Month: January 2008

TheMHS Summer Forum – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’s mental health and emotional wellbeing

Issue: Vol 8 No 1 January 2008 - March 2008

Dean Miller, Neville Highfold, Paul Senior and Clyde Rigney Jane Havelka Cherie Kana and Jenny Cardno

The title of the 2008 Mental Health Services (TheMHS) Summer Forum was ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’s mental health and emotional wellbeing’, and had the theme: ‘time to listen, time to act’. The forum was held on 21 – 22 February 2008, at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney . The Forum was attended by 190 people, ranging from consumers to researchers to representatives from the health workforce.

The welcome to country was provided by Uncle George Fisher, with live Didjeridu music by Nathan Scott. The Forum welcome was provided by Kevin Kellehear, chairperson. Tom Brideson provided the introduction to the Forum.

Presentations included:

  • Calma T. Human rights, Indigenous communities and social and emotional well-being
  • Milroy H. Children, transgenerational trauma and the well-being of Indigenous communities
  • Milne M. Maori mental health: past, present, future
  • Hunter E. Promoting mental health and wellbeing in remote communities: overcoming the digital divide
  • Ober C. Workforce development and capacity building: considerations for the future
  • Brideson T. Lessons from the current roll out of the Aboriginal Mental Health Workforce Program
  • Phillips N. From the edge of nowhere to the eye of the storm: Gubbah psychiatrist talks about Indigenous mental health
  • Roberts R, Sanders T. What are the key elements of a good service?
  • Harris V. The Social and Emotional Wellbeing Program within the Co-operative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health
  • Dudley M. Suicide prevention
  • Wieland B, Dodd Z, Wilmott Elder J, Krieg A. A learning guide: a process of cultural respect within a mental health service
  • Rosen A. What can the wider community learn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people?
Carole Maraku and Dr. Leonie Cox Barbara Ahmat Kara Eddington and Neville Highfold

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid training and research program was launched at the conference.

Some of the presentations will be made available on the TheMHS website. TheMHS will also attempt to make the presentations available in audio form on a CD. Please contact TheMHS to obtain your copy of this CD.

Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet staff member Ineke Krom ran a HealthInternet café at the conference.

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

Apology to the Stolen Generations

Issue: Vol 8 No 1 January 2008 - March 2008

The following information has been adapted from information provided by ABC news.

The Federal Government made a formal apology to the members of the Stolen Generation on 13 February 2008. Parliament’s opening ceremony included a traditional Welcome to Country by members of the Ngunnawal people and the first item of business was the apology, delivered by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Prime Minister Rudd apologised for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss, and especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, communities and their country.

He used the word ‘sorry’ three times:

‘For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.’

‘To the mothers and fathers, the brothers and sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.’

‘And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.’

He says it is the first step where the Parliament resolves the injustices of the past, which must never happen again.
With a future:

  • where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.
  • where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have changed.
  • based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.
  • where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country.

Thousands of people around the country gathered to watch the apology on large TV screens.

 

Formal alliance between the Government and Indigenous Peoples to ‘Close the Gap’

Issue: Vol 8 No 1 January 2008 - March 2008

The following information has been adapted from information provided by ABC news and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity (HREOC) website.

The Government and Indigenous health leaders today signed a Statement of Intent in the Great Hall of Parliament House to work together to achieve equality in health status and life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians by the year 2030.

The move has been welcomed by Indigenous and non-Indigenous health representatives and Australian civil society and was the culmination of the first ever two-day Indigenous Health Equality Summit held in Canberra from March 18-20.

The Summit has developed working targets and benchmarks to be used to close the gap in Indigenous life expectancy by 2030.

Indigenous child index launched in Western Australia

Issue: Vol 8 No 1 January 2008 - March 2008

The following information has been adapted from information provided by ABC news and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research website.

The Indigenous Australian Early Development Index was launched in Perth on 20 January 2008 by Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. The index is an attempt to address inequalities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children when they begin formal schooling.

It involves a checklist questionnaire which contains over 100 questions measuring physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills, communication skills, and general knowledge.

The launch of the index follows successful trials with over 30,000 children in 414 communities. The project is expected to extend to other states next year.

The Australian Early Development Index: Building Better Communities for Children project is conducted by the Centre for Community Child Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, in partnership with the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Perth. The Federal Government will provide nearly $16 million to the project.

Budgeri Booroody: excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health conference

Issue: Vol 8 No 1 January 2008 - March 2008

Des Jones and Richard Weston Lenease Cooper and Mabrey Fogarty Christine Connors and Sally Goold

Budgeri Booroody, which means ‘good and getting better’ in the language of the Eora people of coastal Sydney, was the name of a two-day conference focusing on quality and best practice within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled health sector. The conference, held 21 – 23 November, 2007 in Sydney, New South Wales, provided OATSIH-funded community controlled health services with the opportunity to come together at a national forum to share information about best practice and to hear about current research in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcare.

The welcome to country was provided by Allen Madden from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council. The conference welcome and overview was presented by Lesley Podesta, First Assistant Secretary, OATSIH, Department of Health and Ageing.

Keynote presentations included:

  • Stephanie Bell, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress: Having quality at the top of your organisation’s agenda
  • Putting research into practice successfully for quality outcomes
  • Allen Benson, Native Counselling Services Alberta, Canada: Managing for quality
  • Mark Wenitong, Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association: Quality models that work
  • Julie Tongs and Karen Flick, Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Services, together with Aunty Rose Fernando, Gamilaroi Elder: Circle of life and wellbeing

The conference included breakout sessions focussing on the following topics:

  • Quality at the top of your agenda
  • Research into practice
  • Managing for quality
Olive Bennet, Paula Wootton and Lorraine Harvey David Monkland and Matthew Cooke Karen Salam and Ineke Krom

The centrepiece of the conference was the inaugural National Excellence Awards in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health ceremony, which was held on 22 November, 2007. A total of 77 individuals and organisations submitted nominations for the awards. The nominations were judged by an eight member expert panel.

The winners in the six award categories were:

  • Mary Martin: Lifetime achievement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
  • Matthew Cooke: Young leader in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
  • Bernadette Shields: Individual contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
  • Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service (Kimberley Satellite Dialysis Service): Excellence and innovation in service delivery
  • Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service (Youth Diversion Program): Excellence and innovation in community health outcomes
  • Maari Ma (Lower Western Sector Agreement): Working together – partnering for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health

Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet staff, Neil Thomson and Ineke Krom, ran a HealthInternet café at the conference.

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