Category: Article type

Launch of The health of Aboriginal children and young people

Issue: Vol 4 No 2 April 2004 - June 2004

(The following summary has been adapted from information provided by the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.)

The health of Aboriginal children and young people was launched on 3 June 2004 at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Perth, Western Australia (WA). The report is the first volume of findings from the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey (WAACHS), with four more volumes due to be released over the next 18 months. The volumes cover the topics of health, social and emotional wellbeing, education, family, and community and justice.

The WAACHS was one of the largest and most comprehensive investigations into the health and wellbeing of WA Aboriginal children, their families and communities, involving five years of planning and two years in the field. It was designed to build a store of knowledge from which to develop preventive strategies that promote and maintain the healthy development and the social, emotional, academic, and vocational wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

The survey was undertaken by researchers at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in conjunction with the Kulunga Research Network. All phases were under the direction of the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey Steering Committee. The committee, chaired by Associate Professor Ted Wilkes, comprises senior Aboriginal people from a cross section of agencies and settings. More than half of the 130 surveying staff were Aboriginal. The team spent two years working across WA to gather a random sample of more than 5,200 Aboriginal children (one in five WA Aboriginal people aged 18 years or younger) and included interviews with 2,000 families, 11,300 family members, and more than 3,000 teachers.

The report details the complexity of factors that contribute to significantly higher rates of death, illness and disability among Indigenous people compared with other Australians. It includes a call for a national strategy to break the cycle of Aboriginal poor health and disadvantage that looks beyond health to the resources needed for healthy child development.

Associate Professor Ted Wilkes said Aboriginal health was too often portrayed as a problem that was simply too hard to fix and there had been little progress in improving outcomes over the past 30 years, whereas Canada, New Zealand and the United States had narrowed the disparity between Indigenous people and the rest of the population (view media release – HTML). Professor Wilkes noted that ‘Aboriginal people have heard the alarm bells ringing for years, this survey gives us the hard evidence we need for new strategies that look at the issue from a different direction. We have to break the cycle of poor health and that means we have to find ways to give our children a better start in life’. He described the data as a baseline from which real improvements can be achieved and highlighted that resources are needed in areas that are going to produce real results, with many of the solutions outside the health care system.

Outlining other findings from the data, Professor Steve Zubrick from the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research said that family arrangements varied markedly between urban and more isolated regions and family structures were under pressure, much of it as a legacy of the stolen generations: ‘the extended family structure in many Aboriginal homes is a very important safety mechanism for these children, but the overall impact of loss and separation is quite profound’ (view media release – HTML).

Aboriginal children are faced with significant impediments to their chances of a healthy life even before they are born (view media release – HTML). After birth, high rates of recurrent infection are a major risk to the health of Aboriginal children and are comparable to those of third world countries (view media release – HTML). Heather D’Antoine, survey steering committee member and Indigenous health researcher, stated that ‘these infections can have a big impact on the child’s health and development. It’s particularly distressing when we know many of these recurring infections are preventable with appropriate treatment and environmental measures’.

This project was funded by Healthway, Lotterywest, Rio Tinto Aboriginal Foundation, the West Australian State Government (through the departments of Education and Training; Health; Disability Services Commission; Community Development; West Australian Drug Strategy) and the Commonwealth Government (through the departments of Education, Science and Training; Health and Ageing (coordinated through the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health); Attorney General; Family and Community Services).

The Health of Aboriginal Children and Young People (view HealthInfoNet abstract; view full report – PDF – 8.18MB – large file warning!) is available on the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research website. For information regarding reproduction of the report contact: Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, PO Box 855, West Perth WA 6872, Ph: (08) 94897777, Fax: (08) 9489 7700, Email: waachs@ichr.uwa.edu.au.

For further information:

  • Children the key to breaking the cycle of disadvantage
    View media release (HTML) (released 3 June)
  • Social disadvantage underpins children’s poor health
    View media release (HTML) (released 3 June)
  • The Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey background information
    View media release (HTML) (released 3 June)
  • Infections leave life-long scars
    View media release (HTML) (released 3 June)
  • Disadvantage begins in the womb
    View media release (HTML) (released 3 June)

ABC news:

  • National strategy needed on Aboriginal child health: report
    View article (3 June)
  • Aboriginal children take part in comprehensive health study
    View transcript (3 June)

Or contact:
Elizabeth Chester (Media Contact)
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research
Ph: (08) 94897965
Mob: 0409 988 530
Email: elizabeth@ichr.uwa.edu.au

Links to Commonwealth Budget 2004-05: information of relevance to Indigenous health

Issue: Vol 4 No 2 April 2004 - June 2004

Federal Treasurer Peter Costello delivered his ninth Commonwealth Budget on Tuesday evening, 11 May 2004. The following links provide information on the Budget and its implications for Indigenous health.

Full Budget details
Full Commonwealth Budget details are available at the official Budget website.

Health and Ageing Portfolio Budget 2004 – 2005
2004-05 Portfolio Budget Statements for the Health and Ageing Portfolio are available on the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing website. Part C discusses the performance of individual outcomes within the Department, and includes Outcome 7: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (PDF – 116 KB).

Information on Indigenous funding is included in the media statement More funds for Indigenous primary care from the Hon Tony Abbott, Minister for Health and Ageing.

Further general details regarding the Health and Ageing Portfolio Budget are available in Health and Ageing Budget at a glance and on the following web pages:

Health Budget Ageing Budget
Health media releases
Health fact sheets 		Ageing media releases
Ageing fact sheets

Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs
2004-05 Portfolio Budget Statements (PDF – 2.9 MB – large file warning!) are available on the Department’s website.

Part C of the document includes sections on the following (view links to various sections)

  • Aboriginal Hostels Limited;
  • Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies;
  • Indigenous Business Australia;
  • Indigenous Land Corporation; and
  • Torres Strait Regional Authority.

Indigenous Affairs statements (released 11 May)

Australian Government announces new initiatives in Indigenous affairs – Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs.
View media release

Other media releases

$20 million for the Indigenous community volunteers – Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
View media release (released 11 May)

$13 million for Indigenous youth employment consultants – Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
View media release (released 11 May)

Continuing our commitment to Indigenous learning – Minister for Education Science and Training (released 11 May)
View media release

$2.1 billion to accelerate Indigenous education outcomes – Minister for Education Science and Training (released 11 May)
View media release

$14 million to improve Indigenous student literacy – Minister for Education Science and Training (released 11 May)
View media release

$ 179 million boost for school-based Indigenous tutoring – Minister for Education Science and Training (released 11 May)
View media release

Indigenous education strategic initiatives programme – Minister for Education Science and Training (released 11 May)
View media release

Indigenous Australians Are Costello’s Forgotten People – Shadow Minister for Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs (released 12 May)
View media release

Indigenous Health Budget is $290 million short – Democrats Senator for New South Wales, Australian Democrats spokesperson for Indigenous Affairs (released 12 May)
View media release

2004 Budget – real issues in Aboriginal Health forgotten – NACCHO (released 12 May)
View media release

Opportunity and Responsibility for Indigenous Australians – Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs (released 15 May)
View media release

ABC News articles

Govt shifts ATSIC funding to communities
View article (11 May)

Budget a mixed result for Indigenous people: ATSIC
View article (12 May)

An Indigenous focus at the World Conference on Health Promotion and Health Education, Melbourne 2004

Issue: Vol 4 No 2 April 2004 - June 2004

Health2004: the 18th World Conference on Health Promotion and Health Education was held on the land of the Kulin nation of peoples in Melbourne from April 26-30. The conference theme – Valuing diversity, reshaping power: exploring pathways for health and wellbeing – included an explicit focus on Indigenous health. It offered a unique opportunity to showcase the work of Indigenous peoples – from Australia and around the world – to an international audience.

Shane Hearn, Chair of the Indigenous Organising Committee, highlighted that:

Health2004 is an opportunity to expand and build the partnerships that are needed in Australia and internationally to put Indigenous health on regional and global agendas, and an opportunity to value and learn from the experience, wisdom and critical perspectives Indigenous peoples and societies bring to our understanding of how to make healthy societies.

The conference program encompassed Indigenous presentations and activities, including:

  • 34 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander presenters (view details regarding conference abstracts and papers);
  • an Indigenous caucus for the discussion of Indigenous peoples’ own priorities and preferences;
  • a series of Indigenous cultural and social events; and
  • a range of exhibitors from Indigenous organisations.

In the exhibition area, a joint booth comprised of staff from the HealthInfoNet, Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (OATSIH), Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal, and University of Queensland, was co-located with the National Aboriginal and Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) booth. The unique synergy formed by the collaborative work of these organisations led to the creation of a natural meeting place for delegates with an interest in the health of Indigenous Australians and facilitated information sharing. A selection of publications from the Journal was enthusiastically received by conference delegates.

Nicole Tye from OATSIH (Perth), Shannon Smith from the Health Worker Journal, and Helen Travers from the University of Queensland, joined Bronwyn Gee and Sam Burrow from the HealthInfoNet to conduct a HealthInternet café at the conference. The café provided an opportunity to introduce conference delegates to the online information resources and services offered through the:

  • Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet website; and
  • University of Queensland’s touch screen project – an information technology initiative to enhance health literacy in remote Indigenous communities.

The café offered an informal setting for sharing lessons learned from innovative health promotion initiatives currently being implemented in Indigenous communities across the nation and around the world.

We’d like to thank conference delegates who provided written permission for us to display the photos included in the following gallery:

View photo gallery

We’d also like to thank OATSIH (Canberra and Perth), the Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal and the University of Queensland for their support, participation and great company during the conference.

Professor Ian Anderson – first Aboriginal Australian Chair of Indigenous Health, University of Melbourne

Issue: Vol 4 No 2 April 2004 - June 2004

The following summary has been adapted from the 14 April 2004 University of Melbourne media release

The University of Melbourne has recently established a Chair of Indigenous Health, and has appointed one of Australia’s leading Indigenous health experts, Professor Ian Anderson, to the position.

The Head of the School of Population Health, Professor Terry Nolan, believes that the establishment and appointment of the Chair will help raise awareness of Indigenous health issues and encourage partnerships and collaborations with Indigenous communities nationwide.

Professor Anderson believes that Indigenous people must have a voice in Indigenous health issues and problems, and states that the Indigenous community ‘can provide intellectual leadership about the values society looks for in the health care sector’. He emphasises that areas which are important in the Indigenous health context – such as holistic health, community participation, and the linking of curative and preventative health services – are having a big impact on the health sector in general. He believes that those working in the Indigenous health field can make a valuable contribution to Australian society by sharing knowledge about how to improve the provision of health services.

For the past 19 years, Professor Anderson has worked in Indigenous health as a health worker, health educator, and general practitioner. He is currently Head of the Centre for the Study of Health and Society at Melbourne University, in addition to being Research Director for the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health. He is also an appointed member of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

For further information:

View the University of Melbourne media release

Healing Hands: Indigenous Health Rights Campaign 2004

Issue: Vol 4 No 1 January 2004 - March 2004

A campaign for Indigenous health rights, by Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR), was launched in Sydney on February 19, 2004. The Healing Hands initiative is led by a group of eminent Indigenous Australians advising ANTaR, including Patrick Dodson, Prof. Lowitja O’Donohue and Dr. Bill Jonas.

The campaign seeks to raise awareness of Indigenous health issues and improve attitudes and respect for Indigenous Australians by addressing widespread misunderstanding within the broader community about the causes of poor Indigenous health. It highlights that health is influenced by a range of factors including: housing and employment, relationships to land, rights to self-determination and to the enjoyment and protection of cultures.

The campaign aims to:

  • develop a national advertising campaign and public awareness initiatives to inform Australians about poor Indigenous health and to highlight the work and perspectives of relevant Indigenous and non-Indigenous health organisations and individuals;
  • build a network of organisations and individuals working cooperatively on, or in support of, Indigenous health issues;
  • develop targeted education projects in partnership with key Indigenous and non-Indigenous organisations;
  • develop advocacy initiatives in consultation with other stakeholders to secure commitment from all governments and political parties to act on Indigenous health as a matter of urgency.

At the national launch, Mr Dodson called for Australia ‘to find a way to reach its full potential free of division and inequality. It is only through a commitment to justice that these divisions can be healed.’ He went on to explain ‘this is a shared responsibility between Indigenous people, governments and the wider Australian public. . Today we are calling for genuine dialogue leading to a comprehensive agreement on how to resolve these issues.’

For further information or to obtain an Indigenous Health Campaign Kit see the Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) website.

Healthway appoints first Indigenous board member

Issue: Vol 4 No 1 January 2004 - March 2004

Healthway (the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation) provides grants to health and research organisations as well as sponsorships to sport, arts, racing and community groups which encourage healthy lifestyles and advance health promotion programs. Ms Carol Innes is the first Indigenous person to hold a Healthway Board position. She previously served on Healthway’s Arts Advisory Committee and was nominated by Arts Voice, an arts advocacy organisation. Her election follows the retirement of performing arts industry leader Leith Taylor, who served two three-year terms as a Healthway Board member.

Ms Innes assumed the role of Project Officer (Aboriginal Arts) with ArtsWA eight years ago, during which time her career has focused on arts administration. Prior to 1995 she was involved in management, advocacy and education roles in Indigenous and government organisations.

Ms Innes has expressed how pleased and excited she is to have the opportunity to work with Healthway on its various program areas, including health, sport, arts and racing. She stated that she ‘would like to see more Indigenous groups applying for Healthway grants and sponsorships across all program areas’. She anticipates that this could be achieved with a more targeted approach that considers new ways to promote what Healthway has to offer to Indigenous communities through marketing, community visits or other program initiatives. Highlighting Healthway’s achievements in the Indigenous arts area, she sees a need to encourage further collaboration between the Indigenous and the non-Indigenous arts communities.

Healthway’s Executive Director, Neil Guard, said that through the Arts Advisory Committee Ms Innes has already made an extremely positive contribution to expanding the involvement of Indigenous groups in the arts sponsorship program. As she is well known and respected by the Indigenous community throughout Western Australia, Ms Innes’ presence on Healthway’s Board should generate a higher level of interest and help forge new partnerships with Indigenous groups.

2003 Public Health Association Conference: a special interest group and community award for Indigenous Australians

Issue: Vol 4 No 1 January 2004 - March 2004

Indigenous special interest group

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Special Interest Group of the Public Health Association (PHA) held a workshop recently at the PHA Annual Conference. This was held in Brisbane from 28 September – 1 October 2003.

The traditional ‘welcome to country’ by Flo Watson was very moving and significant and set the scene for a positive day of dialogue and debate.

The workshop titled Aboriginal health inequality reduction through health policy, provided a forum for participants to question ‘what are the essential actions required to reduce Aboriginal health inequalities?’ Presentations were given based on historical, political, social, and economic perspectives.

Conference workshops included:

  • Social and emotional well being
  • Sustainable communities
  • Developing healthy public policy to improve the accessibility and appropriateness of health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
  • Can health policy constructively engage with Aboriginal holism?

 

Staff from the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet participated in the workshop, and provided information and promotional resources for delegates. We’d like to thank conference delegates who provided written permission for us to take their photos, the photos will be displayed here in the near future.

Community award: Ngaanyatjarra Health Service’s sexual health program

The 2003 Public Health Association of Australia Community Award was presented to theNgaanyatjarra Health Service for their sexual health program. Heath Greville accepted the award on behalf of the community. The program aimed to reduce the burden of sexually transmitted infections (a sensitive health issue) in the Lands, utilising strategies such as community control and capacity building.

The head office of Ngaanyatjarra Health Service (NHS) is in Alice Springs with clinics in the communities: Blackstone, Cosmo Newberry, Kiwirrkurra, Jamieson, Patjarr, Tjirrkarli, Tjukurla, Wanarn, Warakurna, Warburton and Wingellina. The service provides primary and preventative health care to approximately 2,300 Ngaanyatjarra people in communities widely scattered across the Great Victorian and Gibson Deserts of Western Australia.

ATSIC’s family violence strategy

Issue: Vol 3 No 4 October 2003 - December 2003

This summary has been adapted from the following media releases: ATSIC, 31 October 2003; Message Stick, ABC, 31 October 2003; and Message Stick, ABC, 3 November 2003

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Philip Ruddock launched ATSIC’s family violence strategy in August 2003. The strategy is part of a long-term commitment by ATSIC to take a lead role to end family violence in Indigenous communities.

At its first full meeting earlier this year, ATSIC’s Board of Commissioners released a Family Violence Policy Statement (view Policy Statement). The Commissioners made a strong and personal commitment to act against the escalating and unacceptable levels of family violence in Indigenous communities; and emphasised the need to support and protect women and children through forums like ATSIC’s National Women’s Issues Committee.

The Board subsequently asked the Social and Physical Wellbeing Committee to develop the Family Violence Action Plan to give effect to the policy. The Family Violence Action Plan (view Action Plan) is supported by more than $18 million in new funding for 2003-04. A portion of the funding has been allocated to strengthen its Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLS) (view further information) by employing and training sexual assault workers for each legal service.

A key feature of ATSIC’s new strategy will be the involvement of its 35 regional councils (view further information; view ATSIC regional office websites). A motion of commitment to the ATSIC Board’s Policy Statement and Family Violence Action Plan was passed at a recent meeting of the ATSIC Kamilaroi Regional Council in New South Wales. The Kamilaroi Regional Council recognises the need for regional councils to become personally and actively engaged in addressing the issue of family violence. In Queensland, ATSIC’s Central Queensland Regional Council aims to sit down with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community organisations and representatives, service agencies and key State government departments to hammer out a detailed agreement and plan of action on how the issue and levels of family violence are going to be tackled.

For further information:

The Kong family’s Koori doctors

Issue: Vol 3 No 4 October 2003 - December 2003

Kelvin, Marilyn and Marlene grew up in Shoal Bay, NSW with their mother Grace and their extended family from the Worimi (located north of Newcastle in the Port Stephens area). All three have gone on to form part of the new wave of Indigenous medical graduates from NSW. Kelvin is presently training at John Hunter Hospital to be an ear nose and throat surgeon. Marilyn is training to be an obstetrician and Marlene is a qualified GP currently working in Sudan.

Kelvin and Marilyn acknowledge that their career aspirations have been inspired by a long line of strong women and by their firsthand experience and observations of the poor health of their community.

Their mother, the eldest in her family, didn’t have the opportunity to finish secondary school. However, after helping raise her siblings, she obtained her nursing qualifications. As one of the first Indigenous registered nurses in Australia she strove to address the health needs of her local Aboriginal community. Grace was a strong woman who instilled in her children pride for their Indigenous heritage. She never wavered in her support of their culture, and always explained the importance of their ancestry.

Kelvin feels that his achievements are a testament not only to his family, his mother, his community, and his ancestors, but also to the struggle that they and the Australian Aboriginal community have endured and continue to endure.

For further information:

View MJA full paper (HTML)
View MJA full paper (PDF – 340KB)
View interview transcript (HTML – GNT Health, ABC)

Launch of Health and Welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2003

Issue: Vol 3 No 4 October 2003 - December 2003

Australian of the Year and distinguished medical researcher Professor Fiona Stanley AC, launched the Health and Welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2003 on Friday 29 August at Indigenart, the Mossenson Gallery of Authentic Aboriginal Art in Perth.

Professor Stanley described the report as a rich source of information for anyone interested in the health and welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. She commented that the ‘report will be a valuable tool in the ongoing efforts of government and the community to understand the needs of, and improve services and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.’

Professor Ted Wilkes (Curtin University of Technology and Institute for Child Health Research) noted that the report provided a grim Indigenous health snapshot, with life expectancy at birth estimated to be 20 years lower in the Indigenous population than in the total population. He was, however, optimistic about improvements for the next generation.

Dennis Trewin (Australian Statistician, ABS) acknowledged the progress in reporting Indigenous statistics but spoke of the quest for further improvements (view speech PDF – 32KB).

The report, by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), provides a current statistical overview of the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. It covers information on a variety of health issues including health risks, ill health, mortality, community and health services, and social determinants such as, employment, income and housing. There are separate chapters on the health and welfare of Indigenous mothers and babies and on Torres Strait Islander people.

Statistics in the report demonstrate that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience greater disadvantage than other Australians in terms of their living conditions, vulnerability to risk factors, and ability to access health services. These factors increase their likelihood of poor health and contribute to the early onset of disease.

The report highlighted initiatives to improve health-related circumstances in Indigenous communities, including:

  • the building of public pools in three remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia;
  • increased access to financial services and products to improve family budgeting and saving achieved through the Cape York Family Income Management project;
  • improved birth weights and a reduction in perinatal mortality achieved through the Nganampa Health Council’s antenatal care program in South Australia;
  • improved access to health services for the local Indigenous population through the establishment of a General Practitioner Aboriginal Health Clinic, in partnership between the Shoalhaven Division of General Practice and the Aboriginal community controlled South Coast Medical Service.

The Health and Welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2003 report (ABS Catalogue No. 4704.0, AIHW Catalogue No. IHW 11) is available from the ABS for $60. The ABS and AIHW websites have made the report (PDF – 4.75MB – large file warning!) available for downloading and provided details regarding how to obtain a hardcopy.

For further information:

View HealthInfoNet abstract
View ABS summary
View interview transcript (PM, Radio National)
View launch speech (Dennis Trewin)

Reference
1. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2003) The health and welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 2003. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian Bureau of Statistics