Tactics at the interface: Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health managers

BACKGROUND Social media may have a significant role in influencing the present and future health implications among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, yet there has been no review of the role of social media in improving health. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine the extent of health initiatives using social media that aimed to improve the health of Australian Aboriginal communities. METHODS A scoping review was conducted by systematically searching databases CINAHL Plus; PubMed; Scopus; Web of Science, and Ovid MEDLINE in June 2017 using the terms and their synonyms “Aboriginal” and “Social media.” In addition, reference lists of included studies and the Indigenous HealthInfonet gray literature were searched. Key information about the social media intervention and its impacts on health were extracted and data synthesized using narrative summaries. RESULTS Five papers met inclusion criteria. All included studies were published in the past 5 years and involved urban, rural, and remote Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people aged 12-60 years. No studies reported objective impacts on health. Three papers found that social media provided greater space for sharing health messages in a 2-way exchange. The negative portrayal of Aboriginal people and negative health impacts of social media were described in 2 papers. CONCLUSIONS Social media may be a useful strategy to provide health messages and sharing of content among Aboriginal people, but objective impacts on health remain unknown. More research is necessary on social media as a way to connect, communicate, and improve Aboriginal health with particular emphasis on community control, self-empowerment, and decolonization.

Download Full-text

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health — Current Policy Issues

The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education ◽

10.1017/s1326011100001782 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 18-24

Keyword(s):

Indigenous People ◽

Torres Strait Islander ◽

Health Problems ◽

Australian Bureau ◽

Government Policies ◽

Current Policy ◽

Policy Issues ◽

Torres Strait ◽

Australian Bureau Of Statistics ◽

Torres Strait Islander Health

This article addresses Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health problems and critically investigates current government policies which are attempting to raise the health standards of these Indigenous people. Particular emphasis will be placed on the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, which, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics census in 1986, stood at just over 61,000 or 2.4 per cent of the State's population.

Download Full-text

Release of the National Scheme’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Cultural Safety Strategy 2020-2025; the impacts for podiatry in Australia: a commentary

Journal of Foot and Ankle Research ◽

10.1186/s13047-021-00466-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

James M. Gerrard ◽

Shirley Godwin ◽

Vivienne Chuter ◽

Shannon E. Munteanu ◽

Matthew West ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Outcomes ◽

First Nations ◽

Torres Strait Islander ◽

Collective Responsibility ◽

Cultural Safety ◽

Main Body ◽

Torres Strait ◽

The Impact ◽

Torres Strait Islander Health ◽

Safety Strategy

Abstract Background Developing since colonisation, Australia’s healthcare system has dismissed an ongoing and successful First Nations health paradigm in place for 60,000 years. From Captain James Cook documenting ‘very old’ First Nations Peoples being ‘far more happier than we Europeans’ and Governor Arthur Phillip naming Manly in admiration of the physical health of Gadigal men of the Eora Nation, to anthropologist Daisy Bates’ observation of First Nations Peoples living ‘into their eighties’ and having a higher life expectancy than Europeans; our healthcare system’s shameful cultural safety deficit has allowed for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child born in Australia today to expect to live 9 years less than a non-Indigenous child. Disproportionately negative healthcare outcomes including early onset diabetes-related foot disease and high rates of lower limb amputation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples contribute to this gross inequity. Main body In 2020, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority released the National Scheme’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Cultural Safety Strategy 2020–2025 - empowering all registered health practitioners within Australia to provide health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples that is inclusive, respectful and safe, as judged by the recipient of care. This recently released strategy is critically important to the podiatry profession in Australia. As clinicians, researchers and educators we have a collective responsibility to engage with this strategy of cultural safety. This commentary defines cultural safety for podiatry and outlines the components of the strategy in the context of our profession. Discussion considers the impact of the strategy on podiatry. It identifies mechanisms for podiatrists in all settings to facilitate safer practice, thereby advancing healthcare to produce more equitable outcomes. Conclusion Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples access health services more frequently and have better health outcomes where provision of care is culturally safe. By engaging with the National Scheme’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Cultural Safety Strategy, all registered podiatrists in Australia can contribute to achieving equity in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Download Full-text

An appreciative inquiry to identify the continuing education needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners in regional Queensland

The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education ◽

10.1017/jie.2020.24 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Julie-Anne Martyn ◽

Ann Woolcock

Keyword(s):

Continuing Education ◽

Appreciative Inquiry ◽

Torres Strait Islander ◽

Quality Care ◽

Career Aspirations ◽

Future Research ◽

Advisory Group ◽

Health Practitioners ◽

Torres Strait ◽

Torres Strait Islander Health

Abstract Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners (Practitioners) have a broad scope of practice and play a pivotal role in addressing health disparities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Practitioners are required to maintain knowledge and skill levels to provide ongoing quality care. However, continuing education (CE) opportunities for Practitioners in regional areas are limited and little is known about the types of CE best suited to Practitioners. This study aimed to identify the CE needs of Practitioners working in a South-East Queensland region in Australia. Participatory action research and appreciative inquiry were combined in this multi-staged study. A local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory group provided cultural guidance for the study design and implementation. Supervisors and Practitioners from two Aboriginal Medical Services consented to participate. In stage one of this study, the supervisors were interviewed and the Practitioners contributed to focus groups. The Practitioners prioritised their CE needs in the second study stage using a questionnaire. The participants identified Practitioner CE needs and group 2 listed their career aspirations and the best practitioners were described as ‘Deadly’. The Deadly practitioner had diverse practice knowledge, skills and attributes. The Practitioners had career aspirations beyond their role and a desire to learn. However, their career advancement was stifled by a lack of CE opportunities. CE in regional areas is limited. Practitioners are disadvantaged by exclusion. Enhancing CE opportunities for Practitioners will positively impact the health of regional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by building social capital. Therefore, future research on Practitioner roles and CE is needed.

Download Full-text