The Audit and Best Practice in Chronic Disease (ABCD) project Annual Meeting

The Audit and Best Practice in Chronic Disease (ABCD) project held its annual meeting on 18-19 June in Cairns.  This project is funded by the CRC for Aboriginal Health and works with 58 health services in implementing continous quality improvement. View Media Release 
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2008 Fulbright Symposium
Healthy People, Prosperous Country
10-11 July in Adelaide

Substance misuse and offending – new AIC Study

The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) has just released a new study examining the way that Australian governments have sought to address Indigenous substance use and related offending.

The AIC was contracted by the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department to produce a two-staged study with Stage 1 involving a comprehensive summary of the diversion programs currently operating across Australia and the issues relating to Indigenous offending and access to diversion programs.

Stage 2 will investigate the extent to which Indigenous offenders are diverted, the outcomes of their participation and the barriers to their ability to both access and successfully complete programs.

The study found Indigenous offenders are more likely to receive custodial sentences for property and violent offences, and more likely to have further contact with the criminal justice system, once they come into contact with it, than their non-Indigenous counterparts.

Indigenous offenders are generally more likely to report being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the offence or arrest and more likely to attribute their offending to substance use than are non-Indigenous offenders, although this can differ in terms of offences and drug used.

The study also found Indigenous people were less likely to be referred to and accepted in the majority of programs which have been evaluated and for which the evaluations are available.

In a further indicator of poor data collection in relation to Indigenous Australians many of the programs evaluated were unable to provide statistics on the current numbers of Indigenous participants in diversion programs. This was partly due to inaccurate data collection on identification of Indigenous status, leading to a high number of unknowns for Indigenous status

View Report http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/rpp/88/rpp88.pdf

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Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Knowledge Conference

The 2008 Indigenous Studies & Indigenous Knowledge Conference will be held in Hobart, 2-4 July 2008, and hosted by the Riawunna Centre at the University of Tasmania.

A key purpose of the ISIK Conferences is to draw colleagues from across the field of education and research to discuss and share developments in areas of Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous Studies. In 2008 we want to build on our discussions at previous conferences and also consider the place of Indigenous knowledge’s within the Rudd Government’s policy platform of ‘Education Revolution’ for Australia. We want to a focus on how we go about getting Indigenous content, perspectives and knowledge’s into teaching. Our keynote and plenary speakers will help set the context for engagements with the various themes.

CRCAH Research Director Professor Ian Anderson will be speaking at this event. For more details view flier

Searching for ways to reduce Indigenous smoking

The number of Indigenous Australians who use tobacco is about three times the Australian average. In view of this, CEITC and the CRC for Aboriginal Health held a National Tobacco Control Roundtable in Birsbane on 23 May to develop a coordinated approach to research and action around Indigenous smoking rates.  A report will be available on the outcomes of this meeting.

• Media Release (22.05.08)
• Media Alert (15.05.08)

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Indigenous Health Workshop on Success Stories - 6 July 2008

The CRC for Aboriginal Health, the IUHPE and the AHPA are co-hosting a 1 day Satellite Indigenous Health Workshop on Sunday 6th of July during the Population Health Congress in Brisbane.

The theme will be "Success stories: environmental, social, emotional & spiritual health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders".  CRCAH Research Director Professor Ian Anderson will be making a plenary presentation.  For more information and registration details view flier.

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Indigenous Health Workshop on Success Stories - 6 July 2008

The CRC for Aboriginal Health, the IUHPE and the AHPA are co-hosting a 1 day Satellite Indigenous Health Workshop on Sunday 6th of July during the Population Health Congress in Brisbane.

The theme will be "Success stories: environmental, social, emotional & spiritual health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders".  CRCAH Research Director Professor Ian Anderson will be making a plenary presentation.  For more information and registration details view flier.

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Delivery of primary health services to Aboriginal children in remote areas of the Northern Territory is “relatively good” according to a cross-jurisdictional study published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) today.

However, the study also found that despite the good level of access to primary health services for Aboriginal children living in remote areas of the NT, their health outcomes were significantly worse than for Aboriginal children living in other regional areas of Australia.

View Media Release

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The Past Matters
25th and 26th of May Melbourne

CRCAH researcher Brian McCoy will be presenting  at The Past Matters. An exploration of contemporary Indigenous writing, art and literature. Bringing together some of our brightest thinkers and writers, this festival seeks to generate discussions on Indigenous affairs - whether they be artistic, political, historical or personal. View Flier

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The Past Matters
25th and 26th of May Melbourne

CRCAH researcher Brian McCoy will be presenting  at The Past Matters. An exploration of contemporary Indigenous writing, art and literature. Bringing together some of our brightest thinkers and writers, this festival seeks to generate discussions on Indigenous affairs - whether they be artistic, political, historical or personal. View Flier

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QNADA Forum 

QNADA, the state peak for the non-government sector alcohol and other drug agencies, is conducting its first ever Queensland State Forum in Brisbane on Tuesday 13 May 2008 as part of the Australian Winter School conference between 12 and 14 May 2008.

The QNADA State Forum is an opportunity for agencies to raise key issues which will help guide the
mission of QNADA in the coming years.

As part of its commitment to engaging regional/rural/remote Queensland, QNADA is offering a limited number of scholarships for representatives from Indigenous organisations to attend the QNADA Forum and the Australian Winter School conference. Each scholarship includes all travel from your location to Brisbane, transfers between the airport and venue, your accommodation and all meals as well as registration at the QNADA forum and the Australian Winter School conference.

The closing date for applications is 2nd May 2008. Late applications may be accepted.

Further details on the QNADA forum can be found at www.qnada.org.au

Download a copy of the:

• Scholarship Letter
• Forum Flier
• Forum Scholarship Application

Holding Men - Kanyirninpa and the health of Aboriginal men by Brian F McCoy New Book available May 2008

Using conversations, stories and art, McCoy explores how Indigenous men understand their lives, their health and their culture, and shows how Kimberley desert communities have a cultural value and relationship described as kanyirninpa or holding.

While young Indigenous men’s lives remains vulnerable in a rapidly changing world, the author believes that an understanding of kanyirninpa (one of the key values that  has sustained  Aboriginal desert life for centuries) may provide the hope of change and better health for all. It also offers insights for all who wish to ‘grow up’ their young people.

Place your order now for receipt in May - View order form [pdf] 

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Holding Men - Kanyirninpa and the health of Aboriginal men by Brian F McCoy
New Book available May 2008 Read More
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Stories on ‘growing up’ from Indigenous people in the ACT metro/Queanbeyan region - Occasional Peper 20

This paper presents a summary of the information collected during FaHCSIA’s community engagement qualitative trial undertaken in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) metropolitan (metro) region and the Queanbeyan region. It is based on focus group and in-depth interviews with key informants and community members including: Elders, parents, care givers, young people, prominent Indigenous organisations and government departments funding Indigenous programs. The trial was conducted between January and August 2005. View Occasional Paper [pdf]

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Garma 2007: Key Forum and Festival reports now available

The Key Forum and Festival reports from last year's festival are now available as PDF files from our website. www.garma.telstra.com/2007/2007.htm

Information about this year's festival is available from www.garma.telstra.com/EOI_intro.html

The Yothu Yindi Foundation is offering a three-day "Healing Tourism" program with a focus on traditional healers, bush medicines and foods, and wellbeing through connections to land and Yolngu culture. More information from www.healingplace.com.au

Garma also appreciate donations to the Healing Place which help fund this ground-breaking trial community respite and rehabilitation service at Gulkula, outside Nhulunbuy. You can donate online by clicking on the 'donate now' link at www.healingplace.com.au

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New Report on The Impact of Racism on Indigenous Health Launched

A new report entitled The Impact of Racism on Indigenous Health in Australia and Aotearoa: Towards a Research Agenda, was launched as part of the CRCAH Parliamentary Showcase.

The report summarises findings from a symposium on racism and Indigenous health held in November last year. It presents clear evidence that racism has a detrimental impact on the health of Indigenous peoples in Australia and New Zealand and highlights the need for further research to understand the extent and nature of racism, and to determine how it can be effectively addressed.

• View Report
• View Policy Brief
  

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Showing politicians what works
In response to PM Kevin Rudd's commitment to evidence-based policy development the CRC for Aboriginal Health recently presented important new Aboriginal health research directly to federal politicians, their advisers and senior bureaucrats in Canberra. Read more (loaded 18.03.08)

The Government is also promising to close the 17-year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by 2030.

CRCAH CEO, Mick Gooda welcomed the declaration but warned that a shortage of doctors and other health practitioners, and extremely poor health infrastructure in remote areas would present serious challenges to achieving the goal of closing the gap.

• View Media Release - Rudd government tackles Indigenous smoking rates and health workforce in next down payments on closing the gap

• View declaration

• View media article - The Age
  

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The CRC for Aboriginal Health and the Centre for Excellence Indigenous Tobacco Control Welcome announcement
The CRC for Aboriginal Health and the Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Tobacco Control have welcomed today’s announcement by the Rudd Government that it will spend $14.5 million to fund initiatives to curb high smoking rates among Aboriginal people.

•  View Media Release
  

•  View Policy Brief - Targeting Indigenous Australian' Smoking Rates 

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Good health outcomes over two decades for a decentralised NT Aboriginal Community

New research published in the Medical Journal of Australia has revealed a remarkably low death rate for residents of the Aboriginal community of Utopia in the Northern Territory, compared with the general Aboriginal population in the NT.  For more information:

• Kevin G Rowley, Kerin O’Dea, Ian Anderson, Robyn McDermott, Karmananda Saraswati, Ricky Tilmouth, Iris Roberts, Joseph Fitz, Zaimin Wang, Alicia Jenkins, James D Best, Zhiqiang Wang and Alex Brown (2008) Lower than expected morbidity and mortality for an Australian Aboriginal population: 10-year follow-up in a decentralised community. Medical Journal of Australia; 188 (5): 283-287. Download article from MJA.
• Media Release
• Policy Brief 

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