Month: December 2005

The HealthInfoNet has recently created a new series of web pages to support the development of the Indigenous Road Safety Community of Practice (view webpages). The road safety web pages combine web-based information resources with additional electronic information services that encourage people to share information, knowledge and experience – even when they live in different locations and work for different organisations.

The aim of this integrated knowledge resource is to bring together information on Indigenous road safety, and to increase information-sharing among practitioners working in this area, in order to develop more effective and appropriate ways of reducing road trauma for Indigenous Australians.

The Community of Practice was launched on 2 December 2005. In Western Australia it was formally launched at the Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service in Perth. The Welcome to Country by Walter McGuire Senior was followed by presentations from:

• Iain Cameron, Executive Director of the Office of Road Safety;
• Professor Neil Thomson, Director of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet; and
• Leon Henry from the Drug and Alcohol Office of the Department of Health.

The decision to proceed with development of this resource was made in 2003 by the National Road Safety Strategy Panel, which recognised the need for better sharing of knowledge and information about Indigenous road safety – between jurisdictions and, often, between sectors within a single jurisdiction.

The development of the Comunity of Practice has been made possible with funds provided by the: Roads and Transport Authority of New South Wales (view website); Queensland Transport (view website); Western Australian Office of Road Safety (view website); South Australian Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (view website); Northern Territory Department of Planning and Infrastructure (view website); and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (view website).

The road safety web pages include: a summary of road safety among Indigenous Australians; background information; information on policies and strategies, programs, projects and recommendations, lessons learned; resources; and publications, including a bibliography. They also include electronic services to support information sharing and networking among people who live in different locations and work for different organisations.

If you are working or studying in areas that deal with Indigenous road safety we invite you to become a member of the Road Safety Community of Practice and begin the information-sharing process (view Community of Practice information). For further information about joining the Road Safety Community of Practice or other queries please email Ineke Krom: i.krom@ecu.edu.au.

Other information

• View media statement Office of Road Safety WA (PDF – 14KB)
• View ABC news item
• View joint media statement of involved Ministers

We’d like to thank the launch participants who provided written permission for us to display their photos here

The Aboriginal Health Promotion Conference: Taking Control: Our Health, Our Future, held in Fremantle, Western Australia from November 2-4, was organised by the WA Department of Health’s Office of Aboriginal Health and the Department of Health and Ageing.

The 2005 conference sub-themes were:

• What works?
  Local and national programs which create healthy communities
• Working together
  How to work together to sustain healthy communities
• Working for the future
  Building resiliency and social capital for the future.

The opening address was by Dr Neale Fong, A/Director General of Health, Department of Health (WA). Keynote addresses were presented by:

• Shane Hearne, Director of the Australian Centre for Health Promotion – Health promotion: a map for improved health for Aboriginal people
• Professor Joan Winch, Founder of Marr Mooditj Foundation – Taking the reins

Dr Brian Mcoy, the keynote speaker, presented Holding the man: a cultural understanding of health.

Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet staff, Ellie Kirov, Kim Hansen and Jane Burns ran a HealthInternet café at the conference. Professor Neil Thomson, Director of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet gave a presentation, ‘Using the Internet to empower Indigenous peoples in the area of health’.

Professor Neil Thomson also introduced the Western Australian Indigenous Health Promotion Network website http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/wahealthpromotion/. The Network includes Indigenous and non-Indigenous people involved in Indigenous health promotion. The website is designed to support the Network in its aim to facilitate the sharing of relevant information and knowledge, with the ultimate goal of improving the health of Indigenous Western Australians.

The idea of establishing a formal Western Australian Indigenous Health Promotion Network (WAIHPN) emerged from discussions at a workshop that preceded the Aboriginal Health 2004 Conference held in Perth. It was thought initially that the production and distribution of regular newsletters would be an effective way of sharing information and knowledge of relevance to Indigenous health promotion. After some consideration, it was decided that the development and maintenance of a small dedicated website would be a much more effective way of supporting the Network. The website has been created and designed according to a ‘community of practice’ (CoP) model, combining web-based information resources with additional electronic information services to encourage people to share information, knowledge and experience – even when they live in different locations and work for different organisations. Membership of the Network and use of the web-based information resources and services is free and people working or studying in the area of Indigenous health promotion are encouraged to visit the website and join up.

For further information regarding the Western Australian Indigenous Health Promotion Network:
View website: http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/wahealthpromotion/

For further information regarding the conference contact:
Office of Aboriginal Health, Department of Health Western Australia, 189 Royal Street, East Perth, 6004, ph: 9222 4024, website: http://www.aboriginal.health.wa.gov.au/

We’d like to thank the conference participants who provided written permission for us to display their photos here.