NACCHO Aboriginal Health reports:Sport and recreation programs help health in Aboriginal communities

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A paper released last week on the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse website examines the beneficial effects of participation in sports and recreation for supporting healthy Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The paper, Supporting healthy communities through sports and recreation programs, reviews over 30 studies, covering all geographic areas from inner city to remote regions, and age groups ranging from primary school to young adult.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE

It shows that there are many benefits to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities from participation in sport and recreational programs, including some improvements in school retention, attitudes towards learning, social and cognitive skills, physical and mental health and wellbeing; increased social inclusion and cohesion; increased validation of and connection to culture; and some evidence of crime reduction.

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The paper shows that although the effects of sports and recreation programs can be powerful and transformative, these effects tend to be indirect and therefore hard to measure.

For example, programs to reduce juvenile antisocial behaviour largely work through diversion—these can provide alternative and safer opportunities for risk-taking, for maintenance of social status, and in building healthy relationships with elders.

Because of the lack of direct measures on the impact of sports and recreation programs on various outcomes for Indigenous Australians, this resource sheet focussed on some of the principles that can help ensure that the program is successful. These include:

  • Linking sports and recreation programs with other services and opportunities;
  • Promoting a program rather than a desired outcome;
  • Engaging the community in the planning and implementation of programs, as this will ensure that the program is culturally appropriate, and potentially sustainable.

What we know

• There is some evidence, in the form of critical descriptions of programs and systematic reviews, on the benefits to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities from participation in sport and recreational programs. These include some improvements in school retention, attitudes towards learning, social and cognitive skills, physical and mental health and wellbeing; increased social inclusion and cohesion; increased validation of and connection to culture; and crime reduction.

• Although the effects of sports and recreation programs can be powerful and transformative, these effects tend to be indirect. For example, using these programs to reduce juvenile antisocial behaviour largely work through diversion, providing alternative safe opportunities to risk taking, maintenance of social status, as well as opportunities to build healthy relationships with Elders and links with culture.

• Although Indigenous Australians have lower rates of participation in sport than non-Indigenous people, surveys suggest that around one-third of Indigenous people participate in some sporting activity (ABS 2010). That makes sports a potentially powerful vehicle for encouraging Indigenous communities to look at challenging personal and community issues.

• Within Indigenous communities, a strong component of sport and recreation is the link with traditional culture. Cultural activities such as hunting are generally more accepted as a form of sport and recreation than traditional dance. Therefore sport and recreation are integral in understanding ‘culture’ within Indigenous communities, as well as highlighting the culture within which sport and recreation operate.

What works

There are a range of benefits pertaining to participation in sports and recreation activities. In the absence of evaluation evidence, below is a list of principles of ‘what works’ and ‘what doesn’t work’ to assist with sport and recreation program implementation.

• Providing a quality program experience heightens engagement in the sports or recreational activity.

• Where no activity has been previously made available, offering some type of sport or recreation program to fill that void should be given priority over making selective decisions about which program to carry out.

• Linking sports and recreation programs with other services and opportunities (for example, health services or counselling; jobs or more relevant educational programs) improves the uptake of these allied services. This assists in developing links to other important programs for improving health and wellbeing outcomes, or behavioural change.

• For sporting programs, providing long-term sustained, regular contact between experienced sportspeople and participants allows time to consolidate new skills and benefits that flow from involvement in the program.

• Promoting a program rather than a desired outcome improves the uptake of activities—for example, a physical fitness program is more likely to be well used if promoted as games or sports rather than a get-fit campaign.

• Involving the community in the planning and implementation of programs promotes cultural appropriateness, engagement and sustainability.

• Keeping participants’ costs to a minimum ensures broad access to programs.

• Scheduling activities at appropriate times enhances engagement—for example, for young people, after school, weekends and during school holidays, when they are most likely to have large amounts of unsupervised free time.

• Facilitating successful and positive risk taking provides an alternative to inappropriate risks.

• Creating a safe place through sports or recreation activities, where trust has been built, allows for community members to work through challenges and potential community and personal change without fear of retribution or being stigmatised.

• Ensuring stable funding and staffing is crucial to developing sustainable programs.

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NACCHO Aboriginal health news: INVITE :Webcast forum on Registration for Aboriginal Health Practitioners

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A forum/webcast on Registration for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners

Wednesday 18 December 2013  Time: 9.30 am to 12.00 pm

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia, in partnership with the Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers’ Association, the Australian Medicare Local Alliance, and the NSW Ministry of Health invite you to attend a stakeholder forum via webcast from Sydney.

This is an opportunity for you and your colleagues to understand more about Registration for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners.

You can log onto a webcast of the event (see link attached below) and view live on the day or view the recorded version at a later date.

Board members, partner organisations and AHPRA staff will be present to answer your questions on registration, accreditation and scope of practice.

You must register via the attached link for the forum.

Webcast-Registration Forum for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners

When you have entered the page you must click on the Enter Webcast button and enter your details. Also please test the compatibility of your webcast viewing computer via the Internet Speed Test and Video Compatibility Test links on the website page; before the date of the webcast.

Please forward this email to any colleagues who would be interested in attending the forum via our live webcast.

Date:    Wednesday 18 December 2013

Time:   9.30 am to 12.00 pm

Please feel free to contact James Porter on (02) 92124777 or

via email if you have any questions.

Kind regards

James Porter

Workforce Initiatives Project Officer (WIPO) | Member Services Support Unit

Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council

Acknowledging the traditional Aboriginal custodians upon whose ancestral lands the AH&MRC and AHC stand.

 

NACCHO Aboriginal eHealth news : Will all Aboriginal clients be automatically enrolled for an e-Health record ?

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All AUSTRALIANS would be automatically enrolled for an e-Health record and have to opt out to protect their health privacy under sweeping changes to the $1 billion white elephant.

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A government review of the troubled computer system is also considering changing the extent to which patients control what appears on the record.

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And doctors could get paid to upload patient health summaries onto the record to get more clinicians involved in using it.

Launched in July 2012 the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record was meant to bring medical records into the digital age and contain an electronic patient health summary, a list of allergies and medications and eventually X-rays and test results.

Seventeen months after it was launched only a million people have signed up for the record and only one per cent of these records has a clinical summary uploaded by a doctor.

A government inquiry into the record headed by Uniting Care Health chief Richard Royle has been charged with overhauling the struggling policy.

The intention of his panel is “not to kill it but build on the foundation base”, he says.

“If there is one consistent theme it is that the industry wants to see it work,” says the man who will next year launch Australia’s first digitally integrated hospital.

Voluntary sign-ups for e-health records have been slow and the Consumer’s Health Forum which previously backed an opt-in record has told the inquiry it now wants an opt-out system.

“Australia should bite the bullet and make joining the national e-Health records system automatic for everyone unless they actively choose to opt out,” CHF spokesman Mark Metherell says.

“An opt out model is one of the issues we’re looking at,” says Mr Doyle.

Doctors have told the inquiry they won’t trust the record unless patients are prevented from changing or withholding any clinical data such as an abortion or mental illness from the record.

They say they need this information so they have a proper understanding of all the medications and health conditions the person has to get a correct diagnosis and ensure there are no medication mix-ups.

Mr Royle says the inquiry is considering the personal control issue but “don’t assume the AMA position is the prevailing view,” he said.

The Consumer’s Health Forum says “if there is to be opt out full personal control of the health record must be central to the system and if possible strengthened”.

Consumers who had health procedures such as an abortion or a mental illness they may want to hide would be worried if they lost control over the record.

The changes would completely change the nature of the Personally Controlled e-Health Record which the previous Labor government promised would be voluntary and controlled by the patient.

The review set up by incoming Health Minister Peter Dutton has received over 82 submissions and the inquiry has been told the record won’t be useful until a critical mass of patients and doctors begin using it.

Health Minister Peter Dutton has ridiculed the slow progress with the record and doctors have argued they are unlikely to quickly embrace the record until they get paid to upload patient health summaries.

The review is also looking at whether involving private information technology providers who run private e-health records could improve the system.

A draft report is due to go to Health Minister Peter Dutton before Christmas.

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NACCHO Aboriginal health news: Aboriginal health isn’t all bad news

 

It’s easy to feel disheartened by the bombardment of negative statistics about Indigenous health, but we shouldn’t ignore the many successes, writes Lisa Jackson Pulver in the  ABC online DRUM Photo:  (Dave Hunt, file photo: AAP)

Lisa Jackson Pulver holds the Inaugural Chair of Indigenous Health and is a Professor of Public Health at UNSW. View her full profile here.

The media loves a bad news story – and the response to the latest report on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health is no exception.

The Sydney Morning Herald called the past 10 years a “wasted decade“, highlighting increasing rates of diabetes, kidney disease, asthma and osteoporosis among Indigenous people, along with the 11-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

But the largest-ever survey of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics also has some good news to report that was all too easily passed over.

Fewer Indigenous people are taking up smoking, and those who do smoke are giving up the habit. This is despite nicotine being an addictive substance, highly influenced by social norms. For years, smoking rates have been much higher in the Indigenous community than in the non-Indigenous community. But according to the Bureau, the proportion of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 to 17 years who have never smoked has increased from 61 per cent to 77 per cent, with an increase from 34 per cent to 43 per cent for those aged 18 to 24 years.

This result is matched by the non-Indigenous community. It should be applauded and recognised by all Australians: it shows the resilience of our young people who are increasingly saying no to smoking. The choice they are making will mean a decrease in the knock-on effects that chronic smoking brings.

While it must be acknowledged that this is only one indicator of success, it is still a win. So, where are the accolades for all the tobacco control programs, the Aboriginal Health Worker mentors and those with the resolve to never smoke or to stop? Why is this not the story?

Among the findings in the ABS report, Indigenous Australians are reported as being more than three times as likely as non-Indigenous Australians to have diabetes. While this is cause for concern, many of the major health problems for Indigenous communities are not only affected by health spending, but by the wider determinants of health. This means it will take much longer before we see viable gains. So it should come as no surprise that in such a short period, since 2009, the Closing the Gap policy framework and funding did not produce positive health outcomes on all measures. The period surveyed (2012-2013) cannot have benefitted from the new money that flowed as a result of Closing the Gap. It is too early. More importantly, the severe disadvantage many of these data reflect reinforces the argument for concerted action and sustained funding over the longer term.

We must also remember that early prevention and intervention is important, so we need to continue to look for the early and intermediate signs of what will become a long-term improvement in health – which of course includes lower smoking rates, a top risk factor for a wide array of other health conditions. Likewise, we should not simply focus on the current rates of chronic disease, but also the factors that contribute to good health in the future: nutritional status and healthy diets, physical activity, access to antenatal care, not smoking, engagement in family and community activities, housing quality and whether there is overcrowding, employment and cultural and psychological wellbeing – all of which lay the foundations to health.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, like everyone’s health, is much more than the absence of disease. It involves physical, social, emotional, cultural, spiritual and ecological wellbeing and fulfilment of potential to contribute to the wellbeing of the whole community. Looking more deeply, we can see the outstanding successes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare services, visual and performing arts, drama, music, tertiary education and sport as examples of early indicators that many people are flourishing.

It is very easy to see only the negative, given the statistics that seem to bombard us. That’s unfortunate because it promotes a sense of hopelessness, when what is needed is energy, positive models of change and positive commitment over the long term. There would be great value in capturing these positive changes, in collecting and amplifying the voices of those young people in particular who have made conscious decisions to live well and let these voices join the growing chorus of role models, exemplars and successful ventures in our communities.

Closing the Gap is a great start – and a much needed catalyst for change – but it is necessary to shift the lens towards the kinds of deeper changes that lead to lifelong health, including not smoking. Instead of focusing on the negatives, why not support those effective, community-driven enterprises and programs already having positive impacts, so that the children of our children will again enjoy the great opportunities that life in this magnificent country has to offer.

Lisa Jackson Pulver holds the Inaugural Chair of Indigenous Health and is a Professor of Public Health at UNSW. View her full profile here.

Topics: indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, indigenous-policy

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NACCHO Aboriginal eye health : Small victories add up to gap closure for Aboriginal health

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With a team at the University of Melbourne, we have researched and consulted  widely over the past five years to come up with a plan to “Close the Gap” in  Indigenous eye health.  ‘The Roadmap to Close the Gap for Vision’ presents an  opportunity for another ‘small victory’ by eliminating preventable vision loss  for Indigenous people over the next five years

Professor Hugh Taylor (pictured centre above)

Early this year, then Prime Minister Julia Gillard spoke to Parliament about  some of the positive trends that are emerging in the long-term goal of the  Government to “Close the Gap” for Australian Indigenous disadvantage.

From The AGE

She described Closing the Gap as ‘an accumulation of small victories’ which  can provide ‘the basic public services…delivered at the standard that every  Australian expects’.

The general theme is that some things are improving, albeit slowly, and  others need to get a wriggle on.

With a team at the University of Melbourne, we have researched and consulted  widely over the past five years to come up with a plan to “Close the Gap” in  Indigenous eye health.  ‘The Roadmap to Close the Gap for Vision’ presents an  opportunity for another ‘small victory’ by eliminating preventable vision loss  for Indigenous people over the next five years.

This is the first time  Indigenous eye health has been comprehensively researched to identify the  problems, needs and solutions.

Previous reports on Indigenous eye care have been  limited to reviews and the findings have been implemented incompletely at best.  ‘The Roadmap to Close the Gap for Vision’ has drawn on successful examples and  practices from around the country and extensive community and stakeholder  consultation. Best of all, it is feasible and doable, but each component is  essential for success.

The key to the Roadmap is the comprehensive approach that will improve the  provision and utilisation of eye services by the application of additional  resources to increase the availability of eye care and provide good  co-ordination and case management of patients.

Indigenous Australians experience six times the rate of blindness compared  with the rest of Australia. Vision loss causes 11 per cent of the Gap in health  – it is equal third with trauma, following heart disease and diabetes but ahead  of stroke and alcoholism. The provision of good quality eye care is fundamental  to improving the health of Indigenous Australians and unlike many other  conditions, most vision loss can be eliminated overnight.

The Roadmap provides policy recommendations to eliminate unnecessary vision  loss through 42 interlocking strategies. The recommendations build on previous  reports from the Indigenous Eye Health Unit at the University of Melbourne and  an extensive consultation process with the community-controlled sector, eye  health professionals, governments and other stakeholders.

The Roadmap addresses primary eye care, refractive services, cataract,  diabetic eye disease and trachoma. It includes cost estimates for the  Commonwealth, state and territory governments. It builds on community  consultation and control, the regional delivery of services and the National  Health Reforms. It stresses the assessment of population-based needs, strong  co-ordination, monitoring of performance and national accountability.

A recent Victorian initiative is one example of the difference a co-ordinated  approach that involves all the key partners and addresses one of the concerns  raised as a barrier can make. The Victorian Eyecare Service was augmented in  2010 by the Victorian Government with funds to allow Aboriginal Victorians  access to a specifically designed pair of spectacles for $10. The scheme is  available from optometrists working in Aboriginal Health Services and through a  network of private optometrists in rural Victoria.

There is no requirement for a  health care card or pensioner status to be eligible for access to the scheme.  The introduction of this scheme in 2010 has been followed by a more than twofold  increase in demand. Cost is identified as the most common reason Indigenous  people do not go to a health professional when needed. However, rather than  cost, we found that cost-certainty was the more important issue.  Cost-uncertainty for spectacles was commonly reported to the research team as  the reason for not visiting the optometrist and not having eyes tested. The  Victorian scheme demonstrates that when good quality spectacles are provided at  a low and certain cost, the service is rapidly accepted and taken up.

All Australians reasonably expect to see clearly and comfortably and to have  healthy eyes. We all fear vision loss and blindness given its considerable  potential impact on the quality of our lives. The Roadmap to Close the Gap for  Vision provides opportunity to accumulate yet another small victory to reduce  Indigenous disadvantage. We have the evidence, the strategy and the capacity to  close the gap for vision – the time is right to take this next “small step”.

The Indigenous Eye  Health Unit would like to acknowledge support from the following donors; The  Harold Mitchell Foundation, The Ian Potter Foundation, Mr Greg Poche AO, the  University of Melbourne, Dr David Middleton, Mr Peter Anastasiou, Mr Rob Bowen,  Dr Vera Bowen, Mr Noel Andresen, Dr Mark & Alla Medownick, Gandel  Philanthropy, CBM Australia, The Cybec Foundation, The Aspen Foundation and “K”  Line Logistics. Funding for work on the Implementation of the Roadmap to Close  the Gap for Vision has been provided by the Department of Health for 2013 –  2014.

Read more about Hugh Taylor at: www.medicine150.mdhs.unimelb.edu.au/taylor

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/voice/small-victories-add-up-to-gap-closure-for-indigenous-health-20131203-2ynvb.html#ixzz2n84tSyNG

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NACCHO Aboriginal Health News : Media coverage and download AMA Aboriginal health report 2012-2013

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There are some incredible things happening out there in communities all around Australia. Our Report Card shines a bright light on what needs to be done to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in their important early years of life.

It also brings together some of the great work that is already happening to make a difference

Dr Steve Hambleton (see full launch speech below)

Picture above:  Romlie Mokak CEO  AIDA, Justin Mohamed NACCHO chair, Senator Fiona Nash and AMA CEO Dr Steve Hambleton

WATCH LAUNCH on NACCHOTV and  NITV

(Transcript from World News Australia Radio) Thea Cowie reports

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health report card highlights the impact early childhood experiences can have on genetic expression

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE

Unfortunately there’s nothing new about inter-generational Indigenous disadvantage.

But Australian Medical Association national president Steve Hambleton says new developments in neuroscience, molecular biology and epigenetics provide a scientific explanation for the cycle of disadvantage.

“Now epigenetics, or the study of the way genes are switched on and off, we can now understand how those early life experiences become hard-wired into the body with lifelong effects on health and wellbeing. Early experiences can influence which of the person’s genes are activated and de-activated and consequently how the brain and body development occurs.”

The AMA report says repetitive stressful experiences early in life can cause changes in the function of genes that influence how well the body copes with adversity throughout life – including the development of emotional control, memory function and cognition.

The report cites research showing more than 20 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families with children under 16 experience seven or more life stress events in a year.

Chairman of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Justin Mohamed, admits it’s daunting to think about the impact early childhood events can have on a genetic level.

“It’s very scary to think that an individual event or a multitude of events, or the environment that you were raised in, can actually switch off your potential of what you could be. And on the other side of the thing I think it’s very encouraging to think that well there might just be some minor adjustments which actually can switch on so you can actually reach your potential.”

Mr Mohamed says in many ways the science backs up what’s long been known.

But he hopes the evidence will help focus efforts and investment on the early years – the years he says really change lives.

“They want evidence, they want to see where they can make the best investment to get the best return. So I think that this report will show that well here’s some evidence. We know that if the right investment is made, the right rollout to frontline services, Aboriginal community controlled health services, that we can have really good turn around with the results.”

The Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association chief executive officer, Romlie Mokak, says the report also highlights the importance of providing support to mothers- and fathers-to-be.

“Having all of that early education and support is really critical for fundamental things like having access pre-natally. When baby’s born the connect between having all of that clinical support and education, the right nutrition and supportive environments can improve birth weights. And it’s also about making sure that care continues once bub’s born.”

Recommendations from the AMA report include establishing a national plan for expanded maternal and child services including parenting and life skills education, expanding home visit services and building a strong sense of cultural identity and self-worth.

Mr Mokak acknowledges the report is just one of thousands written in an attempt to address Indigenous disadvantage.

But he hopes this one will receive the bipartisan support and funding needed to capitalise on its findings.

“The fact that the president of the AMA, Steve Hambleton, who’s so committed to this agenda, chairs the taskforce that produced the report says something. This is however many thousands of doctors in the country who are saying this is important business for the medical fraternity. The biggest call here I think is for us to think about a future beyond a political cycle. My hope would be that it fits in terms of aligning with government, the Opposition and the Greens and others to say this is an important agenda for us to keep supporting.”

The AMA Indigenous Health Report Card is one of the most significant pieces of work produced by the AMA. It gives us great pride. It matters. It makes a difference.

We have been producing these Report Cards for over a decade now, and each time we focus on a different aspect of Indigenous health – children’s health, primary care, funding, men’s health, or inequity of access.

We come at it from all angles.

We do not pretend to have all the solutions to the many health problems that confront Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. But the AMA recognises and acknowledges the problems and we want to help fix them. Our Report Cards are a catalyst for thinking, and hopefully a catalyst for action.

This year we are focusing on the early years of life. It is the right of every Australian child to have the best start in life – but in Australia today not every child benefits from this right. In their early years, children need to be safe, have adequate opportunities for growth and development, and have access to adequate health, child development, and education services.

Many of our children are missing out, but none more so than Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

There have been some improvements in recent years with many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children making a successful transition to healthy adult life.

But there are still far too many who are being raised in community and family environments that are marked by severe early childhood adversity.

This adversity in early life can affect educational and social functioning in later life, and can increase the risk of chronic illness.

We are seeing improvements through government commitment and cooperation on closing the gap initiatives, but much more action is needed.

Epigenetics is all about how early life experiences become hard-wired into the body, with life-long effects on health and wellbeing.

Early experiences can influence which of a person’s genes are activated and de-activated and, consequently, how the brain and the body develop.

Building and providing stable and healthy life experiences in the early years can help break the cycle of adversity.

That is our task and our challenge.

Good nutrition, responsive care and psychosocial stimulation can have powerful protective benefits to improve longer-term health and wellbeing.

Strong culture and strong identity are also central to healthy early development.

The costs to individuals, families, and society of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children failing to reach their developmental potential continue to be substantial.

Robust and properly targeted and sustained investment in healthy early childhood development is one of the keys to breaking the cycle of ill health and premature death among Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders.

It is crucial for the momentum to be sustained by renewing the COAG National Partnership Agreements on Indigenous Health and on Indigenous Early Childhood Development for another five years.

The AMA makes several recommendations in the Report Card, including :

A national plan for expanded comprehensive maternal and child services;

The extension of the Australian Nurse Family Partnership Program of home visiting to more centres;

Support for families at risk with interventions to protect infants and young children from neglect, abuse and family violence;

Efforts to reduce the incarceration of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders; efforts to improve the access of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders to the benefits of the economy, especially employment and entrepreneurship;

Efforts to keep children at school;

Building a strong sense of cultural identity and self-worth; improving the living environment with better housing, clean water, sanitation facilities, and conditions that contribute to safe and healthy living; and better data, research and evaluation culturally appropriate measures of early childhood development and wellbeing.

We have also highlighted some examples of programs that are already being successful at improving the early years of Indigenous children.

There is the Darwin Midwifery Group Practice, the Aboriginal Family Birthing Program in South Australia, and the NSW Intensive Family Support Service are just a few.

Our governments – individually and through COAG – must examine these programs, learn from them, and replicate them where possible.

Our governments must also look at the Abecedarian approach to early childhood development.

This involves a suite of high quality teaching and learning strategies to improve later life outcomes for children from at-risk and under-resourced families.

It is being used to great effect at the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress in Alice Springs.

The AMA believes the Abecedarian approach has a strong track record of success and we urge all governments to have a closer look for possible widespread implementation.

There are some incredible things happening out there in communities all around Australia. Our Report Card shines a bright light on what needs to be done to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in their important early years of life.

It also brings together some of the great work that is already happening to make a difference.

Importantly, it defines a challenge for all of us – governments, the medical profession, the r health and education sectors, and the broader community – to give these kids and their families a healthier life.

I now ask the Assistant Minister for Health, Senator Fiona Nash, to say a few words and officially launch our Report Card. Background. Some key factors impacting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing in the early years:

Pregnancy and Birth

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have a higher birth rate compared with all women in Australia (2.6 babies compared to 1.9), and are more likely to have children at a younger age: 52 per cent of the Aboriginal women giving birth in 2010 were aged less than 25 years, and 20 per cent were less than 20 years, compared with 16 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, for the broader community [AIHW, 2012];

Aboriginal women remain twice as likely to die in childbirth as non-Aboriginal mothers, and are significantly more likely to experience pregnancy complications and stressful life events and social problems during pregnancy, such as the death of a family member, housing problems, and family violence [Brown, 2011];around half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander mothers who gave birth in 2010 smoked during pregnancy, almost four times the rate of other Australian mothers; and while infant mortality continues to fall, low birth weight appears to be increasing.

Infancy and early years

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are twice as likely to die before the age of five than other Australian children of that age group. However, the Closing the Gap target to halve this gap in mortality rates by 2018 will be reached if current trends continue; between 2008 and 2010, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children less than five years of age were hospitalised at a rate 1.4 times greater than other children of the same age [AIHW 2013]; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children suffer from nutritional anaemia at 30 times the rate of other children [Bar-Zeev, et. al., 2013]; and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children between 2 and 4 years of age are almost twice as likely to be overweight or obese compared with all Australian children in that age range [Webster et. al., 2013].

Family Life

More than 20 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families with children younger than 16 years have experienced seven or more life stress events in a year [Zubrick et al, 2006]. The greater the number of family life stress events experienced in the previous 12 months, the higher the risk of children having clinically significant social and emotional difficulties [FaHCSIA, 2013]; for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, risk factors such as: a close family member having been arrested, or in jail or having problems with the police, being cared for by someone other than their regular carers for more than a week; being scared by other people’s behaviour had the greatest impact on a child’s social and emotional difficulty scores; especially if these factors were sustained over a number of years [FAHCSIA 2013]; between 2006 and 2010, the injury death rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children was three times higher than that for other children. In 2010–11, the rate of hospitalisation for injuries was almost 90 per cent higher for children from remote and very remote areas than for children in major cities. Overall, hospitalisation due to injury among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children was almost double that of other children, with the greatest disparity relating to assault [AIHW, 2012];

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were almost eight times as likely to be the subject of substantiated child abuse and neglect compared with other Australian children [AIHW 2012].

 

Early Childhood Education and Schooling

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were almost twice as likely to be developmentally vulnerable than other Australian children, and to require special assistance in making a successful transition into school learning; the Closing the Gap target for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander four-year-olds living in remote communities to have access to 15 hours of early childhood education per week was achieved in 2013; across the country, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children achieving the national minimum standards decreases as remoteness increases. For example, in 2012, only 20.3 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander year 5 students in very remote areas achieved national minimum standards in reading, compared with 76 per cent in metropolitan areas;

Only modest progress has been made in achieving the Closing the Gap target to halve the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in NAPLAN reading, writing and numeracy assessment scores by 2018    

 

 

 

 

NACCHO AMA Aboriginal health news : Action needed to give Aboriginal children a healthier start to life ; Download report

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AMA Indigenous Health Report Card 2012-13

“The Healthy Early Years – Getting the Right Start in Life”

The AMA Indigenous Health Report Card 2012-13, The Healthy Early Years – Getting the Right Start in Life, was released today by Assistant Minister for Health, Senator the Hon Fiona Nash, at Parliament House in Canberra.(see Senator Nash Press Release below )

DOWNLOAD THE AMA 2012-2013 REPORT CARD HERE

If you missed the NACCHO AIHW HEALTHY FOR LIFE REPORT CARD Download here

AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said it is the right of every Australian child to have the best start in life but in Australia today not every child benefits from this right.

“In their early years, children need to be safe, have adequate opportunities for growth and development, and have access to adequate health, child development, and education services,” Dr Hambleton said.

“Many of our children are missing out, but none more so than Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

“There have been some improvements in recent years with many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children making a successful transition to healthy adult life, but there are still far too many who are being raised in community and family environments that are marked by severe early childhood adversity.

“This adversity in early life can affect educational and social functioning in later life, and can increase the risk of chronic illness.

“Without intervention, these problems can be transmitted from one generation to the next – and the cycle continues.

“Good nutrition, responsive care and psychosocial stimulation can have powerful protective benefits to improve longer-term health and wellbeing.

“Strong culture and strong identity are also central to healthy early development.

“The costs to individuals, families, and society of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children failing to reach their developmental potential continue to be substantial.

“Robust and properly targeted and sustained investment in healthy early childhood development is one of the keys to breaking the cycle of ill health and premature death among Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders.

“We are seeing improvements through government commitment and cooperation on closing the gap initiatives, but much more action is needed

“It is crucial for the momentum to be sustained by renewing the COAG National Partnership Agreements on Indigenous Health and on Indigenous Early Childhood Development for another five years,” Dr Hambleton said.

The AMA makes several recommendations in the Report Card to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in their early years, including:

a national plan for expanded comprehensive maternal and child services that covers a range of activities including antenatal services, childhood health monitoring and screening, access to specialists, parenting education and life skills, and services that target risk factors such as smoking, substance use, nutrition, and mental health and wellbeing;

  • the extension of the Australian Nurse Family Partnership Program of home visiting to more centres;
  • support for families at risk with interventions to protect infants and young children from neglect, abuse and family violence;
  • efforts to reduce the incarceration of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders;
  • efforts to improve the access of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders to the benefits of the economy, especially employment and entrepreneurship;
  • efforts to keep children at school;
  • building a strong sense of cultural identity and self-worth;
  • improving the living environment with better housing, clean water, sanitation facilities, and conditions that contribute to safe and healthy living; and better data, research and

Background – some key factors impacting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing in the early years:

Pregnancy and Birth

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have a higher birth rate compared with all women in Australia (2.6 babies compared to 1.9), and are more likely to have children at a younger age: 52 per cent of the Aboriginal women giving birth in 2010 were aged less than 25 years, and 20 per cent were less than 20 years, compared with 16 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, for the broader community [AIHW, 2012];
  • Aboriginal women remain twice as likely to die in childbirth as non-Aboriginal mothers, and are significantly more likely to experience pregnancy complications and stressful life events and social problems during pregnancy, such as the death of a family member, housing problems, and family violence [Brown, 2011];
  • around half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander mothers who gave birth in 2010 smoked during pregnancy, almost four times the rate of other Australian mothers; and
  • while infant mortality continues to fall, low birth weight appears to be increasing.

Infancy and early years

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are twice as likely to die before the age of five than other Australian children of that age group. However, the Closing the Gap target to halve this gap in mortality rates by 2018 will be reached if current trends continue;
  • between 2008 and 2010, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children less than five years of age were hospitalised at a rate 1.4 times greater than other children of the same age [AIHW 2013];
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children suffer from nutritional anaemia at 30 times the rate of other children [Bar-Zeev, et. al., 2013]; and
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children between 2 and 4 years of age are almost twice as likely to be overweight or obese compared with all Australian children in that age range [Webster et. al., 2013].

Family Life

  • More than 20 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families with children younger than 16 years have experienced seven or more life stress events in a year [Zubrick et al, 2006]. The greater the number of family life stress events experienced in the previous 12 months, the higher the risk of children having clinically significant social and emotional difficulties [FaHCSIA, 2013];
  • for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, risk factors such as: a close family member having been arrested, or in jail or having problems with the police, being cared for by someone other than their regular carers for more than a week; being scared by other people’s behaviour had the greatest impact on a child’s social and emotional difficulty scores; especially if these factors were sustained over a number of years [FaHCSIA  2013];
  • between 2006 and 2010, the injury death rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children was three times higher than that for other children. In 2010–11, the rate of hospitalisation for injuries was almost 90 per cent higher for children from remote and very remote areas than for children in major cities. Overall, hospitalisation due to injury among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children was almost double that of other children, with the greatest disparity relating to assault [AIHW, 2012];
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were almost eight times as likely to be the subject of substantiated child abuse and neglect compared with other Australian children [AIHW 2012].

Early Childhood Education and Schooling

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were almost twice as likely to be developmentally vulnerable than other Australian children, and to require special assistance in making a successful transition into school learning;
  • the Closing the Gap target for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander four-year-olds living in remote communities to have access to 15 hours of early childhood education per week was achieved in 2013;
  • across the country, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children achieving the national minimum standards decreases as remoteness increases. For example, in 2012, only 20.3 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander year 5 students in very remote areas achieved national minimum standards in reading, compared with 76 per cent in metropolitan areas;
  • only modest progress has been made in achieving the Closing the Gap target to halve the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in NAPLAN reading, writing and numeracy assessment scores by 2018.

10 December 2013

CONTACT:        John Flannery                     02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761

NACCHO Aboriginal health news :Leading organisations rally: Food security the missing link in ‘closing the gap’

BushWOK

Leading health organisations, the Dietitians Association of Australia and the Public Health Association of Australia, have joined forces with Australian Red Cross to draw attention to the health gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians, due to food insecurity.

Photo above supplied by BushWOK Alice Springs

The three organisations are releasing their ‘Food Security for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ policy at Parliament House in Canberra today.

DOWNLOAD the POLICY DOCUMENT HERE

According to the organisations, one in four (24%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People report food insecurity, compared with just five per cent of non-Indigenous Australians an issue they say is not getting any better and needs urgent attention.

Public Health Association of Australia CEO Michael Moore said: ‘We’re calling on all levels of Government to address food insecurity in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Many in this population group do not have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to lead a healthy and active life.

‘Factors such as poverty, low or inadequate incomes, poor housing, including basic set-ups to store and prepare food, and less access to nutritious food place these Australians at higher risk.’

Claire Hewat, CEO of the Dietitians Association of Australia, said the result is that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families go hungry, and that diet-related diseases run rife in this population.

‘Sadly, in this group of Australians, we see high rates of preventable diet-related diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease,’ said Ms Hewat.

She said nutrition needs to be a priority if the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is to improve.

According to Jennifer Evans, National Coordinator, Families Children and Food Security at Australian Red Cross, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not have an equal opportunity to be as healthy as non-Indigenous Australians, with poorer access to healthy food, primary health care and health infrastructure.

‘This is reflected in data showing life expectancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is 11.5 years shorter for males and almost 10 years shorter for females, compared with other Australians,’ said Ms Evans.

The ‘Food Security for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ policy highlights the need for all levels of government to take the lead in addressing food insecurity, working with non-government organisations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Michael Moore, CEO, Public Health Association of Australia: 0417 249731

Emma Jones, Communications and Marketing Cadet Dietitian, Dietitians Association of Australia: 0409 661920.

Antony Balmain, Communications and Media Adviser, Australian Red Cross: 0408 018609

Background

Food insecurity includes periods of prolonged hunger, or anxiety about getting food or having to rely on food relief.

The ‘Food Security for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ policy highlights:

  •  The unacceptable health gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians, related to food insecurity.
  •  Government needs to take the primary role in developing targeted food and nutrition security policies and actions. A whole of government approach, linking in with relevant   agencies and partners, is needed.
  • Mapping and reporting is needed on food and nutrition security in Australia, with a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
  •  Future policies and policy actions to help achieve food and nutrition security need to involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

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NACCHO Aboriginal Health News: Queensland’s $5 million funding for world-first project aimed at treating and preventing avoidable blindness

Paddy_Ryder getting his eyes tested1

The  $5 million project will provide education, equipment and specialist support to 27 Aboriginal Medical Services in Queensland.

The Queensland Government has paid tribute to Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee by providing $5 million in funding for a world-first project aimed at treating and preventing avoidable blindness in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Picture above Essendon footballer Paddy Ryder recently promoting World Sight Day

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said the project would take specialist services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities through a fully-equipped, 60-foot van.

“This project will leave a lasting legacy in tribute to Her Majesty the Queen,” Mr Springborg said.

“Diabetes affects one in three adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland and can have a debilitating impact on the sufferers’ vision.

“However, most blindness caused by diabetes can be prevented, which is why this project is so important.”

Mr Springborg said the project will provide education, equipment and specialist support to 27 Aboriginal Medical Services in Queensland.

“The Newman Government is committed to providing the best health services at the best time and in the best place,” he said.

“A van equipped with state of the art optical equipment will travel to nine regional hubs where local and visiting eye specialists will treat patients.

“The project will provide a comprehensive screening program to identify at risk clients and screen for diabetic eye disease.

“All 27 centres will be equipped with telehealth conferencing to allow consultations with specialists at Princess Alexandra Hospital and the van also features on board telehealth facilities

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NACCHO political news: Is this the first time Aboriginal people have been so close to the top of the political agenda ?

“His commitment to Indigenous people is the nicest thing about him, (referring to Mr Abbott.)  There is good will there and he might not get it right but we should give him a chance.”

Fred Chaney speaking at the recent NACCHO AGM in Perth

Des Martin (pictured above), Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia, a peak body representing 20 of that state’s Aboriginal Medical Services, says there is truth in that statement because this is the first time Aboriginal people have been so close to the top of the political agenda.

Des Martin wrote this report from the recent National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation’s Members Meeting for CROAKEY

When former politician Fred Chaney told a packed room, most of whom were Aboriginal, that Tony Abbott has good will and a genuine personal interest and investment in the needs of Aboriginal people, I wasn’t sure what would happen.

These were risky statements to make, given the depth of mistrust many Aboriginal (and non-Aboriginal) people have for politicians past and present: sometimes due to policy and sometimes down to empty promises and token gestures.

Perhaps though, there is some truth there. We should respect him and if Warren Mundine wants to be Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs then we should let him and more importantly take him seriously.

Mr Chaney has known Tony Abbott for a long time and he openly admits the Prime Minister has changed a lot since those early days of politics.

“His commitment to Indigenous people is the nicest thing about him,” he said when referring to Mr Abbott. “There is good will there and he might not get it right but we should give him a chance.”

Mr Abbott was unable to attend the NACCHO annual members meeting in person, due to Parliament sitting, but he wrote a letter to the delegates about what he hopes will change under his new government: while it is comforting that there have been improvements in life expectancy, the ten year gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people is still disturbing.

It must be our goal to eliminate this gap within a generation. Our health is in many ways a reflection of our communities. That is why we have to ensure that children go to schools, adults go to work and the ordinary rule of the land operates in Aboriginal communities.

When one of his senior bureaucrats was later pressed on what the statement about ordinary rule meant, particularly when he used changed the rule to law in his own presentation, there was no clear definition.

NACCHO Chairperson Justin Mohamed tactfully suggested it would be a good idea to clear that up. Any politician who wants to work seriously with Aboriginal people should know, it matters what that statement means and if the word law is going to be frequently transposed, do you mean law or lore?

Whatever the definition Mr Abbott did explain that a new level of engagement at every level of society is needed, to ensure that Aboriginal people receive better educational, employment, housing and health outcomes and that’s why he has brought Indigenous Affairs under the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC).

The move to DPC is one that many in our sector are worried about. There is fear that the attention and momentum we have picked up is going to be lost under a pile of other Aboriginal (and non-Aboriginal) issues that DPC must deal with.

The concern for us still lies with the use of Medicare Locals and what threat that poses to Aboriginal Medical Services.

While Samantha Palmer, First Assistant Secretary for the Indigenous Health Service Delivery Division said that Medicare Locals won’t replace ‘urban Aboriginal Medical Services’ some aren’t so sure. And to get picky, that statement doesn’t include regional or remote services, what about them?

Sandy Davies, a Director of the Geraldton Region Aboriginal Medical Service echoed what many at the conference likely thought: “Unless we prove the strength of the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Sector, Abbott will utilise Medicare Locals.”

Well I’ll tell you what I know about the strength of our sector.

First, there are 150 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS’) around Australia and together we serve nearly half the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population: that’s 350,000 people across the country.

The Redfern Aboriginal Medical service in Sydney was established in 1971 and was the first Aboriginal community controlled health service in Australia and it helped establish others around the country.

Bega Garnbirringu in the Kalgoorlie region of Western Australia recently celebrated its 30 year anniversary and Perth’s first Aboriginal Medical Service: Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service Inc. just had its 40year anniversary.

As a sector, ACCHS are responsible for 75% of the improvements in Aboriginal people’s health outcomes since 2008 when closing the gap began. ACCHS are more than comparable to mainstream services for identifying risk factors, performing health checks, care planning and treating individuals.

It has proven itself as a successful health model. Now we just need to make sure this new government is well aware of that fact.

There are some concerns also that Warren Mundine’s focus is on economic empowerment of Aboriginal people. He’s right in many ways though: having a better economic status can improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities and he’s also right to target the mining industry. It is an employer of many in Western Australia, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal.

But the ACCH Sector is actually the biggest employer of Aboriginal people Australia-wide. So not only do we care but we employ.

Having the visibility and level of representation for Aboriginal people at a federal level means that Aboriginal people are at the top end of the political agenda and this has never happened before. Aboriginal people are still facing incredible hardship despite improvements in health, employment and economic status but politically this is an exciting time in history.

I just hope the promises are kept.

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