Describing an Iceberg from a Glimpse of its Tip: A summary of the literature on the achievements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health

Burns, J., Thomson, N., Brooks, J., Burrow, S., Kirov, E., McGougan, B. & Valenti, A. 2002, Describing an Iceberg from a Glimpse of its Tip: A summary of the literature on the achievements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, Perth.

This review extracts examples of real achievements in dealing with Indigenous health issues from available literature, in order to share the achievements with a wider Australian audience. The authors acknowledge that much of the existing literature is focused on process rather than outcomes, with many of the reported achievements based on anecdotal evidence rather than hard data. The review looks at ways of assessing achievements, then moves to a discussion of general achievements in Indigenous health and specific achievements in Indigenous health. While the review concludes that achievements in Indigenous health have been disappointing for a country as wealthy as Australia, it finds that the momentum for improvement developed over the past decade has been far more encouraging.

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