Indigenous health

Expanding data sources for surveillance offers hope for improving child protection

Steven L Guthridge MB BS, MTH, FAFPHM · Philip Ryan MB BS, BSc, FAFPHM · John R Condon MB BS, PhD, FAFPHM · John R Moss MSocSci, MB BS, BEc · John Lynch PhD, MPH

Health professionals’ duty of care includes combating racism in society as well as in health care settings

Chelsea J Bond PhD, BAppHSc · Geoffrey K Spurling MB BS, MPH, RACGP · Deborah A Askew BAppSci, MHltSci, PhD

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people strongly assert that health research has contributed little to improving their health, in spite of its obvious potential. The health concerns of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were largely ignored in early research published in the MJA, which reflected broader colonial history and racial discourses. This began to change with the demise of scientific racism, and changed policies and political campaigns for equal treatment of Indigenous people after the Second World War. In response to pressure from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations, in parallel to broader political struggles for Indigenous rights since the 1970s, there have been significant and measurable changes to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research. Many of these changes have been about the ethics of health research. Increasingly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers, communities and organisations are now controlling and decolonising health research to better meet their needs, in collaboration with non-Indigenous researchers and research organisations.

David P Thomas MB BS, PhD, AFPHM · Roxanne Bainbridge PhD, BSocSc(Hons) · Komla Tsey BA(Hons), PhD

The medical community has a role to play in promoting constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians

Tammy M Kimpton FRACGP, BMed

Maintaining funding for primary care would be an effective and efficient strategy to reduce inequity

Brad Murphy MB BS, FRACGP · Jennifer S Reath MB BS, MMed, FRACGP

How research might best contribute to Indigenous health and wellbeing in 2030

Mary Guthrie

Beware of groundhog day in Indigenous policy

Ernest M Hunter MPH, MD, FRANZCP, FAFPHM

New centre delivers high-quality, culturally safe primary care, research, teaching and access to specialists

Noel E Hayman MB BS, MPH, FAFPHM · Deborah A Askew BAppSci, MHlthSci, PhD · Geoffrey K Spurling MB BS, MPH, DTM

Efforts to decolonise health care practice and research holds lessons for journalists and the media industry

Melissa A Sweet MA, BA · Patricia Dudgeon BAppSc, GradDip(Psych), PhD · Kerry McCallum PhD, BA · Matthew D Ricketson BA(Hons), MA, PhD

Aboriginal community controlled primary health care services are making a real difference in the Northern Territory

Pasqualina M Coffey · Alex Hope · John D Boffa

Community controlled health services are key to closing the gap, but success is still a long way off

Lesley M Russell

Discussions with men about sexual health may also help identify life-threatening disease

Mark Wenitong · Michael Adams · Carol A Holden

Case report highlighting the increased risk of scabies with HTLV-1 infection in endemic areas

Lloyd J Einsiedel · Clinton Pepperill · Kim Wilson

A novel program could prevent a highly infectious and disfiguring disease in remote Aboriginal communities

Buddhi Lokuge MB BS, MPH, PHD · Alex Kopczynski · Angela Woltmann MB BS(Hons), DipRACOG, FRACGP · Faye Alvoen · Christine Connors MB BS, FAFPHM, MPH · Terrence Guyula · Eddie Mulholland · Samantha Cran BA(Comm), BA(Arts) · Tim Foster BEng(Civil)(Hons), LLB(Hons), MSc · Kamalini Lokuge MB BS, PhD · Tanya Burke MA, BA, DipEd · Sam Prince

Community controlled health services outperform mainstream general practice at improving Aboriginal outcomes

Kathryn S Panaretto MB BS, MPH, FAFPHM · Mark Wenitong MD · Selwyn Button BEd · Ian T Ring MPH, FAFPHM, FACRRM

Despite an increase in uptake of health assessments, delivery of Indigenous-specific follow-up care is lagging

Jodie Bailie BA, GradDipEd · Gill H Schierhout PhD · Margaret A Kelaher PhD · Alison F Laycock BFA, BEd · Nikki A Percival BSc, MPH · Lynette R O’Donoghue · Tracy L McNeair BA, MPH · Amal Chakraborty · Barbara D Beacham BSocSc, MCDM, CertBT · Ross S Bailie MB ChB, MPhil, MD

Open and honest dialogue between offenders, victims and Aboriginal Elders is breaking down barriers

Gail P Wallace LLB

Best-practice care and population health actions now will bring significant benefit in the long-term

Paul J Torzillo MB BS, FRACP, FCICM · Anne B Chang MB BS, PhD, FRACP

An urgent imperative to close the gap

Robert M Parker

Champions needed to scale up childhood equity efforts, not short-term solutions in ill conceived policy

Kerry Arabena

There are signs that the prevalence of whipworm infection in the NT is declining but more can be done

Amy L Crowe MB BS · Pam Smith · Linda Ward BAppSci, MMedSci · Bart J Currie FRACP, FAFPHM, DTM+H · Rob Baird MB BS, FRACP, FRCPA

The coincident seasonality of active TB cases and vitamin D deficiency suggests that low vitamin D levels may increase the likelihood of reactivation of tuberculosis. Vitamin D testing and supplementation is therefore recommended for high-risk groups.

Jennifer H MacLachlan · Benjamin C Cowie

New South Wales prisons data add to previous findings which show that Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians achieve similar hepatitis C treatment outcomes.

Jeffrey J Post · Andrew R Lloyd · Denise Monkley

This study adds overweight and obesity to the list of chronic disease risk factors highly prevalent among incarcerated youth. Changes to the food environment and the approach to physical activity in custody are needed.

Leigh Haysom PhD, MMed(ClinEpi), MB BS · Devon Indig PhD, MPH, BSc · Elizabeth Moore PhD · Louise L Hardy PhD, MPH(Hons) · Paul A van den Dolder PhD, MSc MPhysio