This section provides recent reference details and - where available - links and abstracts for general publications relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men's health. References include journal articles, reports, theses, and other literature. To access our complete database please use our bibliography.
The Department of Health and Ageing and Carnarvon Medical Service Aboriginal Corporation engaged Inception Strategies to develop this comic book aimed at reducing alcohol use by Indigenous men.
Abstract adapted from Inception Strategies
This edited volume has been written by a diverse group of health professionals, the majority of whom are Indigenous Australians. A life cycle approach has been adopted, with chapters focusing on pregnancy and birthing through to the care and responsibilities of the elderly. These are bookended by the first chapter on 'Culture, history and health' which contextualises the subsequent content and the final chapter on future directions following the National apology.
The book includes the following chapters:
Pearson Australia abstract
The 2009 Indigenous report card of the Australian Medical Association focuses on Indigenous male health. Statistical data are provided on the health status of Indigenous males and details are included of risk and protective factors within a social determinant framework. This report draws on implications for the medical service and workforce in terms of capacity building to better secure the future social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous males.
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet abstract
Background: Previous studies have universally found that Aboriginal children exhibit poor growth in relation to international references.
Objective: To determine how weight-for-age growth of children born 1950-1982 in a large Queensland Aboriginal community compare with the recent WHO international reference data, and whether girls and boys show similar patterns of growth.
Methods: Weights were obtained from clinic records for 109 children (birth to 60 months, mean=135.4 measurements). Percentiles were fitted and smoothed using cubic B-splines. Growth of girls and boys were compared with the WHO references.
Results: Girls' growth approximated WHO references, while boys' growth was generally reduced. The heaviest boys were significantly heavier than the comparison data.
Conclusions: Generalisability of the data is limited, but they suggest that young boys may be more vulnerable to sub-optimal environmental circumstances than young girls. Community growth percentiles, while not necessarily appropriate for clinical diagnosis, provide useful comparison with international data and can illustrate variation at population level.
Implications: Previous studies have found that Aboriginal children exhibit 'poor' growth overall, but this may not be the case among girls when more recent references are used for comparison. Poor growth may be apparent only among boys, perhaps reflecting greater vulnerability to nutritional and other stress. The greater variability in boys' growth and the sex differences in growth potential should further be explored in light of adult mortality
differences. These findings may be cautiously generalisable to similar communities, and perhaps useful as a descriptive baseline against which to assess future improvements in Aboriginal child health.
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet abstract
This article presents a review of the social and historical context of the dramatic increase in suicides among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males - from very low levels in the late 1980s to considerably higher levels compared with the non-Indigenous male population. The article also identifies the causal frameworks adopted in developing interventions. An explanation that draws on critical family-centered trauma is presented in pictures and text.
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet abstract
This report provides data on the risk behaviour and community relationships of homosexually active Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men in Queensland. The methodology and findings from in-depth interviews and survey questionnaires are detailed. Identity and community attachment with respect to both sexuality and Indigeneity were also explored.
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet abstract
This literature review was written to inform research with north Queensland Indigenous men's groups and to provide a guide for the groups' leaders and those who support them. The review provides information from Australian and international literature on best practice initiatives to address the ranges of issues that Indigenous men may face. There are four sections in the review: background; Indigenous men's health and Indigenous frameworks; relevant mainstream theoretical frameworks; and program interventions (counselling, programs for parenting, family violence, suicide prevention, culture, tradition and spiritual recovery, work with young men and boys, social enterprise initiatives, improving access to health services, and employment strategies).
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet abstract
The Koori Fathering Program emerged from a demand from local Koori men and organisations to provide information and training on improving skills and relationships. The 15 week course was held in 2002 and 2003 and comprehensively evaluated as a pilot program. This evaluation report outlines how the program was successful in engaging Aboriginal fathers and improving their knowledge, attitudes, skills, practices and family relationships.
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet abstract