scholarly journals Dreaming Inside: An evaluation of a creative writing program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men in prison

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-302
Author(s):  
Natalia Hanley ◽  
Elena Marchetti
Keyword(s):  
Creative Writing ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Prison Programs ◽  
Learning Retention ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Torres Strait

Arts-based prison programs are often viewed as hobbies or as activities that have little impact on prisoner rehabilitation according to conventional understandings of the term. This is despite growing evidence that arts-based programs can assist with learning retention and can improve self-confidence and ways of coping with emotions. Generally, arts practices have been found to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have grown up or live in urban areas with asserting and strengthening their cultural identity, but we know little about the effects of arts-based prison programs on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoner wellbeing. This article focuses on a creative writing program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners at Junee Correctional Centre, New South Wales. The program, Dreaming Inside, has produced seven volumes of poetry and stories. This article combines and reports findings from two evaluations of the program, one using program feedback forms and the other using semi-structured interviews with prisoners who participated in the program. The themes that emerged from both evaluations affirm the program’s efficacy in improving prisoner self-esteem, confidence and wellbeing, and in reigniting and strengthening cultural engagement.

Life as an Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Male Prisoner: Poems of Grief, Trauma, Hope, and Resistance

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 499-519
Author(s):  
Elena Marchetti ◽  
Debbie Bargallie
Keyword(s):  
Creative Writing ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
New South ◽  
Correctional Facility ◽  
Australian Aboriginal ◽  
Art Form ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Cultural Belonging ◽  
Male Prisoners

AbstractFor Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, writing is predominantly about articulating their cultural belonging and identity. Published creative writing, which is a relatively new art form among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners, has not been used as an outlet to the same extent as other forms of art. This is, however, changing as more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rappers and story-writers emerge, and as creative writing is used as a way to express Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander empowerment and resistance against discriminatory and oppressive government policies. This article explores the use of poetry and stories written by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male prisoners in a correctional facility located in southern New South Wales, Australia, to understand how justice is perceived by people who are (and have been) surrounded by hardships, discrimination, racism, and grief over the loss of their culture, families, and freedom.

scholarly journals The road beyond licensing: the impact of a driver licensing support program on employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bobby Porykali ◽  
Patricia Cullen ◽  
Kate Hunter ◽  
Kris Rogers ◽  
Melissa Kang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Employment Outcomes ◽  
Support Program ◽  
The Road ◽  
Regional Area ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Driver Licensing

Abstract Background With increasingly tough graduated driver licensing laws in all Australian States and Territories, driver licensing support programs are recognised as being important to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to obtain a driver licence. Such programs appear to improve licensing attainment rates, but few studies have examined the broader impact that these programs can have. This research aims to 1) examine the impact of a New South Wales (NSW) based driver licensing support program (Driving Change) on client employment outcomes; 2) assess the influence of geographical area of program delivery on driver licence attainment. Methods Driving Change was delivered from February 2013 to August 2016 in 4 urban and 7 regional Aboriginal communities of NSW. Clients were followed-up at 6 months or more following contact with the program as part of routine program operations. Descriptive statistics and regression models were used to analyse data. Results From 933 clients contacted 254 agreed to provide feedback, a response rate of 27%. Those that responded were mostly female (57%), aged 24 years and under (72%), unemployed (85%) with secondary education or less (71%) and from a regional area (74%). Adjusted logistic regression indicated that clients who achieved an independent licence were more likely (OR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.22–5.24, p = 0.011) of reporting a new job or change in job than those who did not attain a licence. Clients from regional areas were more likely (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.27–2.33, p < 0.001) to gain an independent licence than those from urban areas. There was no difference in employment outcomes (OR: 1.2, 95% CI: 0.53–2.52, p = 0.719) for clients from urban compared to regional areas. Conclusion The Driving Change program appears to be effective in improving employment outcomes for those who gained a licence. Clients from regional areas were more likely to gain a licence compared to those in urban settings, and were predominantly young and unemployed, often a hard to reach cohort. Future licensing programs being delivered in regional areas need integrated pathways into employment opportunities to provide holistic services that address the social and economic challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

scholarly journals 703 Outcomes After Cardiac Surgery in a Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cohort in New South Wales, Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. S352-S353
Author(s):  
S. Sugito ◽  
M. McGee ◽  
M. Al-Omary ◽  
T. Senanayake ◽  
D. Hartnett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Surgery ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Torres Strait

Cross-Cultural Interpreting With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Patients

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110288
Author(s):  
Maria Karidakis
Keyword(s):  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Medical Terminology ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Medical Settings ◽  
Health Care Settings ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Communication Differences ◽  
Perceived Experiences

The aim of this study is to investigate ways in which interpreting practice in health care settings can be further developed to better facilitate communication with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. Data used include 15 hours of transcribed audio recording from semi-structured interviews with interpreters and Aboriginal Liaison Officers who discuss their perceived experiences of interpreting in medical settings. They offer insights into how language is used to resolve communication differences that may confound the interpreting process and in doing so identify roles interpreters assume and discourse patterns that emerge in interpreting practice. As evidenced through the findings, provisions need to be made for cultural differences. Interpreters report they have to “unpack” medical terminology and explain such terminology and related concepts in tangible terms to ensure patient understanding. Other strategies include talking about taboo topics using culturally appropriate terms, avoiding certain question–answer routines, and being aware of nonverbal aspects of communication.

scholarly journals Defining a study population using enhanced reporting of Aboriginality and the effects on study outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Anne McInerney ◽  
Ibinabo Ibiebele ◽  
Siranda Torvaldsen ◽  
Jane B Ford ◽  
Jonathan M Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Perinatal Outcomes ◽  
Smoking During Pregnancy ◽  
Relative Risks ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Birth Data ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
The Impact

Introduction The under-ascertainment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status on routinely collected health datasets has important implications for understanding the health of this population. By pooling available information on individuals’ Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status from probabilistically linked datasets, methods have been developed to adjust for this under-recording. Objectives To explore different algorithms that enhance reporting of Aboriginal status in birth data to define a cohort of Aboriginal women, examine any differences between women recorded as Aboriginal and those assigned enhanced Aboriginal status, and assess the effects of using different reported populations to estimate within-group comparisons for Aboriginal people. Methods Three algorithms, with different levels of inclusiveness, were used to establish different study populations all of which aimed to include all singleton babies born to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander women residing in New South Wales, Australia between 2010 and 2014 and their mothers. The demographics of the four study populations were described and compared using frequencies and percentages. In order to assess the impact on research outcomes and conclusions of using study populations derived from different algorithms, estimates of the associations between smoking during pregnancy and selected perinatal outcomes were compared using rates and relative risks. Results Women included in the study population through enhanced reporting were older, less disadvantaged and more commonly resided in urban areas than those recorded as Aboriginal in the birth data. Although rates of smoking and some perinatal outcomes differed between the different study populations, the relative risks of each outcome comparing smoking and non-smoking Aboriginal mothers were very similar when estimated from each of the study populations. Conclusion This work provides evidence that estimates of within-group relative risks are reliable regardless of the assumptions made for establishing the study population through the enhanced reporting of indigenous peoples.

scholarly journals Incidence and outcomes of sepsis in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous residents of New South Wales: population-based cohort study

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-345
Author(s):  
Kelly J Thompson ◽  
◽  
Simon R Finfer ◽  
Julieann Coombes ◽  
Sandra Eades ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Discharge Data ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Age And Sex

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incidence and outcomes of sepsis hospitalisations in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous residents of New South Wales. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Prospective cohort study of residents aged 45 years and older, recruited between 2006 and 2009, and followed for hospitalisation for sepsis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence and hazard ratio (HR) of sepsis hospitalisation and intensive care unit (ICU) admission identified using International Classification of Diseases (10th revision) coding on discharge data. Length of stay, readmission and mortality in those admitted for sepsis. RESULTS: Of 264 678 participants, 1928 (0.7%) identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. Sepsis hospitalisation was higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants (8.67 v 6.12 per 1000 person-years; age- and sex-adjusted HR, 2.35; 95% CI, 1.98–2.80) but was attenuated after adjusting for sociodemographic factors, health behaviour and comorbidities (adjusted HR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.31–1.86). Among those hospitalised for sepsis, after adjusting for age and sex, there were no differences between the proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous participants admitted to an ICU (18.0% v 16.1%; P = 0.42) or deceased at 1 year (36.1% v 36.8%; P = 0.92). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants had shorter lengths of hospital stay (9.98 v 11.72 days; P < 0.001) and ICU stay (4.38 v 6.35 days; P < 0.001) than non-Indigenous participants. Overall, more than 70% of participants were readmitted to hospital within 1 year. CONCLUSION: We found that the rate of sepsis hospitalisation in NSW was higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults. Culturally appropriate, community-led strategies targeting chronic disease prevention and the social determinants of health may reduce this gap. Preventing readmission following sepsis is a priority for all Australians.

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