HealthBulletin

Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin
Vol 6 No 3 July 2006 - September 2006: ISSN 1445-7253

A peer-reviewed electronic journal from the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Reports and publications

This section of the Bulletin identifies recent reports and publications, including book chapters. If you are aware of material that would be appropriate for inclusion in this section please contact us.

ACT Health, Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service ACT Inc (2006)
A new way: the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and family wellbeing plan 2006 - 2011.
Canberra: ACT Health
View report (PDF - 1.0 MB - large file warning!)
View website: ACT Health

The ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Forum have developed a plan in response to the requirements of the National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (NSFATSIH). The plan outlines local actions (including monitoring and evaluation strategies) aimed at achieving measurable change in the health and family wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in the ACT and surrounding region. It includes a detailed description of strategies and desired outcomes.The plan's holistic and family-centred approach outlines five priority areas: building family resilience, maternal and child health, social health (including mental health and substance abuse), chronic and infectious disease prevention and management, and frail aged and people with disabilities. Also supplied are a community profile and list of current services in the ACT.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2006)
Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia 2004-05: report on the national minimum data set. (AIHW catalogue no. HSE 43)
Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
View report (HTML)
View findings (PDF - 258KB)
View website: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

This report profiles 142,144 treatment episodes from 635 government-funded alcohol and other drug treatment agencies. The report includes profiles for the treatment agencies and the clients, with nearly one in 10 clients (13,666) identified as Indigenous. The main drug of concern for Indigenous clients was alcohol in 43% of treatment episodes, cannabis was the next most common (23%), followed by heroin (12%) and amphetamines (11%). One chapter focuses on types of treatment programs and examines their relationship to a selection of variables, in particular to the client's principal drug of concern.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare recently released Australia's health 2006, the tenth edition of its biennial national health report. The report shows that Australians generally have good health and access to a range of good health care services, but Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have much poorer health than the general population. Indigenous Australians also have higher rates of unemployment, poorer educational outcomes, and lower levels of home ownership. Section 4.5 of the report compiles health information on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Information about the demographic profile, health status, disability rates, and service use is provided. The section concludes with information on behaviours that shape the health status of Indigenous peoples such as tobacco use, alcohol misuse, illicit drug use, and housing conditions.

Communicable Disease Network Australia (2006)
Guidelines for the public health management of trachoma in Australia.
Canberra: Department of Health and Ageing
View report (PDF - 951KB)
View website: Department of Health and Ageing

Trachoma is a serious eye health condition affecting many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, particularly in some parts of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. These guidelines establish a minimum best-practice approach for the public health management of trachoma. The content includes a brief history of trachoma and discusses: prevalence in Australia; responsibility for trachoma control activities; and methods of educating the health workforce and engaging the community.

Department of Employment Education and Training (2006)
Indigenous languages and culture in Northern Territory schools: report 2004-2005.
Darwin: Department of Employment Education and Training, Northern Territory Government
View report (PDF - 1MB - large file warning!)
View website: Department of Employment Education and Training

This report reviews the impact of the Indigenous languages and culture program on 28 Northern Territory schools and educational institutions, 14 of which were Two Way Learning (Bilingual Education) schools (government and non-government). Responding to the 2003 Two Way Learning Review’s recommendation to put culture ‘back on the agenda’ and to define more precisely the relation between culture and education, the report surveys key stakeholders in urban, rural and remote primary and secondary schools. The report recommends implementing Indigenous language and culture programs in more schools, updating curriculum, expanding resources, and improving the program on a systems level.

Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet abstract

Herceg A (2005)
Improving health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers, babies and young children: a literature review.
Canberra: Department of Health and Ageing.
View report (PDF - 2.81MB - large file warning!)
View website: Department of Health and Ageing

This literature review was designed to identify interventions which have been shown to improve health outcomes or intermediate health measures in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers, babies and young children (zero to five years of age). It was conducted to provide evidence for the development of maternal and child health policy in the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health. Seven databases and five websites were searched for relevant literature for the period 1983-2003. Qualitative analyses found that most of the studies were observational with before and after comparisons and no control group, however, many reports were identified which described improved impacts or outcomes associated with antenatal care and/or mother and baby programs in Indigenous communities. A number of common factors were identified for the development of new services or the enhancement of existing ones.

This report summarises trends in deaths in custody between 1990 and 2004, based on the National Deaths in Custody Program (NDICP) dataset. Overall, deaths in police custody have decreased during this time period compared with the period 1980-1989, although the number of deaths in police operations increased. This is attributed to an increase in the number of deaths of non-Indigenous persons in police operations. The report concludes that the number of deaths of Indigenous persons in police custody and custody-related operations has remained relatively low and stable over the 15 year period.

This is a report about Palm Island housing issues prepared by Kalkadoon.org for the Queensland Greens. Developed for non-Aboriginal policy makers, it provides an Aboriginal perspective gained through consultation with Palm Island residents. The report outlines Aboriginal opinions about housing and offers strategies and recommendations for improving housing conditions on Palm Island.

Koori Human Services Unit (2006)
Aboriginal Services Plan: key indicators 2004-05.
Melbourne: Koori Human Services Unit, Policy and Strategic Projects Division, Victorian Government
View report (PDF - 1.6MB - large file warning!)
View website: Koori health

This report details the Victorian Department of Human Services (DHS) reporting and monitoring processes for the Aboriginal Services Plan. The objective of the service plan is to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal Victorians by better focusing departmental resources. The report provides a summary of key indicators using the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage (OID) framework. The OID framework measures the service usage and outcomes for Aboriginal people in areas for which the DHS is responsible. It is anticipated that the indicators will lead and influence Indigenous policy at both state and federal levels and provide strategic advice to COAG on measures that will improve Indigenous outcomes.

Editions of Koori health counts are produced as part of the new Improving Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Patients (ICAP) program. The aim of these publications is to improve the availability of Aboriginal health information in Victoria. This edition includes information relating to: the Aboriginal population; Aboriginal admissions to hospital; and Aboriginal births and deaths. The collection of this information allows the government to monitor changes in the health of the Aboriginal community. It also provides a basis for decision making on Aboriginal health priority issues and programs; helps achieve adequate resources for health programs and health services for Aboriginal people; assists development of appropriate health promotion and health screening programs; and ensures that mainstream health care services are appropriate and accessible to the Aboriginal community.

McDougall S (2006)
Palm Island: future directions: resource officer report.
Brisbane: Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy (DATSIP)
View report (PDF - 1.12MB - large file warning!)
View website: DATSIP

This report has been developed to assist the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council, the Palm Island community, and the Queensland and Federal Governments to establish a process for finding practical solutions to improve living conditions on Palm Island. The report has been developed by a Resource Officer to the Council, appointed by the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy, and includes 32 recommendations, each with implementation responsibility and completion date. It identifies four key areas that require active negotiation and resolution between the Palm Island community and government: land; governance; economic development; and justice.

This evidence based review has been jointly developed by the National Heart Foundation and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. The report shows that the incidence of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is very high among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, particularly children. In the past two years there has been an increase of almost 13% in the diagnosis of ARF among Indigenous children. The report focuses on diagnosis and management issues and has been developed with the aim of ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples receive the same standard of care as that available to other Australians.

Panton S (2006)
Evaluation report of the Australian alcohol guidelines for Indigenous communities and 'Don't gamble with your health' health promotion playing cards.
Parkside, SA: Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia
View report (PDF - 1 MB - large file warning!)
View website: Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council (SA) Inc.

In 2003 the South Australian Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council (ADAC) developed the Australian alcohol guidelines for Indigenous communities. These guidelines have been made available in booklet form and are accompanied by a flipchart and other associated materials. ADAC has also developed a set of health promotion playing cards, named ‘Don’t gamble with your health’.

This report presents the findings of an evaluation of these resources. Interviews and questionnaires were used to evaluate the text and images used in the guidelines and cards. The evaluation also assessed awareness of the resources among Aboriginal community controlled health services and other relevant organisations and individuals. A number of suggestions were made for future improvements.

Styles T, Edmonston C (2006)
Australian Indigenous road safety: 2005 update. (Road safety research report CR225)
Canberra: Australian Transport Safety Bureau
View report (PDF - 569KB)
View website: ATSB

This report was produced in response to a recommendation made at the 2004 Indigenous Road Safety Forum to update the 2003 Indigenous road safety scoping study by the ARRB Group. It contains the results of a literature review and consultation process, and provides a comprehensive summary of initiatives addressing Indigenous road safety issues across Australia. It concludes with eleven recommendations for future research and identifies priority areas for Indigenous road safety.