An electronic publication from the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
Issue 8, July 2000 - October 2000 : ISSN 1329-3362
Current topics
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Health is Life: report on the inquiry into Indigenous health May 2000 |
The three year inquiry into Indigenous health has now been completed, concluding with the tabling of the final report on 5 June, 2000. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs was asked to report on a number of aspects of Indigenous health, including: coordination of health program provision, particularly regulation, planning and delivery of services; barriers associated with access to mainstream health services and ways to improve capacity and quality of health services; education of health professionals and implications for care; effects of location and social and cultural factors on health, diet, and alcohol and tobacco use; influence of education, employment, access to transport, and community supports on health status; impact of past structures for health service delivery on poor health status of Indigenous people.
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The report emphasises the need for Indigenous involvement at all levels of the health system and highlights the need for different funding models to achieve long-term improvements in health status. Included in the report are 35 recommendations that address the aforementioned issues. The report also covers areas such as community control of health services, and research and data collection. The inquiry listed four points in the 'Research and data collection' section concerning the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet (formerly the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Clearinghouse), as follows. |
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Photo: House of Representatives Standing
Committee visiting the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Health Clearinghouse
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8.30 The Committee was also impressed by the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Clearinghouse, which is an internet site sponsored by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care and Edith Cowan University.
8.31 This service provides a range of data about Indigenous health statistics, government policy and programs, academic research and activities, as well as other useful information and links to related sites.
8.32 The site could provide a valuable mechanism for the dissemination of any additional information collected by the ABS, as well as be a useful tool for the proposed Council on Indigenous Health Affairs to spread and collect information.
8.33 The Committee believes that the Clearinghouse could play a greater role with additional financial and technical support from the Commonwealth, States and Territories. The Committee would encourage all of those jurisdictions to work with the Clearinghouse to develop a long term program for improved dissemination of information about all aspects of Indigenous health.
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The report is available in Adobe Acrobat pdf format. Adobe Acrobat Reader is available free of charge from Adobe's website |
