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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are disproportionately impacted by type 2 diabetes. Continuous glucose monitoring technology (such as Abbott Freestyle Libre 2, previously referred to as Flash Glucose Monitoring) offers real-time glucose monitoring that is convenient and easy to use compared to self-monitoring of blood glucose.
The siloed nature of the health and social service system threatens access for clients engaging numerous organisations. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face adverse circumstances which contribute to multiple health and social needs. Effective relationships between health and social services are integral to coordinated service provision to meet the diverse needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.
Healing Right Way (HRW) aimed to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal Australians with stroke or traumatic brain injury by facilitating system-level access to culturally secure rehabilitation services. Using a stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial design, a two-pronged intervention was introduced in four rural and four urban hospitals, comprising cultural security training for staff and training/employment of Aboriginal Brain Injury Coordinators to support Aboriginal patients for 6-months post-injury.
We are working with the leadership and staff at foster care agencies and community members to provide information about cultural connection, and cultural activity and resources for Aboriginal children living in non-Aboriginal care arrangements.
Delivering cancer control at scale for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities is a national priority that requires Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and codesign, as well as significant involvement of the Aboriginal community-controlled health sector. The unique genomic variation observed among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples may have implications for standard and precision medicine.
Globally, Indigenous populations have been disproportionately impacted by pandemics. In Australia, though national infection rates with COVID-19 infections in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were lower in the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was soon a greater burden in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Island people once Omicron was circulating. Uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine was also lower among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.
This chapter outlines the concept of ‘justice capital’. It commences with a discussion of the impacts of colonization on Indigenous people in Australia, with a particular focus on Indigenous children placed in state care systems.
Skin conditions most frequently encountered in paediatric practice include infections, infestations, atopic dermatitis, and acne. Skin of colour refers to skin with increased melanin and darker pigmentation, and reflects global racial and ethnic diversity. Managing skin conditions in skin of colour requires health equity nuance, which is rarely explicitly taught.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experience a disproportionate burden of hyperglycaemia in pregnancy. A multi-component health systems intervention aiming to improve antenatal and postpartum care was implemented across Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) and Far North Queensland (FNQ) between 2016 and 2019. Components included clinician education, improving recall systems, enhancing policies and guidelines, and embedding Diabetes in Pregnancy (DIP) Clinical Registers in systems of care. This program was evaluated to determine impacts on clinical practice and maternal health.
Paediatric cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in Australian children. Limited research focuses on cancer in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Although there appears to be a lower incidence of cancer overall in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children compared with non-Indigenous children, a high proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.