An electronic publication from the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
Issue 9, November 2000 - February 2001 : ISSN 1329-3362
Conference abstracts and papers
12th National Health Promotion Conference: Inequalities in health
- reflecting back, stepping forward.
29 October - 1 November 2000, Hotel Sofitel, Melbourne, Victoria.
Karen Evans and Sue Ambler
Our health, our future, our responsibility.
In the past, we have often 'missed the target' in relation to effective ways of addressing the health and welfare needs of the Aboriginal community. We now look to the future with a focus on health promotion and early intervention.
In late 1999, the Riverland Regional Health Service Inc. (RRHSI) was advised that the Riverland region of South Australia had been selected as a pilot region to develop a Vision Impairment Prevention Project (VIPP) to address diabetic retinopathy within Aboriginal communities. Funding was through the Commonwealth government.
Permission to expand the project to focus on a holistic early intervention program for Aboriginal people was sought and approved. The focus of the project is both physical and psychological wellbeing. RRHSI approached Riverland Family and Youth services (FAYS) in relation to working collaboratively on this project and the exciting and innovative Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing Project was conceived.
This project is currently in the establishment phase with plans for the launch in October 2000. Through extensive community consultation, the Aboriginal communities of the five major Riverland towns have told us how they would like the program to unfold and have demonstrated overwhelming support for the project, many offering their ideas and skills to establish and maintain the program. For the program to be successful, there is a mutual obligation by both agencies and the Aboriginal community.
The project is designed to have high impact by providing an easily accessible service supported by appropriate referrals to other agencies. It is about increasing community awareness of the benefits of being well and how individuals can achieve a healthy lifestyle. It is designed to maximise opportunity for improved health outcomes for the Riverland Aboriginal community through a process of timely, recurring assessment of an individual's health.
