Indigenous Resiliency Project Participatory Action Research Component: A report on the Research Training and Development Workshop, Townsville, February 2008

The Indigenous Resiliency Project proposes to build capacity in Indigenous communities in Australia, New Zealand and Canada to conduct investigations into the factors that may support Indigenous people in responding toblood borne viral (BBV) and sexually transmitted infections (STI). The goal of this international project is to identify strategies related to resiliency that can be incorporated into public health and clinical practice. The Australian arm of the Indigenous Resiliency Project focuses on young adults (aged 16 to 25 years) in urban settings. It employs a range of research methods to gain an understanding of the factors thatmight be strengthened to better protect young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people against BBV and STI. The project has four components, the third being the Participatory Action Research (PAR) project. The PAR has four aims: 1. Build the capacity of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in Participatory Action Research practice. 2. Identify, assess and enhance selected BBV/STI resilience capability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in the study sites. 3. Inform on opportunities to decrease the risk of BBV/STI transmission in these populations. 4. Provide information for local and area health service planning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander BBV/STI prevention. The PAR project is running in three sites: the Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Service (TAIHS), Derbarl Yerrigan Medical Service in Perth (DY), and the Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern (AMS). In each health service, a site research team works together with a research team from the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR) to develop the project locally. Each site is using the following framework: Phase I: Develop protocols, identifypriority population, and obtain ethics. Phase II: Research training and development workshop. Phase III: Fieldwork – recruitment, observation, and data collection. Phase IV: Focus groups. Phase V: Analysis and dissemination of findings. This report describes the first two phases of the PAR project at the TIAHS.the International Collaborative Indigenous Health Research Program (ICIHRP

Young Indigenous Australians’ sexually transmitted infection prevention practices: A Community-based Participatory Research project

Funded by the International Collaborative Indigenous Health Research Partnership (ID: 361621), a trilateral partnership between the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Health Research Council of New ZealandNational surveillance data indicate marked differences between Indigenous and other Australians in the prevalence of many sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Young Indigenous people bear a particularly high burden of these infections. A collaboration of university researchers, Indigenous health workers and young Indigenous people conducted 45 field interviews to examine how young Indigenous Australians keep themselves healthy and protected against STIs. Our findings emphasise the complexity of health behaviours, where individuals are rarely always ‘risky’ or always ‘safe’, as well as subtle gender differences in health practices. Preventive strategies employed by the young people were contingent on beliefs and knowledge about sexual partners, the type of relationship, the context of the sexual encounter, and access to condoms. Tangible strengths identified by our study should be celebrated and bolstered to enhance young Indigenous people’s ability to protect themselves against adverse health outcomes and enhance their resilience against STIs. Focusing on strengths helps to counter the deficit model of health commonly deployed in Indigenous health research and draws attention to health issues facing young Indigenous people and their communities, without reinforcing negative stereotypes or focusing solely on individual risk behaviour. We provide concrete recommendations for health promotion and education. Keywords Sexual health; STI prevention; young people; Indigenous people; AustraliaInternational Collaborative Indigenous Health Research Partnership (ID: 361621

Enhancing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people’s resilience to blood borne and sexually transmitted infections: Findings from a community-based participatory research project

Issue addressed: Health services are fundamental to reducing the burden of blood-borne and sexually transmitted infections (BBV/STI) in Indigenous communities. However, we know very little about young Indigenous people’s use of mainstream and community-controlled health services for the prevention and treatment of these infections, or how health services can best support young people’s efforts to prevent infection. Methods: University-researchers, a site coordinator and peer researchers developed a project and conducted interviews with 45 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 17 to 26 years. Thematic analysis of interviews notes identified key themes around health service use and experiences of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services (ACCHS). Results: Most participants had accessed health services for the prevention or treatment of BBV/STI, with positive experiences characterised by the provision of information and feeling cared for. Participants described the comfort and understanding they experienced at ACCHS; personal relationships and having an Indigenous care provider present were important factors in the overwhelmingly positive accounts. Young people reported strategies for overcoming challenges to prevention and accessing treatment services, including being proactive by carrying condoms, persisting with behavioural intentions despite feeling shame. . Conclusion: Our findings reinforce the important role both mainstream and community-controlled health services have in the prevention and treatment of BBV/STI blood borne and sexually transmitted infections in young Indigenous people. We highlight opportunities to build on young people’s strengths, such as their valuing of their health, their persistence, and their offers to support peers, to better prevent transmission of infections and enhance access to treatment.the International Collaboration in Indigenous Health Research Program, a trilateral partnership between the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Health Research Council of New Zealan

Sexual health through the eyes of Indigenous youth: Community-based participatory research with young Indigenous people in Townsville

The project had the following aims: 1. Build the capacity of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in research practice; 2. Identify, assess and enhance the blood borne viral and sexually transmitted infection (BBV/STI) resilience capability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; 3. Inform on opportunities to decrease the risk of BBV /STI transmission in site communities; 4. Provide information for local and area health service planning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander BBV/STI. 1.2 Methods A Community-Based Participatory Research framework was used to develop a qualitative study of young people’s perspectives on blood borne and sexually transmitted infections...The Indigenous Resiliency Project is funded by the International Collaboration in Indigenous Health Research Program, a trilateral partnership between the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Health Research Council of New Zealand

Young Indigenous Australians’ sexually transmitted infection prevention practices: A Community-based Participatory Research project

National surveillance data indicate marked differences between Indigenous and other Australians in the prevalence of many sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Young Indigenous people bear a particularly high burden of these infections. A collaboration of university researchers, Indigenous health workers and young Indigenous people conducted 45 field interviews to examine how young Indigenous Australians keep themselves healthy and protected against STIs. Our findings emphasise the complexity of health behaviours, where individuals are rarely always ‘risky’ or always ‘safe’, as well as subtle gender differences in health practices. Preventive strategies employed by the young people were contingent on beliefs and knowledge about sexual partners, the type of relationship, the context of the sexual encounter, and access to condoms. Tangible strengths identified by our study should be celebrated and bolstered to enhance young Indigenous people’s ability to protect themselves against adverse health outcomes and enhance their resilience against STIs. Focusing on strengths helps to counter the deficit model of health commonly deployed in Indigenous health research and draws attention to health issues facing young Indigenous people and their communities, without reinforcing negative stereotypes or focusing solely on individual risk behaviour. We provide concrete recommendations for health promotion and education. Keywords Sexual health; STI prevention; young people; Indigenous people; AustraliaInternational Collaborative Indigenous Health Research Partnership (ID: 361621

Learning from the past: young Indigenous people’s accounts of blood-borne viral and sexually transmitted infections as resilience narratives

The Indigenous Resilience Project is an Australian community-based participatory research project using qualitative methods to explore young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's views of blood-borne viral and sexually transmitted infections (BBV/STI) affecting their communities. In this paper we present an analysis of narratives from young people who had a previous BBV/STI diagnosis to explore how they actively negotiate the experience of BBV/STI infection to construct a classic resilience narrative. We examine two overarching themes: first, the context of infection and diagnosis, including ignorance of STI/BBV prior to infection/diagnosis and, second, turning points and transformations in the form of insights, behaviours, roles and agency. Responding to critical writing on resilience theory, we argue that providing situated accounts of adversity from the perspectives of young Indigenous people prioritises their subjective understandings and challenges normative definitions of resilience.Keywords resilience, sexual health, young people, Indigenous people, Australiafunded by the International Collaborative Indigenous Health Research Partnership (ID: 361621), a trilateral partnership between the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Health Research Council of New Zealan

Evidence for Alteration of Gene Regulatory Networks through MicroRNAs of the HIV-Infected Brain: Novel Analysis of Retrospective Cases

HIV infection disturbs the central nervous system (CNS) through inflammation and glial activation. Evidence suggests roles for microRNA (miRNA) in host defense and neuronal homeostasis, though little is known about miRNAs' role in HIV CNS infection. MiRNAs are non-coding RNAs that regulate gene translation through post-transcriptional mechanisms. Messenger-RNA profiling alone is insufficient to elucidate the dynamic dance of molecular expression of the genome. We sought to clarify RNA alterations in the frontal cortex (FC) of HIV-infected individuals and those concurrently infected and diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). This report is the first published study of large-scale miRNA profiling from human HIV-infected FC. The goals of this study were to: 1. Identify changes in miRNA expression that occurred in the frontal cortex (FC) of HIV individuals, 2. Determine whether miRNA expression profiles of the FC could differentiate HIV from HIV/MDD, and 3. Adapt a method to meaningfully integrate gene expression data and miRNA expression data in clinical samples. We isolated RNA from the FC (n = 3) of three separate groups (uninfected controls, HIV, and HIV/MDD) and then pooled the RNA within each group for use in large-scale miRNA profiling. RNA from HIV and HIV/MDD patients (n = 4 per group) were also used for non-pooled mRNA analysis on Affymetrix U133 Plus 2.0 arrays. We then utilized a method for integrating the two datasets in a Target Bias Analysis. We found miRNAs of three types: A) Those with many dysregulated mRNA targets of less stringent statistical significance, B) Fewer dysregulated target-genes of highly stringent statistical significance, and C) unclear bias. In HIV/MDD, more miRNAs were downregulated than in HIV alone. Specific miRNA families at targeted chromosomal loci were dysregulated. The dysregulated miRNAs clustered on Chromosomes 14, 17, 19, and X. A small subset of dysregulated genes had many 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) target-sites for dysregulated miRNAs. We provide evidence that certain miRNAs serve as key elements in gene regulatory networks in HIV-infected FC and may be implicated in neurobehavioral disorder. Finally, our data indicates that some genes may serve as hubs of miRNA activity

Diversity of the gut microbiota and eczema in early life

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A modest number of prospective studies of the composition of the intestinal microbiota and eczema in early life have yielded conflicting results.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To examine the relationship between the bacterial diversity of the gut and the development of eczema in early life by methods other than stool culture.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fecal samples were collected from 21 infants at 1 and 4 months of life. Nine infants were diagnosed with eczema by the age of 6 months (cases) and 12 infants were not (controls). After conducting denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of stool samples, we compared the microbial diversity of cases and controls using the number of electrophoretic bands and the Shannon index of diversity (<it>H'</it>) as indicators.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Control subjects had significantly greater fecal microbial diversity than children with eczema at ages 1 (mean <it>H' </it>for controls = 0.75 vs. 0.53 for cases, P = 0.01) and 4 months (mean <it>H' </it>for controls = 0.92 vs. 0.59 for cases, P = 0.02). The increase in diversity from 1 to 4 months of age was significant in controls (P = 0.04) but not in children who developed eczema by 6 months of age (P = 0.32).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings suggest that reduced microbial diversity is associated with the development of eczema in early life.</p

Bronchoarterial ratio in never‐smokers adults: Implications for bronchial dilation definition

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135610/1/resp12875_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135610/2/resp12875.pd