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‘People don't trust those pieces of paper that are provided’: A qualitative study of cultural planning and outsourced out-of-home care services in Western AustraliaAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be removed at high rates from their families by child protection services, placing them at elevated risk of adverse long-term life outcomes. Cultural connection in out-of-home care is essential for mitigating the impacts of trauma from removal, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that cultural planning is rigorously undertaken. This article explores the provision of cultural plans in an era where out-of-home care services are outsourced by government, but where government holds onto the responsibility for developing cultural plans for children in care.
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‘Beyond core business’: A qualitative review of activities supporting environmental health within remote Western Australian schoolsAboriginal children and families contend with higher rates of preventable infectious diseases that can be attributed to their immediate living environment. The environments in which children spend most of their time are their homes and schools. We aimed to understand the opportunities in the school setting to support student skin health and wellbeing through environmental health activities, how these activities were completed, and the barriers to their implementation.
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Kaat koort: Study protocol for a pragmatic randomized controlled trial of a multifactorial, multidisciplinary Aboriginal Health Practitioner-led Aboriginal dementia prevention interventionLimited available data indicate that dementia prevalence rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter Aboriginal) peoples are 3–5 times higher than the overall Australian population. Effective, pragmatic and scalable interventions are urgently required to address this disproportionate burden of dementia in Aboriginal populations.
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Oombarl Oombarl Joorrinygor-Slowly Slowly Moving Forward: Reflections From a Cross-Cultural Team Working Together on the See, Treat, Prevent (SToP) Trial in the Kimberley Region of WAReflexivity is crucial for researchers and health professionals working within Aboriginal health. Reflexivity provides a tool for non-Aboriginal researchers to contribute to the broader intention of reframing historical academic positivist paradigms into Indigenous research methodologies to privilege Aboriginal voices in knowledge construction and decision-making.
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Skin health of urban-living Aboriginal children attending a primary care Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation clinicDespite increasing urbanisation, little is known about skin health for urban-living Aboriginal children and young people (CYP, aged <18 years). This study aimed to investigate the primary care burden and clinical characteristics of skin conditions in this cohort.
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Indigenous Australian perspectives on the perinatal period: Social well-being, culture and early infant attachmentsAlthough social factors and culture are significant determinants of health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, little is known academically about key interpersonal and social experiences of this population during the perinatal period, or how early attachments are formed through culture. This study addressed this gap in the literature.
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The inequitable burden of infectious diseases among remote-living Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: a product of historyAlthough Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A) is the sixth-most common infectious disease globally, its transmission within the household remains an understudied driver of infection. We undertook a systematic review to better understand the transmission of Strep A among people within the home, while highlighting opportunities for prevention.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia: addressing disparities and barriers to optimising patient careThe first inhabitants of Australia and the traditional owners of Australian lands are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are two to four times more likely to have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) than the general Australian population.
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Repeat pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in Indigenous Australian adults is associated with decreased immune responsivenessThese findings highlight the critical need to evaluate the efficacy of future pneumococcal vaccine programs in the Australian Indigenous populations that recommend repeated doses of 23vPPV.
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Improving primary care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with rheumatic heart disease: What can I do?Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, with devastating impacts on morbidity, mortality and community wellbeing. Research suggests that general practitioners and primary care staff perceive insurmountable barriers to improving clinical outcomes, including the need for systemic change outside their scope of practice.