Defining the Indefinable: Descriptors of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Cultures and their Links to Health and Wellbeing

This report was funded by the Lowitja Institute and is part of the development of Mayi Kuwayu: The National Study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing; a national longitudinal study exploring the relationship between Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander wellbeing and culture. This review was conducted to explore what cultural factors are important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and gain an understanding of how these factors relate to health and wellbeing. We examined the Australian literature as well as publications from countries that have experienced similar colonisation events; primarily Aotearoa (New Zealand), Canada and the United States. Our main findings from this synthesis determined six main domains used to describe culture for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. These domains were: Connection to Country; Cultural Beliefs and Knowledge; Language; Family, Kinship and Community; Expression and Cultural Continuity; and Self-determination and Leadership.The Lowitja Institute Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Cooperative Research Centre funded this review under project 16-SDH-05-03

"I want to be heard" : an analysis of needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander illegal drug users in the ACT and region for treatment and other services.

This is the report of a study, conducted over a three year period, 2001 to 2004, of the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander illegal drug users in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and its surrounding region for treatment and other services.The study was funded by the NHMRC under a special National Illicit Drugs Strategy funding roun

"I want to be heard" : an analysis of needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander illegal drug users in the ACT and region for treatment and other services. Community Report

This Community Report shows the findings of a study which took place from 2001 to 2004 of the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander illegal drug users in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and surrounding region for treatment and other services.This Community Report is based was funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council, National Illicit Drug Strategy Program GrantThis report was produced in 2005 with support from the ACT Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, Department of Health and Agein

Monograph No. 12: Popular culture and the prevention of illicit drug use: A pilot study of popular music and the acceptability of drugs.

This Monograph (No. 12) describes the work of the team at ANU in exploring the relationship between popular music and drug use. Popular culture has significant potential to influence drug prevention efforts. Popular culture represents and can create the norms and cultural milieu that can either encourage or discourage drug use. To date, there has been little systematic endeavour to study the relationships between popular culture and the milieu it creates around drugs. This pilot study concentrated on one aspect of popular culture – music. The team interviewed a small group of young people and people from the music industry to begin to explore the complex set of potential associations between music and drug use

"It Fucks Your Insides Up": The Effects of Australian Urban Women's Opioid Use on Their Sexual & Reproductive Functioning

City life has long been associated with the dangers of consumption. Here we focus on the consumption of opioids by Australian urban women and its effects on their sexual and reproductive functioning. We interviewed 109 Australian women with HCV (Hepatitis C) from two urban centres about contraception and their sexual and reproductive health needs. These interviews alerted us to a potential health consequence of drug use that appears to be under-researched: it appears that opioid use may reduce women’s estrogen levels which in turn has consequences for their health more broadly. Here, we bring together qualitative evidence from interviews with women opioid users and from research literature to argue that women’s opioid use may reduce their estrogen levels and lead to serious health consequences. At present, however, we are unaware of research that has empirically tested this proposition. This research urgently needs to be conducted, and if our theory is supported then treatment protocols and services for opioid-using women should be modified accordingly

Aged care services for Indigenous people in the Australian Capital Territory and surrounds:analysing needs and implementing change

Abstract Objective: To ascertain and meet current and anticipated needs for residential care and other services by older Indigenous people in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and region. Methods: With advice from a reference group, qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from 98 older (45 years and over) Indigenous people in the ACT and region during 1999/2000. Indigenous and non‐Indigenous researchers worked closely throughout all phases of the research. We helped participants with immediate problems identified during the interviews and worked directly with the Government funding body to implement the findings. Results: No one expressed a current need for residential services. In terms of future needs, 50% of respondents favoured an arrangement where an existing mainstream provider of aged care accommodated a cluster of Indigenous people in the same facility as non‐Indigenous people. Thirty‐two per cent preferred an Indigenous‐run organisation. Our study also revealed a broad range of health problems and needs. Assessment using the Resident Classification Scale showed that 70% required a low level of care and 4% needed a high level of care. Conclusion: The research identified the needs and provided a health profile of older Indigenous people in the ACT and region. This then provided policymakers with evidence on which they acted to provide appropriate aged care services. Implications: Collaboration between Indigenous and non‐Indigenous researchers can access high‐quality information, and partnership between researchers and policymakers can improve Indigenous services

Early Life Predictors of Increased Body Mass Index among Indigenous Australian Children

<div><p>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are more likely than non-Indigenous Australians to be obese and experience chronic disease in adulthood—conditions linked to being overweight in childhood. Birthweight and prenatal exposures are associated with increased Body Mass Index (BMI) in other populations, but the relationship is unclear for Indigenous children. The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children is an ongoing cohort study of up to 1,759 children across Australia. We used a multilevel model to examine the association between children’s birthweight and BMI z-score in 2011, at age 3-9 years, adjusted for sociodemographic and maternal factors. Complete data were available for 682 of the 1,264 children participating in the 2011 survey; we repeated the analyses in the full sample with BMI recorded (n=1,152) after multilevel multiple imputation. One in ten children were born large for gestational age, and 17% were born small for gestational age. Increasing birthweight predicted increasing BMI; a 1-unit increase in birthweight z-score was associated with a 0.22-unit (95% CI:0.13, 0.31) increase in childhood BMI z-score. Maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with a significant increase (0.25; 95% CI:0.05, 0.45) in BMI z-score. The multiple imputation analysis indicated that our findings were not distorted by biases in the missing data. High birthweight may be a risk indicator for overweight and obesity among Indigenous children. National targets to reduce the incidence of low birthweight which measure progress by an increase in the population’s average birthweight may be ignoring a significant health risk; both ends of the spectrum must be considered. Interventions to improve maternal health during pregnancy are the first step to decreasing the prevalence of high BMI among the next generation of Indigenous children.</p></div