiple locations across the country during 2024 and 2025. 

Registrations are open now for Sydney and Perth:  

  • Sydney – 19-20 March 2024
  • Perth – 16-17 April 2024

The program is delivered by legal experts and covers:  

  • Delegation of powers
  • Finance for Boards
  • Governance documents
  • Managing conflicts of interest 
  • Managing risk  
  • Principles of good governance  
  • Structure and role of boards and sub-committees 

To register, click here.

For more information, please contact NACCHO using this email link.

19 February 2024

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.

A new tack needed on CTG

The Productivity Commission’s new report into Closing the Gap (CTG), A review of the National Agreement on CTG, released on 7 February 2024, examines the action by governments in the first three years since they signed the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and confirms the approach currently used by governments isn’t working. The report’s recommendations have been followed by calls from representative bodies to shake up to the system, and remove what they say is ‘the government-knows-best’ approach.

NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations co-chair and NSW Aboriginal Land Council councillor Anne Dennis says listening to community would be a start, “Instead of continuing to fund non-government organisations and government service providers who often follow the same old approach, governments must listen to the valuable resource of ACCOs who are making great progress on the ground in NSW. In order to enable progress, the change envisioned in the National Agreement, we must transform government systems and processes.”

CEO of Coonamble Aboriginal Health Service (CAHS) Phil Naden, says it’s imperative for government to consult with the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector. “CAHS as well as the other 49 ACCOs in NSW have extensive experience in Aboriginal health and we all work at the coalface of treating and engaging with our people on a daily basis, and working with government and community in Closing the Gap,” he said. “The key recommendation is supported by CAHS and we look forward to Government leading this recommendation for communities across the West and Far West regions of NSW.”

To view the Western Plains App article A new tack needed on Closing the Gap in full click here.

CEO of Coonamble Aboriginal Health Service, Phil Naden

CEO of Coonamble Aboriginal Health Service, Phil Naden says Aboriginal community controlled organisations are key to truly closing the gap. Image source: Western Plains App.

NSW signs state-based CTG partnership agreement

NSW has become the latest jurisdiction to sign a state-based Closing the Gap (CTG) partnership agreement to help improve Aboriginal health, education and social outcomes. The agreement has been signed by the NSW Premier Chris Minns, the NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations (NSW CAPO) and Local Government NSW.

The partnership represents the next step following the CTG national agreement signed in 2020. That deal was signed by then-PM Scott Morrison, then-premier Gladys Berejiklian, state and territory first ministers, the Australian Local Government Association and the Coalition of Peaks, representing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled service sector.

The 2020 national agreement shared responsibility and decision-making with representatives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, following years of traditional Government-led approaches not achieving the right results. The NSW Partnership Agreement addresses the first reform priority in the CTG national agreement – the establishment of formal partnerships and shared decision-making. The Productivity Commission’s CTG review, released earlier this month, observes that progress on this commitment has largely been weak and has reflected a business-as-usual approach.

To view the Australian Financial News article New Partnership agreement to close the gap in NSW in full click here. You can also watch a short video below by the Coalition of Peaks explaining the Priority Reforms in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap below.

ANU smoking study debunks stereotypes

If you were asked to picture a typical smoker, you might not image someone employed, educated or who has good mental health. Research — considered world-first — from the Australian National University (ANU) has debunked common misconceptions about smokers. While smoking rates were higher among people who were less educated and were unemployed, the research found most daily smokers held jobs, were educated and in good mental health.

Researchers used Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data and a nationally representative sample of 16,000 people to study the country’s smoking population. They found of the 2.5m people who smoke daily in Australia, 60% were male, 65% live in major cities and 92% did not identify as Indigenous. Furthermore, 69%t of smokers had completed year 12, while 69% of those of working age were in paid employment. And 73% had good mental health. The research also found that 54% of smokers lived in the bottom two socio-economic quintiles.

Epidemiologist Professor Emily Banks, who was the senior author on the study, said the lack of understanding meant the majority of smokers didn’t see themselves reflected in current anti-smoking campaigns, “We know from other studies that certain groups in the population are over-represented among smokers. We know that people who smoke are more likely to be unemployed than people who don’t smoke, they’re more likely to be homeless and they’re more likely to be less educated. We also know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more likely to smoke than non-Aboriginal people.”

However, Professor Banks said it was important to distinguish between people being over-represented in the smoking population and what that general population looked like. “The majority of smokers are really very like the general population of Australia,” she said.

To view the ABC News article Australian National University smoking study debunks stereotypes, finds most daily smokers are employed, educated in full click here.

ANU Professor Emily Banks at her desk

Professor Emily Banks says the majority of smokers in Australia are “like the general population”. Photo: ANU. Image source: ABC News

PCOS vs endometriosis: what’s the difference?

With women becoming more open about their health struggles across social media, you’ve most likely heard one or both of the terms polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis (endo) – or even know someone who struggles with one of these conditions. But while PCOS and endo are the two reproductive conditions that get the most attention (even though incredibly tough to diagnose), it can be easy to confuse the two if you don’t know enough about them.

While both PCOS and endo have some characteristics and symptoms in common, they’re not the same. PCOS is a hormonal disorder, affecting 8–13% of reproductive age women, with around 21% of Indigenous women affected, according to The Medical Journal of Australia. Endometriosis is slightly more common, impacting 1 in 7 (14%) of women, girls and those assigned female at birth (AFAB) by the age of 44 to 49, according to Endometriosis Australia.

Both conditions are notoriously tough to diagnose, given that their symptoms could be caused by a range of different issues. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible for a doctor to make the right diagnosis — it just can take a little more time and detective work than with some other conditions.

The Women’s Health article PCOS vs Endometriosis: What’s The Difference? available here, goes on to provide information about:

  • what PCOS is and its most common symptoms
  • what endometriosis is and its most common symptoms
  • what the key differences between the two conditions are
  • how a person knows if they have PCOS or endo
  • whether a person can have both PCOS and endo
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome cells graphic

Image source: iStock Polycystic Ovary Syndrome image.

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.

Key Date – febfast – February 2024

Youth Support + Advocacy Service (YSAS) was launched 26 years ago, to support young people struggling with alcohol and drugs – and help them get their lives back on track. Since then, YSAS has grown to become one of the largest youth-specific community service organisations in Australia. Every year, YSAS is there for more than 8,000 young people, helping them overcome addiction, find safe housing, get back into education or employment, and improve their mental health.

Every year YSAS run a febfast campaign to help raise funds for YSAS’ practical support and evidence-based clinical services. febfast participants give up a vice of their choice for the whole month of February, feel the health benefits and raise funds for YSAS’ drug and alcohol programs. The money raised helps fund treatment services, outreach and rehabilitation programs so more young people can overcome addiction, as well as supported housing, education and training. By providing that support to young people, YSAS helps treat serious issues before they escalate – and become lifelong problems.

You can find more information about FebFast on the FebFast website here and learn more about YSAS outreach in the video below.

14 December 2023

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.

New data reveals positive trends for mums and bubs

There has been a notable increase in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers attending an antenatal visit in the first trimester of pregnancy, from 50% in 2012 to 72% in 2021, according to the AIHW Australia’s mothers and babies report. The report also found a decrease in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers who reported smoking in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, from 50% in 2011 to 40% in 2021. The proportion of First Nations mothers who report smoking at any time during pregnancy has also fallen (from 50% in 2011 to 42% in 2021), and of those who smoked, the rate of smoking cessation during pregnancy was around 1 in 8. This is based on First Nations mothers who reported smoking in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and not smoking after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Most babies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers were born at term (born from 37 to 41 weeks). In 2021, 87% of babies of First Nations mothers had a normal birthweight (birthweight between 2,500 and 4,499 grams). Increasing the proportion of First Nations babies with a healthy birthweight to 91% by 2031, is one of the targets in the National Agreement.

You can read the full AIHW Australia’s mothers and babies report here.

Good News Story: SWAMS recognised for providing ‘person-centered care’

A pilot program to help meet the health needs of children in Out of Home Care has received accolades in WA. South West Aboriginal Medical Service (SWAMS) won the Person-Centred Care category of the WA Health Excellence Awards 2023 alongside partners, including the Department of Communities, the Department of Health, the Child and Adolescent Health Service and the Western Australian Country Health Service (WACHS).

The aim of the pilot is to test new ways of working to improve collaboration and coordination between services as well as improving the health of children aged up until 18 who are in the Out of Home Care system.

SWAMS Health Navigator Hannah Humphries said she was pleased received the award on behalf of SWAMS at a gala dinner held at Crown Perth on 7th December. The awards celebrate excellence and innovation in service delivery across the WA health system.

Pictured: Kelly Lineham and Kellee Biffin from WACHS, Tracey Simpson-Jones from the Child and Adolescent Health Service, Hannah Humphries from SWAMS, and Danielle Gilsenan and Sharma Hamilton from the Child and Adolescent Health Service. Image source: SWAMS Facebook.

DNA discovery opens door to personalised medicine for Indigenous Australians

The most comprehensive analysis of Indigenous Australians’ genomes collected to date has revealed an “abundance” of DNA variations – some of which have never been reported anywhere else in the world – paving the way for new, personalised treatments that address health inequities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A team of Australian researchers, led by scientists from The Australian National University (ANU), found DNA differences between Indigenous Australians living in the Tiwi Islands and Indigenous peoples living in the Australian desert is equivalent to comparing the genetic information of someone from Bangladesh to the United Kingdom. The researchers detected hundreds of thousands of ‘structural gene variants’ that affect large segments of DNA. These variants occur naturally in different individuals of a population, make up most of the genetic differences between individuals, and may be linked to genetic disease in some families.

“The DNA sequencing shows for the first time this level of DNA variation observed anywhere else in the world outside of Africa, reflecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ deep cultural and linguistic diversity and long-standing connection to the Australian continent,” Dr Hardip Patel, from ANU, said.

“Some of the DNA variations we discovered appear to be exclusively found in Indigenous Australians, while others appear to be found only in one out of the four Indigenous communities that we consulted and worked with.

“Previously we’ve had to try to utilise the DNA of non-Indigenous populations to help diagnose and treat disease among Indigenous Australians, which has proven difficult and is often less reliable. But now we have a new, more accurate and personalised genomic dataset to build off.”

Read the full media release from the Australian National University here.

Dr Hardip Patel is the Bioinformatics Lead at the National Centre for Indigenous Genomics (NCIG) at the Australian National University (image: Jamie Kidston/ANU).

SoundSmiles app to boost ear health and wellbeing of young people in remote WA

An app designed to enhance the hearing and mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in a fun and enjoyable way has received an almost $1.5 million funding boost from WA’s Future Health Research and Innovation Fund. The SoundSmiles app, developed by Monash University researchers in collaboration with Curtin University and Ear Science Institute Australia aims to provide a streamlined, digitalised platform for children and teachers so they are better informed about children’s hearing health and mental health. Researchers and clinicians co-designed the culturally sensitive SoundSmiles app alongside WA ACCHOs, Puntukurnu Aboriginal Medical Service and South West Aboriginal Medical Service.

Professor Christopher Lawrence, SoundSmiles app project lead and health technology researcher and Associate Dean (Indigenous) from Monash University’s Faculty of Information Technology, said Aboriginal children experience ear disease and hearing loss at rates at least ten times higher than non-Aboriginal children.

“The impacts of ear disease can drastically change the trajectory of a child’s life. Young people who have hearing loss are more likely to experience social and emotional problems,” Professor Lawrence, a proud Wadjak/Ballardong Noongar man said.

Through the app, primary school-aged children can be guided by their teachers to answer daily questions about their hearing and mental health, with the app providing information and engaging activities for students in relation to their ears and wellbeing. Along with building young peoples’ independence with health-promoting behaviours, the app intends to increase their digital literacy skills.

Read the full National Indigenous Times article here.

Image source: Ear Science Institute Australia.

When physical activity programs include cultural elements, they are even better

Recent data shows 24% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults have been diagnosed with mental health or behavioural conditions. This is likely due to lasting and intergenerational effects of historical injustices, racial discrimination, and cultural displacement. UNSW research suggests physical activity programs can improve social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These programs enhance confidence and self-esteem, improve community cohesiveness and cultural identity, and deepen connection to Country. Cultural physical activity (hunting, gathering, customary activities and connecting with Country) has been a part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s lifestyles for tens of thousands of years. These practices still hold cultural relevance today.

Going on Country has benefits for physical, social, emotional and cultural wellbeing. These include a healthier diet, more frequent exercise, sharing of culture, more family time, and spiritual connection. The UNSW research found that programs that do not centre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community involvement and connection are unlikely to be well received or effective. These programs often have barriers to participation such as lack of transport, high program costs, or may clash with family and community commitments.

An example of a culturally safe physical activity program is Dead or Deadly. In the program, women participate in group exercise, health education and camps where they improve fitness, reduce smoking, reduce chronic disease indicators, reduce psychological distress, and increase resilience.

Read more here.

Image source: Waminda.

Calls for long Covid multidisciplinary clinics

Funding for more multidisciplinary clinics with virtual access and living guidelines is needed to help deal with the growing burden of long COVID, according to the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP). The organisation has also raised concerns about the closure of long COVID clinics, saying more government funding is required in spite of a detailed public inquiry held by the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport, which reported in April this year. This week, the ABC reported that five of 23 long COVID clinics in Australia has either been scaled back or closed. The RACP said more multidisciplinary clinics with virtual access, including to patients in rural areas and those managed in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services, are needed.

RACGP is always advocating for referral pathways to improve the way rehabilitation and respiratory doctors work together, and the development of evidence-based living guidelines for GPs and other health professionals. Dr Kate Graham, a GP in rural western Victoria who co-wrote the first national long COVID HealthPathway, said there is strong evidence multidisciplinary care works in the treatment of the condition, which is known for its many, varied symptoms – but said there are significant challenges.

‘While general practice is capable of coordinating and managing complexity in chronic conditions such as long COVID, it is extremely difficult to achieve this in the current chronic-disease-management, referral, waitlist and funding environment, especially for long COVID patients with limited financial resources,’ Dr Graham told newsGP.

‘It would be good to see future health funding recognise the individual and economic impact of long COVID and proactively fund multidisciplinary models of care that have evidence of benefit, as the closure of clinics was challenging for those in areas where they were accessible.

‘Even when they were open, the wait times and limited options meant that they were not able to meet the needs of the long COVID population.’

Read more here.

Image source: Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia.

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.

13 December 2023

feature tile image: ATSI teenagers playing sport; text 'Incorporating cultural elements into exercise programs leads to BETTER OUTCOMES'

The image in the feature tile is from an article Are sports programs closing the gap in Indigenous communities? The evidence is limited published in The Conversation on 18 July 2019.

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.

Cultural elements lead to better outcomes

For First Nations people, social and emotional wellbeing can depend on connection to land, culture, spirituality and community. The most recent data show 24% of First Nations adults have been diagnosed with mental health or behavioural conditions. This is likely due to lasting and intergenerational effects of historical injustices, racial discrimination and cultural displacement.

Research has found First Nations physical activity programs can improve social and emotional wellbeing. These programs enhance confidence and self-esteem, improve community cohesiveness and cultural identity, and deepen connection to Country. Physical activity can improve mental health and wellbeing. It can also prevent and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.  Cultural physical activity (hunting, gathering, customary activities and connecting with Country) has been a part of First Nations people’s lifestyles for tens of thousands of years. These practices still hold cultural relevance today.

Going on Country has benefits for physical, social, emotional and cultural wellbeing for First Nations people. These include a healthier diet, more frequent exercise, sharing of culture, more family time, and spiritual connection. A review of physical activity programs for First Nations people identified 110 different programs running between 2012 and 2015, most still running in 2023. The review found First Nations physical activity programs improved confidence and self-esteem, improved community and cultural connections, and deepened connection to Country.  Programs that do not centre First Nations community involvement and connection are unlikely to be well received or effective.

To view The Conversation article When physical activity programs include cultural elements, they are even better for First Nations people in full click here.

Almost 60% of kids in detention are Indigenous

Indigenous children are 29 times more likely than non-Indigenous kids to be locked up in juvenile detention centres across the nation. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released a new report with data showing that, in the four years from June 2019 to June 2023, more than half (59%) of young people aged 10 to 17 in detention were Indigenous.

Maggie Munn is national director of Change the Record, a First Nations-led justice coalition dedicated to reducing the number of Indigenous people behind bars. “First Nations children are incarcerated en masse across Australia due to racial profiling, over-policing and a complete and utter failure on behalf of governments to address the systemic disadvantage, discrimination and racism our people face. It’s undisputed that First Nations people, people who experience housing insecurity or instability, people with disabilities or mental illness, people who live in poverty, people who experience family or domestic violence – all are exposed to the legal system at higher rates than those who live without those issues,” Maggie Munn said. “As a result we are seeing trends and tendencies where poverty, racial, economic and health issues are criminalised.”

“Nothing changes if nothing changes and so, while governments increase their budgets and resources for police and prisons, and decrease their budgets for critical services in family violence prevention, Aboriginal legal services, housing and health, it’s no surprise that more children are funnelled through the legal system” Ms Munn said.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Indigenous children over-represented in juvenile detention in full click here.

ATSI teens playing basketball Don Dale juvenile detention Centre Darwin

Don Dale juvenile detention Centre, Darwin. Photo: Helen Davidson. Image source: The Guardian.

Boosting ‘digital connectivity’ in regional Australia

The Australian Academic and Research Network, AARnet, has received $6.55m from the Commonwealth investment through Round 3 of the Australian Government’s Regional Connectivity Program (RCP). The government investment will fund four projects that AARNet says will enable it to deliver fibre upgrades and significantly improve connectivity for education and research for several communities in regional WA and the NT.

AARNet Director Customer Relations, Angus Griffin, says AARNet is proud to be collaborating with the government to improve the quality of connectivity in regional and remote communities. “Narrowing the digital connectivity divide across Australia is vital for providing equal opportunities to First Nations people and indeed all Australians. AARNet is focused on finding ways to leverage and extend AARNet’s infrastructure to help with this challenge” he said.

Under the funding program, AARNET will provide optical fibre to Batchelor, NT, connecting key sites providing research and education-related services in the town to the high-speed AARNet network. The sites include the council building, museum, school, community health centre and the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Australia’s only First Nations dual-sector tertiary institution.

To view the iWire article AARNet gets $6.55 million to boost ‘digital connectivity’ in regional Australia in full click here.

vector map of Australia with communication connections in blue light lines & dots

Image source: UNSW Sydney website.

Most neglected of the neglected diseases

A new research project is aiming to eliminate a potentially-fatal disease caused by a parasitic roundworm that burrows through the skin into the lungs and gut. Strongyloidiasis is a tropical disease, endemic in remote Indigenous communities across northern Australia, caused by the parasitic worm strongyloides stercoralis, which thrives in environments with poor sanitation.

Professor Darren Gray is leading the project and a director of QIMR Berghofer’s Population Health Program, which has received a $5m grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council. “Strongyloidiasis is the most neglected of the neglected diseases,” he said. “Despite being preventable and treatable, there is currently no global or national control strategy to manage its identification, prevention and management.

“With an estimated prevalence of up to 60%, Aboriginal communities in northern Australia appear to have one of the highest rates of strongyloidiasis in the world.” Symptoms are highly variable but the infection can lead to life-threatening diseases including sepsis and pneumonia. Infestations are linked to faecal contamination and dogs may also play a role in the parasite’s life-cycle. Molecular parasitologist Catherine Gordon said addressing poor sanitation infrastructure, access to clean water, and limited access to health care and health education are crucial to controlling the parasite. “If you don’t look for this disease, you won’t find it,” Dr Gordon said. “To date, there has been a lack of screening, testing, and education.”

To view the National Indigenous Times article Scientists to worm out disease from burrowing parasite in full click here.

two men standing in red dust surrounded by camp dogs

Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Tobacco Assault a ‘Deadly Choice’

Deadly Choices, Australia’s foremost preventative health and education program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, will conduct an all-out assault against tobacco consumption among Western Queensland communities, as it expands its activity footprint by partnering with the local Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Company.

Tobacco cessation activities will be undertaken throughout the border towns of Stanthorpe and Goondiwindi, the far reaches of the Darling Downs and right across the entire SW Queensland footprint, thanks to valued funding and support of the Federal Government’s Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) Program. Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities will be the focus of a three-pronged Deadly Choices’ tobacco takedown, designed to help close the gap in health and life expectancy outcomes among Indigenous Australians.

“Goolburri is excited to partner with Deadly Choices in this great initiative, Tackling Indigenous Smoking, as we all know the high rates and impacts smoking not only has on our people but particularly throughout our region,” confirmed Goolburri Health CEO Lizzie Adams. “We have recruited two (2) young men as part of this new initiative who we believe are deadly role models and universally known across many families and communities we service. They have already commenced engaging with schools who are keen to get the tobacco program up and running to provide students with all information around the effects of smoking and vaping. Through additional engagement activities we’ll also be providing the same for our pregnant mums and all other community members keen to quit the smokes and vapes or learn more about their effects.

To view the IUIH media alert Tobacco Assault a ‘Deadly Choice’ for Western Queensland in full click here.

external view of Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Coy building

Image source: Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Company website.

Midwest Mullewa mob-lead healing forum

Earlier this month the Mullewa Healing Forum was held for the Mullewa community in Midwest WA. Over a 2-year period Aboriginal staff from the WA Centre for Rural Health (WACRH) of the University of WA (UWA) worked with Mullewa community leaders to co-design the forum. The Aboriginal led and designed program “Mullewa Healing Forum 2023: Healing Together” was the first of its kind to be run in Mullewa and saw nearly 190 participants attend over the two days. Mullewa woman Debra Maher said “It was good bringing people together of all age groups.”

Participants came together from Mullewa, Geraldton, and Perth to share healing conversations focusing on care and healing for self, family, and the community. They participated in yarning circles, healing doll making, bush medicines, weaving, art, and other cultural forms of healing on country. Proud Yamaji woman and WACRH Research Fellow Dr Charmaine Green said that it was great to see the community to come together, make connections, and utilise Yamaji cultural aspects of healing. WACRH Director Professor Sandra Thompson says, “It is overdue that well-meaning non-Aboriginal people step back and allow and support Aboriginal people to lead initiatives to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people.

“We have so much to learn from their approach and creativity. I am thrilled to see this forum, the result of much community input and hard work. It demonstrates what can be accomplished with local Aboriginal leadership and I acknowledge their thoughtful invitation encouraging participation and collaboration towards healing in the Mullewa community,” says Professor Thompson.

You can view the University of WA’s Media Statement First Nations-led healing forum for Midwest Mullewa community in full here.

Derise Jones from Julgara Maga Aboriginal Mental Health Training Geraldton presenting at the Mullewa Healing Forum

Derise Jones from Julgara Maga Aboriginal Mental Health Training Geraldton presenting at the Mullewa Healing Forum. Image source: University of WA.

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.

12 December 2023

The image in the feature tile is from ABC News.

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.

Remote communities set to receive better internet and mobile services

Mob living in remote communities are set to receive better internet and mobile services in a government bid to improve poor rates of digital inclusion. Projects to provide wi-fi and fixed wireless in regions including Haasts Bluff and Wilora, in the NT, are among 136 granted $170 million in federal funding. The projects span regional, rural and remote Australia, including 44 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

RMIT University-led research released in September showed 43% of Indigenous communities have no mobile service. Some communities only have a shared public phone or no telecommunications at all, according to the Mapping the Digital Gap report. The national divide in digital access between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians is 7.5 points out of 100. That gap widens to 24.5 points for remote Indigenous communities and 25.4 points for those in very remote communities. Australia’s Closing the Gap targets aim for First Nations people to have equal levels of digital inclusion by 2026, though there has been limited data to track progress over the last decade.

Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said inadequate access was a critical issue.

“It means you can’t call the local health clinic and police in an emergency or even buy food with your EFTPOS Card,” Senator McCarthy said.

“This major investment in remote and regional connectivity will be a game changer in ensuring more communities can stay connected and safe with essential and reliable phone services.”

The funding is part of the Regional Connectivity and Mobile Black Spot programs, with an extra $106 million from states, territories and industry.

Read the NITV article here.

Image source: AAP Image/Dan Peled Source: AAP / DAN PELED/AAPIMAGE.

A short history of Condoman

HIV Awareness Week 2023 concludes with a celebration of one of the most successful and enduring Community Controlled public health campaigns ever. Join Professor Gracelyn Smallwood for ‘A Short History of Condoman’. It’s a humble story from a compassionate leader. If you are interested in watching the full webinar, please reach out to us at BBVSTI@naccho.org.au

There is also a ‘taster’ video below.

NACCHO acknowledges Professor Smallwood’s generosity in sharing her knowledge and helping to preserve the exceptional story of where Condoman began.

Elders Circus for all “types and stripes”

The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) Elders’ Circus has been running for 10 years. Circus Nexus, conductor of the program, says it’s a connected circus community “for folks of all types and stripes.” The circus classes are designed to teach participants trust, confidence, teamwork, and collaboration.

Elders’ attend a weekly session supervised by VAHs physiotherapist Josie Ley. Sessions comprise fun group circus activities, including juggling, throwing balls, swinging, and movement. The sessions are highly engaging, fun and a rewarding form of weekly exercise combined with a chance to yarn with friends.

VAHS’ wonderful Community Programs team members Margaret and Cameron facilitate and encourage attendance – providing healthy and delicious morning tea and lunch plus transport.

Learn more about the program here.

The NACCHO Elder Care Support team had the privilege of attending the final Elders Circus for the year run by VAHS and Circus Nexus.

Keeping Yarrabah’s health in local hands

Gurriny Yealamucka Health Services Aboriginal Corporation (GYHSAC) in Yarrabah, south-east of Cairns, has realised great success in preventing workforce shortages by doing what the ACCHO sector does best: local solutions tailored to local problems. GYHSAC’s clinic is thriving due to two linked policies: hiring from the local talent base and providing training, recognising potential rather than qualifications and ensuring positions that are not filled by locals are filled by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, before going wider. In the GYHSAC Annual Report, CEO Suzanne Andrews said, “We work in, and with our community, to protect, educate and safeguard our members, and where possible we have always provided employment and training opportunities to our community members.”

The focus on local hiring is exemplified by two young Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs), Clevanna Messer and Stanley Yeatman, both with ties to Yarrabah. Ms Messer is an Aboriginal health worker with a long family history of looking after the health of mob. She specialises in child health and has worked at Gurriny Yealamucka for five years. Clevanna recently deferred a nursing degree after completing the first two years.

“I really like child health; I love working with the team and I love working here,” Clevanna said.

Stanley Yeatman, another Aboriginal Health Worker from the Yarrabah region working with GYHSAC in early childhood health, said working in child health was incredibly rewarding.

“When we see kids that are non-verbal, and then we get to help prepare them for services like speech pathologists, and for them to have a support when they start school… just seeing them growing and learning and becoming better with speech, with development, I think that’s one of the highlights for us, helping them grow developmentally,” he said.

Read the full Sector Leader article by QAIHC here.

Image source: Sector Leader.

Milestone anniversaries in QLD

Three QAIHC member services celebrated landmark anniversaries looking after their mob this year. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (ATSICHS) Brisbane celebrates its 50th anniversary in May this year. Over the decades, ATSICHS Brisbane has made significant strides in healthcare, community services and early childhood education, expanding their medical clinics, creating new services, and ensuring more community members have access to quality healthcare. They also pioneered the introduction of community-controlled kindergartens, opened the dedicated First Nations aged care facility, Jimbelunga Nursing Centre and have made a significant impact for our community in the areas of child protection, youth justice and family wellbeing.

Mulungu Aboriginal Corporation has celebrated 30 years looking after mob in the Mareeba, and more recently, Atherton and Kuranda communities. In an interview for Mareeba’s The Express, CEO Gail Wason said, “It all started with a collective of people coming together with the same common cause. We had our kids coming in and out of hospitals, and the community felt like they were being treated as second-class citizens.” Today, Mulungu has nearly 120 staff, up from 3 in 1993, many of whom are from the local community and have ‘grown’ with the business.

Finally, The Northern Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Alliance (NATSIHA) is celebrating 20 years as the regional peak body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisations in Far North Queensland.

Read more here.

QAIHC Deputy Chair Rachel Atkinson and ATSICHS Brisbane CEO Renee Blackman. Image source: Sector Leader.

Extinct language Kalkutungu revived

Ninety-four-year-old Cecil Moonlight is the last living fluent speaker of the Kalkutungu language. Thanks to the efforts of Uncle Moonlight, several linguists, and Kalkutungu peoples who have worked across decades, the officially extinct language is set to be revived with a new generation.

“You can’t have culture without language. It is beyond words how powerful, emotional and spiritual it is to be able to use our language again,” Kalkuntungu man William Blackley said.

“Now this language will be revived among students in outback Queensland.”

In 2024, students in prep all the way through to year 9 at Spinifex State College in Mount Isa will learn the full Kalkutungu language as part of their curriculum.

Mr Blackley said the revival of his people’s language would go a long way to empowering local Kalkutungu culture.

“Language has power to affirm our practices from the past,” Mr Blackley said.

“As Aboriginal people, we believe that ancestors are always with us.

“And now that we can speak language, we can go out on country and we can speak to our ancestors in language, or if we go to a sacred site, we can tell them who we are.”

Read the full ABC News article here.

Mr Blackley (centre) teaches Spinifex State College students about Kalkutungu culture. Image source: Spinifex State College.

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.

11 December 2023

feature tile image: young ATSI girl having teeth checked by dentist; text: '$35m+ to help Victorian Aboriginal communities better access culturally safe, holistic healthcare closer to home'

The image in the feature tile is from the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative (BDAC) webpage Locally-drive Aboriginal Children’s dental health project a win for all. BDAC is one of seven Victorian ACCHOs selected to share in $35m+ of additional funding.

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.

Victorian ACCHOs to receive funding support 

Indigenous Victorians will have access to 100,000 extra additional community healthcare appointments as part of a new investment supporting the state’s ACCHOs. It comes as the Victorian government announced seven ACCHOs across metro and regional Victoria will receive their share of more than $35m in funding to help Aboriginal communities better access culturally safe and holistic primary care closer to home.

The government says the investment will allow ACCHOs to expand their services and opening hours, as well boosting their preventive and early intervention services and treatment. The expansion will help deliver more care services – tailored for the cultural needs of First Nations people – and is designed to both increase the health outcomes for Indigenous Victorians whilst also reducing the number of presentations to emergency departments and for preventable hospital admissions. This greater access to primary care will facilitate better treatment of chronic diseases, including early identification.

VACCHO CEO, Jim O’Shea, said the announcement was about recognising the work put in by the various ACCHOs throughout Victoria. The seven funded ACCHOs include: Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative; First People’s Health and Wellbeing; Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative (BDAC); Murray Valley Aboriginal Co-operative; Bendigo and District Aboriginal Cooperative; Victorian Aboriginal Health Service; and Lake Tyers Health and Children’s Services.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations receive funding support in full click here. BDAC featured in the video below in one of the seven ACCHOs to be funded.

ACCHO to trial breastfeeding support program

Wiradjuri elder Aunty Donna Kirby is a “breastfeeding champion”. Having breastfed more than 20 children, including six of her own, her sister’s and those of struggling mums in her community, her knowledge is sought out by mothers looking to nurse their newborns. In Wagga Wagga, where Aunty Donna resides, more than 70% of First Nations women are opting for formula over breastfeeding.

A survey conducted at the Riverina Medical and Dental Aboriginal Corporation (RMDAC) where Aunty Donna is now working to help uncover why so many women are turning away from the breast. The 2018–19 national Aboriginal health survey found that fewer than 70% of Indigenous mothers start down the breastfeeding path, compared with 96% of non-Indigenous mothers. At three months of age, just 19% of Indigenous infants were still breastfed; for non-Indigenous babies, the rate was about 50%.

The RMDAC survey being used to develop a 12-month pilot program aimed at increasing breastfeeding rates. “In Australia, there are other breastfeeding support programs but we know from our numbers that Aboriginal women are not accessing those services,” says board director Simone Sheriff. “Some mothers are experiencing neglect or racism [in the hospitals], so these programs must be designed by our women, for our women.” The pilot program is expected to begin in early 2024 and will focus on culturally sensitive practices and hiring additional First Nations midwives and lactation consultants to work at the centre.

To view the ABC News article Indigenous mothers feel unsupported while breastfeeding, leaving many to give their babies formula in full click here.

7 female staff of Riverina Medical & Dental Aboriginal Corporation standing outside ACCHO

The local Aboriginal health centre’s pilot program is expected to begin in 2024. Photo: Monty Jacka, ABC Riverina. Image source: ABC News.

Gindaja showcases model of care to the world

Gindaja Treatment and Healing Centre in Yarrabah, North Queensland, has taken to the global stage to showcase its Indigenous-led model of care. The organisation was invited to discuss the Gindaja Model of Care at the Healing our Spirit Worldwide (HOSW) Conference: the Ninth Gathering in Vancouver, Canada in September this year. Gindaja Treatment and Healing CEO Ailsa Lively said the conference had been an amazing opportunity to highlight her team’s commitment to delivering quality health care. “We embarked on a journey to develop our model of care to drive the focus of service provision across a full continuum of care and within a strong Indigenous led framework,” she said.

“The Model of Care had to unite the organisation and provide our stakeholders, including non-Indigenous stakeholders, with our own self-determined framework and evidence base. “It also had to inspire new and innovative Indigenous approaches and responses that could be developed and trialled.” The Gindaja Model of Care is framed by the organisation’s mission statement: To provide culturally appropriate, specialised alcohol and other drugs care and support services in the areas of education, treatment, recovery and healing to people with alcohol and substance dependencies in Yarrabah and beyond.

The Model of Care focuses on the following areas: health promotion and education, learning and wellbeing, residential recovery, Step Up Recovery (relating to the Step Up supported accommodation program) and its after care and its continuing care. Gindaja is dedicated to an approach that is: grounded in social and emotional wellbeing; evidence informed; holistic and empowering; flexible and responsive; person, family and community centred; culturally secure and respectful; confidential and inclusive; and non-judgemental and compassionate.

You find more information on the Gindaja model of care here and view the QAIHC Sector Leader article Gindaja showcases model of care at World Conference in full click here.

L-R: CEO Ailsa Lively, AHW Kerry-Anne Yeatman, Board Chairperson Lynese Hari, Learning and Wellbeing Coordinator Hezron Murgha, Finance Officer Ashleigh Schreiber, Board Director Jasmine Canendo & Residential Coordinator Tamara Yeatman

Pictured at the conference L-R: L-R: CEO Ailsa Lively, AHW Kerry-Anne Yeatman, Board Chairperson Lynese Hari, Learning and Wellbeing Coordinator Hezron Murgha, Finance Officer Ashleigh Schreiber, Board Director Jasmine Canendo & Residential Coordinator Tamara Yeatman. Image source: QAIHC Sector Leader.

Experts push for fluoride mandate

The Queensland state government must end the “lunacy” and mandate fluoride in Queensland’s water supply, a leading advocate of better dental health says, amid fears that a generation of regional and Indigenous residents will suffer. Dentist Michael Foley, who was instrumental in then premier Anna Bligh’s 2007 decision to mandate fluoride in the state’s water supply, called for more Queenslanders to be given access to fluoride. The decision was reversed in 2012 by then LNP premier Campbell Newman.

About 72% of residents – mostly in South East Queensland – now have access to water fluoridation, which the National Health and Medical Research Council notes reduces tooth decay by 27-44%. Dr Foley is calling for the government to reintroduce fluoride, with some exceptions. “Fluoridation is not appropriate or needed if decay levels are low – sadly, not an issue in Queensland – but also in communities that rely on bore water and don’t treat the water, communities where the water already contains beneficial levels of fluoride, or places like Nanango where the water tastes bad and very few people drink the town water,” he said.

Dr Foley said Indigenous communities were being significantly disadvantaged. “Not a single one of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities has water fluoridation, despite them having rampant tooth decay,” he said. “It’s more difficult to promote fluoridation in remote communities, but most Aboriginal communities in the NT have water fluoridation so there’s no reason why communities in Queensland shouldn’t also.”

The above was extracted from and article Expert push for fluoride mandate to fight tooth decay in full click published in The Chronicle on Sunday 10 December 2023.

dentist Dr Michael Foley in his dental surgery

Dr Michael Foley was instrumental in a 2007 state government decision to mandate fluoride in the state’s water supply. Image source: The Chronicle.

Race data needed to improve public health

Disparities in health outcomes manifest in various forms, with racism one consistent determinant. Lack of racial data is a barrier to overcoming structural racism. A high level of racism is associated with poor health care and outcomes in a wide range of contexts, including participation in intervention innovations and primary health care, medical incidents, access to treatment and utilisation of health care, hospitalisation and rehabilitation, and maintenance.  Racial minorities in Australia and other high income countries are less likely to receive clinically indicated, protocol-driven care than their white counterparts. Existing evidence suggests that the lack of adequate data on race and ethnicity obscures evidence or racism and holds back antiracism efforts in health policies, interventions and guidelines.

Although Australia does not collect data on race and ethnicity, data on cardiovascular health hospitalisation and outcome indicate that, compared with non-Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal Australians have a coronary heart disease mortality that is two times higher and are 60% less likely to undergo angioplasty. The lower receipt rate of angioplasty is closely and significantly associated with symptoms deemed as non-cardiac (16%), prioritising non-invasive tests (8%), discharge against medical advice (11%), and unspecified/unclear reasons (36%). In countries where data on race exist, racial disparities have also been reported in all-cause mortality and recently in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes.

Reducing racial and ethnic disparities in Australia is a challenge due to the paucity of data on race and ethnicity. When compared to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Australia is currently falling behind in tracking and addressing racial and ethnic inequities in health and social determinant factors.

To view the Medical Journal of Australia InSight article Is Australia falling behind in tracking racial disparities in health? in full click here.

'racism' spelt out in Scrabble tiles

Photo: Blue Diamond Gallery. Image source: SBS Hindi.

Smoking law changes to reduce prevalence

In Western NSW, twice the number of adults smoke compared to those in Sydney. To slow the flow, new tobacco legislation will consolidate new laws with existing ones, aimed at preventing the next generation of smokers and associated health risks. The new legislation also tackles the growing wave of nicotine addiction through vaping, where young people (16-24 years) hold the market, despite once offering hope that Australia was ageing out of smoking.

Being rolled out next year, the purchase of a new pack of smokes will see updated health warnings on the packaging, and health promotion inserts when opening the pack. New and existing products designed to make tobacco more palatable, such as menthol or crush balls will be banned, and tobacco companies will be required to report the ingredients used in their products.

“This new legislation, coupled with vaping regulations which take effect from 1 January 2024, will save tens of thousands of lives, and reassert the country as a world-leader in tobacco control,” CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia Adj Prof Slevin said. It follows a suite of new laws that were introduced late last month, further cracking down on the sale of nicotine vapes that aren’t medically prescribed. While the ban has proven lacklustre in enforcement, with no shortage of vapes out and about, the new laws completely ban vapes (including nicotine-free) from containing enticing flavours or packaging.

To view the Western Plains App article Smoking law changes to reduce prevalence by 2025 in full click here.

ATSI man's hands breaking a cigarette in half

Image source: Australian Journal of General Practice, Vol. 49.

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.