The effectiveness of a sustained nurse home visiting intervention for Aboriginal infants compared with non-Aboriginal infants and with Aboriginal infants receiving usual child health care : a quasi-experimental trial : the Bulundidi Gudaga study

Background: In Australia there is commitment to developing interventions that will 'Close the Gap' between the health and welfare of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and recognition that early childhood interventions offer the greatest potential for long term change. Nurse led sustained home visiting programs are considered an effective way to deliver a health and parenting service, however there is little international or Australian evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of these programs for Aboriginal infants. This protocol describes the Bulundidi Gudaga Study, a quasi-experimental design, comparing three cohorts of families from the Macarthur region in south western Sydney to explore the effectiveness of the Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-visiting (MECSH) program for Aboriginal families. Methods: Mothers were recruited when booking into the local hospital for perinatal care and families are followed up until child is age 4 years. Participants are from three distinct cohorts: Aboriginal MECSH intervention cohort (Group A), Non-Aboriginal MECSH intervention cohort (Group B) and Aboriginal non-intervention cohort (Group C). Eligible mothers were those identified as at risk during the Safe Start assessment conducted by antenatal clinic midwives. Mothers in Group A were eligible if they were pregnant with an Aboriginal infant. Mothers in Group B were eligible if they were pregnant with a non-Aboriginal infant. Mothers in Group C are part of the Gudaga descriptive cohort study and were recruited between October 2005 and May 2007. The difference in duration of breastfeeding, child body mass index, and child development outcomes at 18 months and 4 years of age will be measured as primary outcomes. We will also evaluate the intervention effect on secondary measures including: child dental health; the way the program is received; patterns of child health and illness; patterns of maternal health, health knowledge and behaviours; family and environmental conditions; and service usage for mothers and families. Discussion: Involving local Aboriginal research and intervention staff and investing in established relationships between the research team and the local Aboriginal community is enabling this study to generate evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions that are feasible to implement and sustainable in the context of Aboriginal communities and local service systems. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12616001721493 Registered 14 Dec 2016. Retrospectively registered

Growing more Aboriginal health professionals : the 2009 Shalom Gamarada Ngiyani Yana art exhibition and show

Shalom Gamarada allows the public to see a broad range of current contemporary and traditional art. People can meet representative community members and artists and learn about collecting art and hear about the current thinking in health, and all proceeds go to help grow more Indigenous health professionals — all of this makes this particular week-long event unique

Lisa Jackson Pulver : accentuate the positive

NEXT month, six Aboriginal Medical Service health workers will walk out of the University of NSW with public health qualifications. Another 56 Indigenous medical students are currently studying at the university — the largest Indigenous cohort in a medical program in the country — along with about 10 Aboriginal students currently working towards higher degrees across UNSW Medicine. As the Abbott government promises a renewed focus on Indigenous health, it would be wonderful to think that one day we will have health services delivered to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that are informed by Indigenous world views and appropriate practice. However, that remains a distant ideal

We walk together as friends : the Shalom Gamarada Ngiyani Yana residential scholarship program

Beth is one of the first recipients of a unique scholarship program to boost the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students undertaking medical and other healthrelated degrees at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). She grew up and was educated on Gandangara land in south-western Sydney, but her people are from Guyra in western NSW. Like so many other Indigenous students, Beth is among the first in her family to study at university. She certainly won’t be the last, with her younger brother entering UNSW’s medical school and the Shalom Gamarada Ngiyana Yana scholarship program in 2007. The Shalom Gamarada Ngiyana Yana scholarship program sprang from a chance meeting and conversation between Associate Professor Lisa Jackson Pulver, of the School of Public Health and Community Medicine’s Muru Marri Indigenous Health Unit, and Ms Ilona Lee, President of the Shalom Institute, on National Sorry Day in 2004. Today, the partnership comprises the UNSW’s Shalom College, the Nura Gili Indigenous Programs Unit and the Muru Marri Indigenous Health Unit

Shalom Gamarada Ngiyani Yana 2010

The Shalom Gamarada scholarship program is funded both by the sale of work by Aboriginal artists at the annual, week-long Shalom Gamarada Ngiyani Yana exhibition and by the provision of scholarships by private donors and corporate sponsors. The name of the program comes from the term “gamarada ngiyani yana” in the Eora language and translates to “we walk together as friends.” “Shalom” is a Hebrew word, meaning peace and is part of the name of the Shalom College at the University of NSW. The program was founded in 2005. In 2010, the sixth exhibition and sale ran from 27th June to 4th July

An analysis of resources for Indigenous women in NSW about cervical screening

OBJECTIVE: To examine resources about cervical screening made available to Indigenous women in NSW. METHOD An Aboriginal woman, on behalf of another Aboriginal woman, telephoned 47 NSW based organisations in May 1998 for information about cervical screening. Received materials were analysed for format, content and readability and then submitted to a panel of Indigenous women for their feedback. RESULTS: Of those 34 organisations agreeing to send resources, only 20 (59%) did so. After removing duplicates, 12 cervical screening resources were available for review of which six were designed and printed in NSW and the other six originated outside NSW. Of the six resources developed in NSW, two (33%) were for Aboriginal women. Of the six resources originating from outside of NSW, another two (33%) also were for Aboriginal women. The Flesch readability scores for resources ranged from 58.6 to 87.27. Those developed in NSW had a significantly lower readability score than those from outside of NSW (p = 0.025). Despite lower education levels among the target group, there was no difference in the readability scores of resources designed for Indigenous women (p=l). CONCLUSION: Most resources obtained by us were not tailored for Indigenous women. IMPLICATIONS: This study has set a base line for resources available for Indigenous women. Our method could be replicated in the future to evaluate and monitor improvement

Aboriginal health workers : professional qualifications to match their health promotion roles

Aboriginal Health Workers are recognised as critical to meeting the health promotion needs of Indigenous communities, but addressing the complexity of these needs requires Aboriginal Health Workers to have a high level of professional skills and knowledge. Considerable progress has been made in developing health worker training programs, particularly in the vocational sector. However, a national review finds that training is still inadequate for enabling health workers to meet the level of communities’ health needs and asks why this is so. Method: To begin addressing the issues raised in the national review’s question, this paper reviews a range of literature on the health promotion needs of Indigenous communities and the role of Aboriginal Health Workers in addressing these needs. It describes current vocational training provision for Aboriginal Health Workers, and the potential role of university-based programs to extend Aboriginal Health Worker professional qualifications to a level equivalent to allied health professionals. Results: This paper proposes that health promotion in Indigenous health is a specialist and central field of practice that is influenced by a complex range of factors. It also advocates that to practice effectively in this domain, Aboriginal Health Workers require sophisticated skills and knowledge at a level equivalent to other health professions. We contend that opportunities should be provided for Aboriginal Health Workers, if they choose to be qualified at a university level in parallel with other health professional qualifications

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population : more than reported

A realistic estimate of population data and vital statistics such as births and deaths is essential to understanding the history and relative status of any population over time. Estimating the Aboriginal population of Australia has challenged statisticians for well over 100 years. Estimates of the 1788 population are reviewed, as well as estimates from colonial censuses and the early Yearbooks. The wide variation in contemporary estimates is discussed. More recent improvements in data and data quality are examined, and a plausible scenario for the size of the Aboriginal population over time, based on what we know today, is presented

Sitting 'round the table of rights-based reconciliation : a health perspective

For the reconciliation process to be successful, professionals working in the domain of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health promotion must remember that it is not only which programs are carried out, but how they are carried out. The ‘how’ involves protocols that are based on fundamental human rights, not the least of which is the right to the highest attainable standard of health. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, these basic human rights are indissolubly linked to the right to self-determination and the right to development. Four human rights principles of engagement are necessary for the process of reconciliation to be successful. These are: no discrimination; progressive realisation; effective participation; and effective remedies. This paper outlines these principles and presents two frameworks that have been developed to redress Indigenous disadvantage: the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission’s Integrated Capacity Building Framework for Sustainable Development and the Council of Australian Governments’ Framework for Reporting on Indigenous Disadvantage. The former, in particular, emphasises the effective participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in achieving improved health outcomes, while the latter provides a reporting framework on a holistic and whole-of government basis for service delivery and seven strategic areas for immediate action. The adequacy of research, data collection, benchmarks and monitoring as they relate to ensuring human rights compliance is also discussed. While broad frameworks such as these offer potential in local communities, it is critically important to understand and observe local protocols in their implementation