Welcome to the third edition of Gwalwa-Gai, the newsletter for the CRC for Aboriginal Health.

Gwalwa-Gai is an expression used by Larrakia people to call other members of the Larrakia nation to meet. It is used to call clan groups together.

Aboriginal Communities – Who May Speak?
Brian Mccoy (2nd on left) with Ian Anderson (right) and members of the Balgo Men's group

Gwalwa-gai is pleased to reprint the following article by La Trobe researcher Dr Brian McCoy which was originally published in the on-line magazine Eureka Street ….

Aboriginal communities have given me life for over 30 years. Yet in commenting on the recent media spotlight on Aboriginal violence, I enter on delicate ground. I am a non-Aboriginal male. Regardless of my history, relationships and experience with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, some may see my comments as ignorant, unhelpful or simply irrelevant. But the issues are important. They affect my friends and they affect the sort of Australian society we want to create and live in.

Despite the suggestions of our government leaders, there are no simple answers. The violence Aboriginal people have been experiencing over generations wears many faces. But it is more demanding and challenging to explore how I, or we as non-Aboriginal people, may be part of this violence. History suggests that the recent media frenzy and government response may actually create further harm.

A few days ago, a group of senior Aboriginal men who over many years have committed themselves to these issues sent out a press release. They condemned the violence absolutely. They acknowledged that many males were trying to make a difference. They recognised that it was time for men to stand up as fathers, brothers, uncles, grandfathers, nephews and cousins to ‘intervene whenever and wherever'. Finally, they called on governments to support men to do this. This would entail supporting the men's groups and programs which have long been trying, with little help, to address these issues.

The voices of these men, my professional colleagues and friends, have largely not been heard in the recent media coverage. It is easier to depict violence and to stop at the sensational moment. It is much harder to converse seriously with those who are trying to deal with violence and to stop it. It is far more dramatic to present images that shock, rather than engage with Aboriginal women and men about issues that derive from the long history of violence that has been suffered. It is easy to stereotype and pathologise all Aboriginal men. I take great exception to that.

Wadeye in the Northern Territory is one of the communities that has sustained me and given me great life over more than 30 years. It was a mission, called Port Keats, when I first visited in the 1970s. It has, once again, been in the news. It has been evident for many years that this very large community, formed from a mission that gathered together many different language groups, was heading for crisis. Most Aboriginal communities have a much larger group of younger people than we have in non-Aboriginal communities. Wadeye has an even greater proportion. If Aboriginal people are dying much younger than non-Aboriginal Australians, one question has become glaring and obvious. Where are the healthy pathways for the many young men of this community? When housing is overcrowded, unemployment is high, resources are scarce and there are few healthy older people to guide them, what kind of adults can they become?

Let me respond to Minister Mal Brough's recent emphases. Should we put the full weight of intervention on law and order, or does putting men into prison make them more, or less, violent? Where, in the 2006 Budget for Indigenous Affairs do we find support for Aboriginal men's groups and programs? What encouragement is given to young fathers and babies, to complement that given to young mothers and babies? Where do we find the conversation, partnership and support for those men who are making a difference?

Whether the issue is petrol sniffing, violence, alcohol or sexual abuse, the media now tend to sensationalise and marginalise all Aboriginal men, and to present all Aboriginal society as violent and dysfunctional. In doing this, we perpetuate an older, colonial attitude. We find it easier to talk about Aboriginal people than to talk with them; we prefer negative stereotypes to the challenge of forming partnerships. We also adopt an older, colonial response when we prefer to be fearful and to inflict violence, especially on the men, instead of risking a relationship with them. In such times, those ancient words of the drover Matt Savage come back to haunt me: 'We did not know what the Aborigines thought about it all. We would never have dreamed of asking them'.

For more Eureka Street : http://www.eurekastreet.com.au

First-time Presenters Wanted for 9th National Rural Health Conference

If you've got a good idea about how to improve health in the bush and haven't yet spoken about it in public, come and give a presentation to the 9th National Rural Health Conference in Albury next March.

The National Rural Health Conference can help first-time presenters by giving feedback and assisting in the development of your paper, and there will be a special session at the Conference in a supportive environment.

All you need is some good ideas about some aspect of health in rural and remote areas: some local evidence of what works well, an interest in the Conference themes (see below), and some certainty and passion about how to improve things.

Your ideas for a presentation at the Conference will compete with others and it will be up to a group of people associated with the event to choose the ones that are of the greatest interest, credibility and potential value to rural communities.

The organisers are asking you to address one or more of the Conference themes:

  1. Health across State and professional borders, teamwork, and how quality is assured in inter- disciplinary work.
  2. Regional and local success stories: their key characteristics and the contribution made to them by IT and transport. (Success stories in Indigenous health are of particular interest.)
  3. The political or professional constraints on early intervention in health.
  4. How do we measure up in rural and remote areas on evidence, access and equity?
  5. What are the particular characteristics of chronic disease in rural and remote Australia : diabetes, obesity, oral and dental disease, mental illness and heart disease?
  6. Preparation for and community response to natural disasters (drought, flood and fire, avian flu, foot and mouth).

Send your ideas for a presentation to conference@ruralhealth.org.au or by mail to NRHA (Conference), Box 280 , Deakin West ACT 2600. Send about 200 words please, by 14 July in the first instance.

For more information please phone the Alliance on (02) 6285 4660.

CRCAH Consulted by Senate “Sniffing Inquiry”
CRCAH Program manager Arwen Pratt (left) visits Balgo with Senate Sniffing Inquiry

As part of its inquiry into petrol sniffing in remote Aboriginal communities the Senate Community Affairs Committee met with the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health in mid-May.

The Committee was seeking information about research into petrol sniffing, substance abuse and Aboriginal health in general.

CRCAH CEO, Mick Gooda told the Senate Committee that many recommendations from previous enquiries into petrol sniffing, including two South Australian and an NT coronial inquests, have yet to be implemented.

“There are a number of useful recommendations which need to be addressed as a matter of urgency by Governments acting in partnership with affected communities,” said Mick Gooda. “This need for a collaborative approach by both communities and governments is essential.”

He said that while he welcomed the Australian Government's limited roll-out of non-sniffable Opal fuel into Central Australian communities this would address only the supply-side of petrol misuse and have no impact on the demand for substances fuelled by lack of educational, employment, recreational and other opportunities for Aboriginal people in remote communities.

“It's very important that strategies to deal with petrol sniffing, and other substances, should address both the supply and demand side of the problem. One without the other is likely to fail.”

CRCAH Program Manager, Arwen Pratt, joined the committee on its visit to the remote WA communities of Balgo and Halls Creek.

Arwen told Gwalwa-Gai that the Committee's visits to Balgo and Halls Creek provided an important opportunity for Senators to listen directly to community members explain how they are dealing with sniffers and what strategies are working. Community members in Balgo were feeling positive because many sniffers have either left Balgo or stopped sniffing.

Community members did however share their concerns about the impact of short term funding, a vacant youth worker position and the lack of opportunities for young people. Employment, youth programs and organized activities such as basketball and football competitions were highlighted as positives for the young people in the community. Unfortunately these programs depend on the availability of qualified people and also ongoing funding.

Youth workers and staff from the education and health sector at Halls Creek reiterated concerns about funding and also the difficulty of recruiting people to the area. Several youth programs were highlighted as positives for the town and a reference group has been established to increase collaboration on combating issues of substance misuse and petrol sniffing. The Halls Creek community was disappointed at recent media coverage which has painted the community as troubled and wanted to highlight the commitment and hard work that has gone into tackling a number of complex issues that young people are dealing with.

See research paper by Dr Peter d'Abbs and Sarah MacLean: http://www.crcah.org.au/documents/petrol%20sniffing.pdf

Safer Kids, Safer Communities

In late June the Australian Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Mal Brough, hosted a summit of Australian governments to discuss the issue of violence in Indigenous communities.

The Summit , attended by representatives of all states and territories, released a communiqué and a strategy for dealing with violence and child-abuse in Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander communities.

In the interests of informed discussion and debate around this issue Gwalwa-Gai produces both the communiqué and the strategy below……..

SAFER KIDS, SAFER COMMUNITIES

“This Intergovernmental Summit on Violence and Child Abuse in Indigenous Communities, involving Ministers from the Australian Government and all States and Territories, agrees that the levels of violence and child abuse in Indigenous communities warrant a comprehensive national response.

“We have reconfirmed the principles agreed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in June 2004, under COAG's National Framework on Indigenous Family Violence and Child Protection , particularly that:

  • everyone has a right to be safe from family violence and abuse;
  • preventing family violence and child abuse in Indigenous families is best achieved by families, communities, community organisations and different levels of government working together as partners;
  • successful strategies to prevent family violence and child abuse in indigenous families enable Indigenous people to take control of their lives, regain responsibility for their families and communities and to enhance individual and family wellbeing; and
  • the need to address underlying causes and to build strong and resilient families.

“While all jurisdictions over recent years have taken significant steps to address the problem, the Summit acknowledged that better resources, improved methods and a concerted, long-term joint effort were essential if the necessary breakthroughs were to be achieved.

“Indigenous children continue to be overrepresented in substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect. Indigenous people also continue to experience increasing levels of violence and abuse. A series of reports – the latest conducted in New South Wales – point to endemic problems, particularly in remoter areas but also evident in some regional and urban areas.

“Action therefore needs to be accelerated – in particular the imperative of giving Indigenous Australians confidence that the justice system will work for them. Indigenous people must enjoy the same level of law and order as applies in the broader community. 

“The Australian Government's view is that law and order are also fundamental preconditions to ensuring that the expenditures by governments at all levels – on priorities such as health, housing and education – to overcome poverty and generational disadvantage are not dissipated but made sustainable.

“While many of the issues requiring attention necessarily rest with the States and Territories, a concerted national response depends on agreed actions across jurisdictions, with the active support of the Australian Government.

“We will work with Indigenous people to implement flexible local solutions, acknowledging that all parents have a responsibility to ensure their kids are safe and need to access services provided to ensure their well-being.  All adults have a responsibility to report incidents of child abuse.  Community leaders have a responsibility to support those reporting and giving evidence against perpetrators.

“We agree that a comprehensive response to the issue of violence and child abuse requires an integrated package covering:

  • a legislative and regulatory framework that protects those at risk of, and those who have suffered, violence and abuse;
  • adequate policing and child protection resources to deal with issues arising in remote communities;
  • a criminal justice system that recognises and adequately addresses the particular issues faced by those living in remote localities;
  • appropriate control of alcohol and other substances, and rehabilitation support for those addicted;
  • complementary measures, including:
  • compulsory school attendance
  • support for local Indigenous leaders
  • sound community and corporate governance.

“The Attachment outlines this Action Strategy in further detail.

“All jurisdictions agreed to put the action strategy to COAG for consideration and decision on 14 July 2006 . Our aim is to give Indigenous people greater confidence and hope that, with their participation, violence and child abuse can and will be overcome in their communities.”

NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR ACTION TO OVERCOME VIOLENCE AND CHILD ABUSE IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

Customary Law and Bail

All Governments agree that customary law in no way justifies, authorises or requires violence or sexual abuse against women and children.

The Commonwealth will review bail conditions in relation to Commonwealth offences and has invited the States and Territories to review their bail legislation so that law enforcement and judicial officers when considering bail give primacy to any risks to the victim; and that, in particular, account be taken of the effect on on families and communities, including remote communities, of an accused person returning to the community before their cases have been substantively dealt with by the courts.

The Commonwealth also indicated its intention to amend 16A of the Crimes Act 1914 to delete reference to any mandatory consideration of cultural background for all offences against Commonwealth law and to exclude from sentencing discretion for all Commonwealth offences claims that criminal behaviour was justified, authorised or required under customary law or cultural practice and has invited the States and Territories to ensure like provisions are implemented in each jurisdiction.

The Commonwealth proposed that these proposals should be forwarded to the next COAG meeting for discussion.

The States and Territories noted that they intend to raise the issues of relevance to State/Territory jurisdictions for detailed discussion at Standing Committee of Attorneys-General.

Law Enforcement

All jurisdictions recognised the vital role of intelligence and effective policing in addressing violence and child abuse in Indigenous communities. They also agreed that relevant criminal activity included organised crime involving drugs and alcohol, pornography and fraud. There was unanimous support for the establishment of a National Intelligence Unit subject to details being determined by the Australian Police Ministers' Council (APMC) meeting on 29 June 2006 .

It was agreed that points for discussion at APMC would include:

  1. the seconding of AFP or Australian Crime Commission (ACC) officers to each jurisdiction (except the ACT and Tasmania ) for intelligence collection and management;

  2. Commonwealth funding of personnel at the ACC to deal with intelligence collection and assessment;

  3. resources to be contributed by the States and Territories;

  4. how seconded AFP officers would liaise with Sate and Territory police to assist in the collection of intelligence; and

  5. how State and Territory police would provide any necessary follow-up in relation intelligence gathered.

Some jurisdictions supported establishing strike teams or taskforces led by each jurisdiction to provide specialist capacity to intervene against serial violence and related criminal activity. This matter will be pursued bilaterally. Other jurisdictions indicated they already had strike teams.

It was agreed that the APMC would report to COAG in time for its meeting of 14 July 2006 .

Senior Indigenous Network

The Australian Government will invest $4 million to support leadership development of Indigenous women and men in Indigenous communities.

The Australian Government will negotiate bilaterally with the Sates and Territories to target this investment, for example by supporting and expanding existing networks or the establishment of new networks.

The overarching principle in these negotiations will be that the States and Territories match or exceed the Australian Government's investment.

Protection for victims

All jurisdictions recognise the importance of providing additional safe places for victims of violence and abuse. The jurisdictions agreed to undertake bilateral discussions to determine the placement of such services.

All jurisdictions agreed to consider increased legal support for victims.

Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Services

All jurisdictions recognise the close links between substance abuse and violence and the need for additional services for those who are addicted. The Australian Government's commitment of up to $50m to jointly fund additional drug and alcohol services was welcomed by the States and Territories. Services will be provided on the basis of need and details of locations will be developed on a bilateral basis.

Health and Well-being of children

The States and Territories welcomed the Australian Government's commitment to trial an extension to the Indigenous Child Health Check in one region. The provision of a special team to conduct some 2000 checks with a further team to provide support and follow-up treatment was acknowledged as an important complementary measure.

Corporate Governance

The Australian Government proposed that funding guidelines be amended to ensure that government funding, from all levels of government, be restricted to organisations managed by fit and proper persons. The States and Territories agreed in principle. The Australian Government is going to do this.

Compulsory School Attendance

While all jurisdictions recognise that attending school is a critical foundation element, there was little agreement about how to ensure that all Indigenous children are enrolled and attend school. This issue, including mechanisms to improve school attendance and data sharing, will be referred to MCEETYA.
Network for Health Promotion

The Australian Indigenous Health Promotion Network (AIHPN) was established in 1995 following the discussion of steps needed to strengthen Indigenous health promotion practice, research and education, and the participation of Indigenous people.

The Network is dedicated to improving the health of Indigenous Australians through education, professional development, advocacy and mobilisation. It is an organisation controlled by its members and is comprised of both Indigenous and non Indigenous health professionals.

AIHPN is the only professional network of Health Workers (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) in the field of health promotion. There is a growing workforce engaged in Indigenous health promotion. The roles of Aboriginal Health Workers are changing to include much greater emphasis on health promotion, and there is growing demand from non-Indigenous health promotion and health professionals who are either working with Indigenous colleagues and communities already, or who are looking to do so in the future. The demand for professional development such as that offered by the Network is strong and growing.

On November 2004 the AIHPN was launched online, increasing opportunities for online interaction and providing members with easy access to information about Indigenous health and health promotion, education and research opportunities, Indigenous health and social policy, and issues around Indigenous workforce development.

http://www.indigenoushealth.med.usyd.edu.au

CRCAH Chronic Diseases Network Conference Sponsorship

10th Annual Chronic Diseases Network Conference
Darwin 21, 22 September 2006

CRCAH is offering Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people who are CRCAH research students and/or who work for a CRCAH research collaborator, financial assistance to attend the 10 th Annual Chronic Diseases Network Conference as part our commitment to professional development and training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The overarching theme for the Conference, Health is everyone's business --- everybody's choice? emphasizes the broader impacts on health status, on lifestyle choices, and how often people's “choice” is constrained by many factors. This theme matches well with the CRCAH's Chronic Conditions program. To view the CRCAH Chronic Conditions Program Statement. Click here to open. to open.

The conference theme and many sessions throughout the conference are in line with many of the CRCAH's priority program areas including:

· Chronic Conditions

· Comprehensive Primary Health Care Health Systems and Workforce

· Social Determinants of Health

· Social and Emotional Wellbeing

The conference will identify and explore three broad levels of factors affecting health: downstream at the micro level which includes health service systems and disease management; midstream factors including lifestyle and behavioural programs; and upstream at the macro level which is about policies, legislation and global influences. By establishing this framework, the conference hopes to encourage better communication and engagement across streams, and ultimately inspire broad collaboration between sectors as is required to tackle social determinants.

For more information & application form: click here

Program Updates - Chronic Conditions, Social Determinants and Primary Health Care

Our Chronic Conditions Program Leaders (Kevin Rowley, Leisa McCarthy and Brendan Gibson) are hard at work drafting project outlines and research questions arising from the research priorities endorsed by the CRCAH Board at its March meeting.

We will circulate these project outlines in the next week or so, and looking for expressions of interest from people who want to be involved in the projects.

At that point we will be looking for expressions of interest from people interested in being:

•  Project leader for a specific project

•  Part of the project team for a specific project

•  Government or Aboriginal health sector people to be involved in the projects.

•  Part of the quality assurance process for the projects.

We will also be looking for projects that are already up and running, that may be able to contribute to the priority areas of research.

When we make the call for expressions of interest, it will be important that Link People let the staff within your organisation know that this is happening – as it's the main way that people can get involved in the CRCAH's new way of developing projects.

Social Determinants Roundtable and its outcomes

The Industry Roundtable for the Social Determinants program was held in Adelaide on June 6.

The Roundtable gave an opportunity for a wide range of Government Departments both State/Federal as well as Aboriginal community-controlled organisations to meet and discuss collaborative research and evaluation outcomes for the program.

As part of the capacity development priorities of the Social Determinants Program, a number of students also took part in the Roundtable.

The aim of the Roundtable was to identify potential partnerships and evaluations which the CRCAH might support to help build the evidence about interventions that improve health through action on the social determinants.

Group discussions explored such potential partnerships. Discussions centred on the activities of those who attended, and included:

•  Building awareness of the social determinants of Aboriginal health

•  Racism

•  Housing and the physical environment

•  Education, employment and childhood

Three areas were identified that were not sufficiently represented at the Roundtable: Education, Law and Justice, and Culture and Land. It is proposed to hold further small industry focus groups around these areas of the social determinants.

One clear potential partnership emerged. Rumbalara Aboriginal Cooperative in Victoria has developed a program to focus on building home ownership within the Aboriginal community in the Shepparton region. The program is strongly supported by the Commonwealth Government. Rumbalara is keen to include an evaluation of the program that would look at its impact on health outcomes, and the Board agreed at its June meeting to support Rumbalara in the development of an evaluation plan.

Primary health care projects

The CRCAH's program on Comprehensive Primary Health Care, Health Systems and Workforce is moving towards finalising all four projects that are currently under development.

These are the first four projects to be developed under the new ‘facilitated research development' process, in which the CRCAH brings together project teams to develop research proposals that will address particular issues of importance, developed by the Aboriginal health sector and prioritised by the CRCAH Board.

Final paperwork is being drawn up for two projects:

  • Improving the Culture of Hospitals, led by Russell Renhard, Latrobe University
  • Frameworks for best practice in the organisation and resourcing of PHC services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, led by Judith Dwyer, Flinders University. This project is still finalizing its project team and budget.

The CRCAH Board has given the go-ahead for Stage One to commence of a project looking at Health Services Utilisation and Linkage, once the final paperwork (a Statement of Project Responsibilities) is drawn up and signed. This project looks likely to involve three state jurisdictions (SA, Vic, and Queensland).

 
Proposal to Establish a Sociology of Indigenous Issues Thematic Group

The key aim of the recently-proposed sociology of Indigenous issues thematic group is to build and support the engagement of Australian sociology and sociologists with Indigenous social issues. To support this aim, the core objectives of the thematic group are to:

  • foster the development of existing and new sociological perspectives on Indigenous related issues
  • encourage and promote quality theoretical and empirical research across a broad range of Indigenous-related areas
  • provide a forum for communication and collaboration of sociologists working in the field
  • support the addition of sociological voices to contemporary and emerging social and political debates relating to Indigenous Australia

Convenor Contact Details

Maggie Walter
School of Sociology and Social Work
PB 17 University of Tasmania
Hobart 7000
Phone: (03) 6226 2874
Email: Margaret.Walter@utas.edu.au

Priscilla Pyett
Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit
Centre for Health and Society
University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010
Phone: (03) 83440885
Email: p.pyett@unimelb.edu.au

 
Research and Traditional Knowledge in Aotearoa

CRCAH program manager for the Social Determinants of Aboriginal Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing Programs, Vanessa Harris, attended an important conference on Indigenous knowledge in New Zealand/Aotearoa last month with three of her program leaders.

The Matauranga Taketake: Traditional Knowledge Conference, held in Wellington, was organised by Nga Pae o te Maramatanga (National Institute of Research Excellence for Maori Development and Advancement).

Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, one of seven Centres of Research Excellence funded by the New Zealand Government, consists of eight participating entities spread throughout New Zealand. The vision ‘is the transformation of New Zealand society such that Maori participate fully in all aspects of society and the economy'.

Their mission, similar to that of the CRCAH, is ‘to provide excellent research, capability building and knowledge exchange to support achievement of the vision' and their annual report explains, “We support research and development that fosters healthy communities in healthy environments, encourages social and educational transformation and brings a uniquely Maori work view to new frontiers of knowledge. We are accelerating the growth in numbers of Maori researchers, and conducting research in ways that genuinely engage with diverse Maori communities”.

The conference theme was to address the issues, practices, models and perspectives for protecting, sustaining and nurturing traditional systems of knowledge. Some of the questions asked of participants included:

  • How do we know that our knowledge, ways of knowing and associated practices are in a state of well-being'?
  • What practices do we use to sustain and help the next generation to look after our systems of knowledge?
  • How do we know that our relationships, languages, literatures, stories, environments, healing practices, spiritualities, genealogies, bodies, children, elders, women, men and communities are flourishing?
  • What are the basic indicators that we use to give us confidence that all is well?
  • And how do we measure our development and advancement?

There were several keynote speakers from Africa, Hawai'i , Australia , Canada , America and NZ whose presentations mirrored the program areas within the CRCAH's work in the areas of Social Emotional Wellbeing and Social Determinants of Aboriginal Health.

The conference workshops and discussions were around the areas of Wellbeing, Emotional Wellbeing, Sustaining and Maintaining Wellness, Modeling Wellbeing, Health and Physical Well-being in curriculum reforms and strengthening Indigenous law and culture and heal the trauma of colonization.

Vanessa told Gwalwa-Gai that the conference enabled her to gain a better understanding of some of the emerging issues around areas of health and wellbeing.

“One of the highlights for me was seeing the strength of Maori language as one of the factors that unite the Maori community to their culturally identity,” said Vanessa. “People felt proud to be part of the growing number of fluent speakers within Maori society.

“The Conference gave me the ability to hear of work currently being undertaken in NZ and overseas and it was fascinating to witness the same struggles by the Maori people to develop an understanding around Indigenous notions of Social and Emotional Wellbeing from within several complex layers - Community, family and personal perspectives.”

For more information: http://www.traditionalknowledge.co.nz/


Canadians Putting Health Research into Practice

The Canadian Health Services Research Foundation is an organisation with some similar objectives to the CRCAH, particularly its role of facilitating knowledge transfer and exchange, of bridging the gap between research and healthcare management and policy.

As part of this facilitation role the Foundation regularly produces Promising Practices in Research Use on its website to highlight organisations that have invested their time, energy and resources to try and improve their ability to use research.

The latest installment of our Promising Practice series is "Bringing knowledge home: Embedding evidence into decision-making", the story of Saint Elizabeth Health Care, based in Markham , Ontario . 

To access the document, click http://www.chsrf.ca/promising/pdf/ppractices_5_e.pdf .

For more information on the CHSRF: http://www.chsrf.ca/home_e.php

 
Indigenous Representation at Health Conferences

As promised in the last Gwalwa-Gai this edition features a short opinion piece from Kungarakan/Gurindji man and Menzies School of Health researcher Geoff “Jacko” Angeles.

Returning from a conference in Alice Springs earlier this year, Jacko was concerned about the small number of Aboriginal attendees…

Indigenous Representation at Health Conferences 

I recently attended an Alice Springs conference on pneumococcal related illnesses; on research and treatment aspects and the potential for controlling and minimising this dangerous disease.

Pneumococcal infection is a germ-related sickness that causes things such as meningitis (brain disease), pneumonia (lung & chest infection), and septicaemia (blood disorder). If untreated, a victim could die at a young age, become disabled, or at the very least be seriously sick for a very long time.

So why should Indigenous people become more interested in attending conferences which address this kind of health-related information?

Well mainly because unfortunately a lot of the issues discussed at these conferences affects us and our people. I won't attempt to provide statistics as I think we've had more than our fair share of hearing about how sick we are and many of us today are busy treating ourselves and our people, particularly our old ones. It is now time to learn more about how we may prevent the young ones ending up the same way.

A reluctance to attend such conferences may be simply due to a lack of understanding of the foreign language used; English is a second or third language for many Aboriginal people and misunderstanding is compounded when information is given from a scientific, epidemiological and biomedical perspective. Translation and interpretation of conference language needs consideration.

At the end of the day, if Aboriginal people aren't kept informed of health developments in their own communities then how can they possibly know about what could affect them – i.e. something they can't see coming? Prevention is the solution – but information is the key.

The ‘feedback process' also requires more commitment and effort from visiting health staff, but if this isn't happening, then Aboriginal people should be encouraged to attend conferences so they can take back to their communities what was said.

But rather than just advertising these sort of conferences, particularly those with an Indigenous component, and hoping for a good Aboriginal roll-up more emphasis must be placed on seeking out Aboriginal attendees.

Aboriginal staff from relevant organisations must be seriously encouraged and supported to attend.

How more effective might the dissemination of information from health conferences be if we have Aboriginal people feeding back to their own people, in a way that is more understandable and accessible to Aboriginal communities themselves?

One way of achieving this is to ensure that more Aboriginal people are encouraged and able to attend health conferences that are relevant to our health.
Launch of Rheumatic Fever Guidelines

The Heart Foundation and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand used the CRCAH Brisbane Showcase to announce  Australia 's first guidelines for the diagnosis and management of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease .

Despite the fact that acute rheumatic fever has been virtually eradicated in affluent Australia over the last 50 years, the Australian Indigenous population has the highest rates of acute rheumatic fever in the world.

Dr Roger Wilkinson, cardiologist and President of the Heart Foundation ( Queensland )  told the Showcase audience  t hat acute rheumatic fever is a preventable illness caused by a delayed complication from an untreated bacteria l throat infection. It typically affects large joints, the heart, and less frequently the brain, skin and subcutaneous tissues.

“Many doctors and other health professionals have not been exposed to this disease during their training and are unsure how to best treat patients. These national guidelines are needed by health professionals because they clearly explain how to diagnose and manage acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease,” said Dr Wilkinson.

Diagnosis and management of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease is proven, simple and cost effective.

The guidelines identify:

  • the standard of care, including preventive care, that should be available to all people
  • areas where current management strategies may not be in line with current evidence; and
  • that high-risk populations receive the same standard of care as that available to other Australians.

“Acute rheumatic fever affects mostly young people and is an important cause of life-long disability, involving a lengthy and painful treatment regime and ultimately if undiagnosed or poorly managed, premature death,” said Mr Traven Lea, Manager of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program, Heart Foundation.

In 2002, the incidence of ARF among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 5–14 years was**

  • Top End of the Northern Territory approx 250* per 100,000
  • Central Australia ( Alice Springs ) approx 350* per 100,000
  • Western Australia approx 680* per 100,000
  • North Queensland approx 162* per 100,000

In the same year Indigenous children aged 5 – 14 years accounted for over 50% of new cases of acute rheumatic fever.

Moreover the prevalence continues to rise each year as previously undiagnosed cases are found.

"Developing these guidelines is the first step in addressing this problem. We are now calling on all levels of government to work cooperatively to achieve the second step - implementation of a comprehensive control program that will include mandating of acute rheumatic fever as a nationally notifiable disease with the Communicable Disease Network of Australia." said Mr Lea.

“This will allow the pooling of data, effective national surveillance, outbreak monitoring and research. Currently the Northern Territory and Queensland are the only two jurisdictions where Acute Rheumatic Fever is notifiable,” said Mr Lea.

Guidelines are available from the Heart Foundation by: Calling  Heartline 1300 36 27 87, or download a pdf file from http://www.heartfoundation.com.au/index.cfm?=43
Hoops 4 Health Shoots a Goal for Better Health

The CRCAH-sponsored inaugural Top-end Hoops 4 Health Challenge has been a huge success.

A combination of health education and promotion messages, visiting basketball legends, motivational talks, dee jays and Anthony "Choc" Mundine, Hoops 4 Health was conceived by basketball star and Hep C/HIV worker, Timmy Duggan after watching close friends and family die from preventable disease.

Timmy originally established H4H in North Queensland and it continues today in the Territory with the same messages of healthy living, good exercise and nutrition, and safe sex going out to young people, black and white.

While in Darwin Timmy and his team visited primary and high schools, the Berrimah Prison and kid's wards at Royal Darwin Hospital to talk self-esteem, health and good living. More than a thousand sports fans came to see the Hoops 4 Health All-Stars, proudly featuring the CRCAH logo on their team shirts, beat a local Darwin Rep side after a hard-fought game broadcast live on the National Indigenous Radio Service.

The CRCAH Communications Unit has worked closely with Timmy and his team; designing the game program and assisting with the H4H website and the CRC will continue to support high quality local health initiatives across the country.

We wish Timmy and H4H the best of luck for the future of this exciting and inspiring health program.

 

Hoops 4 Health Photo's
Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) Visit with the Hoops 4 Health Allstars CRCAH Chair Pat Anderson with Anthony "The Man" Mundine. Anthony at RDH
Hoops 4 Health creator Timmy Duggan in action on the court 'Thumbs up' Anthony at RDH Emanuel Mununggurr is from Gapuwiyak MVP Barunga Basketball festival – 2006 and Hoops 4 Health Allstar Joel Khalu in action at the Hoops 4 Health Challenge
Timmy Duggan, Anthony Mundine and the CRCAH gang. The Hoops 4 Health Allstars RDH Visit

 

Shouting Out The Message of Health Research

In an Australian-first the CRCAH hosted a national radio broadcast on Aboriginal health research last month.

The broadcast of the nationally-syndicated Murri Voices program took place from the offices of the CRCAH in Darwin and was part of CRCAH's efforts to promote the role of the CRCAH and the importance of research amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Hosted by legendary broadcaster, Velma Gara from Townsville's 4K1G, the two-hour broadcast on the National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS) featured interviews and news on research into Aboriginal health.

CRCAH Chair Pat Anderson and CEO Mick Gooda explained the workings and objectives of the CRCAH to the national audience listening in on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander radio stations and BRACS units across the country.

Both Pat and Mick told the audience of the CRCAH's efforts to ensure greater Aboriginal control of the research agenda and to support increased Aboriginal entry into a research career.

Velma was joined by the Hollows Foundation's Ursula Raymond for an update on its Indigenous programs.

The broadcast also featured Dr Alex Brown on heart disease and the importance of men's health groups, Loyla Leysley on recent community development work around prevention of skin disease and scabies in Arnhemland communities and Geoff Angeles on his work in education for the prevention of rheumatic heart disease.

For more information on Murri Voices: http://www.4k1g.org/programs.htm

Showcase Update

As reported in previous editions of Gwalwa-Gai the CRCAH has been running series of seminas showcasing the work of the CRCAH and partners across Australia. May and June were particularly busy times for CRCAH showcases with the Victorian Showcase on May 29, Darwin on June 14 and Brisbane on June 29.

The Showcases have proved an invaluable tool for marketing the CRCAH's agenda of reforming Aboriginal health research and highlighting the research projects being conducted by the CRCAH and our partners.

There have been more than forty-five different projects presented at the five showcases held so far and more than 450 people have attended from diverse range of organisations and government departments.

Of particular importance has been the large proportion of projects presented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers and students proving suggesting that the CRCAH's objective of promoting and encouraging careers for Indigenous people in health research is bearing fruit.

The Showcases have also see a significant engagement with community-based and other organisations concerned with Aboriginal health. Representatives from more than one hundred organisations have attended Showcases up until now.

Stay tuned to Gwalwa-Gai for information and reports on upcoming showcases in Cairns, Alice Springs and Perth.

 

For more information:

http:www.crcah.org.au
Research Transfer in Action - Launch of Cancer Leaflet

CRCAH partner the Queensland Institute of Medical Research took the opportunity of the Brisbane Showcase to launch an important pamphlet on cancer in Queensland's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The leaflet reflects the commitment of the QIMR to ensure effective transfer of research findings back to the Indigenous community. The pamphlet contains information for Aboriginal Health Workers on incidences, cancer-types, diagnosis, co-morbidities, treatments and suvival rates developed in the QIMR study - Cancer in Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal People in Queensland - Diagnosis, Treatment and Survival. The study, a CRCAH in-kind project, was funded by the Deham Green Fund and supported by the Qld Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC). For more information contact Janelle Stirling at QIMR: 07 38453576 

 

 

 

 

CRCAH Chair Appointed to NT Child Abuse Inquiry

Long time health activist and CRCAH Chairperson Pat Anderson has been appointed by the NT Government to co-chair the Inquiry into Protection against Sexual Abuse of Indigenous Children.

Pat will join ex-NT Police Commissioner Mick Palmer in heading up the investigation which is expected to take six months to complete.

CRCAH CEO Mick Gooda welcomed the appointments of both co-chairs in a media release saying they would provide the NT Aboriginal community with some confidence in the inquiry.

However, Mick Gooda reminded governments that Australia has a long record of establishing inquiries into Aboriginal disadvantage and then often ignoring the recommendatiions that come out of them. There must be a commitment, he said, from the NT and Australian Governments to act decisively to implement the findings of this latest inquiry.

To read Mick Gooda's full statement cllick here

 
Milestone for Education and Training Program

Yin Paradies

The CRCAH Education and Training program is about to reach a ground-breaking milestone with the awarding of the first Doctorate to a CRCAH-scholarship holder.

The successful student is Yin Paradies, an Aboriginal-Anglo-Asian Australian who has lived and worked in Darwin for the past 20 years. 

Yin began his career in Indigenous health research in 1995 as an Indigenous cadet at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and came to the CRCAH as a Project Development Officer in 1999. Starting his CRCAH PhD in 2002 Yin's research interests include the health effects of racism and stress, race and culture in health research and anti-racism policy and practice. Yin has taught at the postgraduate level in epidemiology, biostatistics and demography. 

Yin has received a range of awards including a Fulbright scholarship to complete a Master of Public Health at the University of California , Berkeley and the Australia Day Council's 2002 Young Achiever of the Year for the Northern Territory . He is involved on a number of national committees and is the national student representative for the Australasian Epidemiological Association.

Yin has recently submitted his thesis in social epidemiology, entitled 'Race, racism, stress and Indigenous health', which was conducted through the University of Melbourne while based at the Menzies School of Health Research. As well being the first Indigenous student funded by the CRCAH to complete a Doctor of Philosophy Yin is only the second Indigenous Australian to gain a PhD in epidemiology, the other being Professor Sandra Eades. 

Yin continues his career in health research as a post-doctoral research fellow based at the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin.

With Dr Emma Kowal, Yin developed and continues to deliver a highly regarded short course: Race, Culture, Indigeneity and the Politics of Public Health through the Menzies School of Health Research.

As reported in the last Gwalwa-Gai the next round of Yin's course will run from August 23 - 25 2006 .

For more information:
www.menzies.edu.au/shortcourses or email acad-admin@menzies.edu.au