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Research
Prevalence and predictors of vitamin D deficiency in a nationally representative sample of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adultsVitamin D deficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration <50 nmol/l) is recognised as a public health problem globally. The present study details the prevalence and predictors of vitamin D deficiency in a nationally representative sample (n 3250) of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged ≥18 years. We used data from the 2012-2013 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (AATSIHS). Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem MS.
Research
Increasing incidence of invasive group A streptococcal disease in Western Australia, particularly among Indigenous peopleThe incidence of invasive GAS disease in WA increased between 2000 and 2018, particularly among Indigenous Australians. Mandatory notification of invasive GAS disease would therefore be appropriate. The social determinants of differences in incidence should be addressed, and other relevant host, pathogen, and health system factors investigated.
Research
Review of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peopleFetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a preventable, lifelong disability that disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the available information on FASD among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with reference to the limitations on population-based data and evaluated programs.
Research
Our journey, our story: a study protocol for the evaluation of a co-design framework to improve services for Aboriginal youth mental health and well-beingMainstream Australian mental health services are failing Aboriginal young people. Despite investing resources, improvements in well-being have not materialised. Culturally and age appropriate ways of working are needed to improve service access and responsiveness. This Aboriginal-led study brings Aboriginal Elders, young people and youth mental health service staff together to build relationships to co-design service models and evaluation tools.
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Care provided to women during and after a pregnancy complicated by hyperglycaemia: the impacts of a multi-component health systems interventionAboriginal 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.
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Ensuring That Marginalized Young People Feel Welcome, Understood, and Empowered in Health Services: A Qualitative Examination of the Service Needs of Aboriginal LGBTQA+ Young PeopleA lack of appropriate care and discrimination in healthcare settings likely compounds the existing risks to mental health and well-being for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning, and asexual (LGBTQA+) young people. The current study contributes findings from Aboriginal LGBTQA+ young people's perspectives on their health service needs and preferences.
Research
Centralising Local Aboriginal Language and Culture in Healthy Skin Books on the See Treat Prevent (SToP) Trial in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia: A Process and Impact InquiryLanguage is significant for communicating knowledge across cultures and generations and has the power to attribute meanings and alter our worldviews.
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‘I have to jump like a kangaroo … I have to slither like a snake’. A qualitative evaluation of elder-led art workshops in the child protection sectorIndigenous peoples globally have incurred significant harm resulting from colonisation and the forced removal of children from their families, culture, communities and Country. Over the last two decades in Australia, there have been calls for significant reform and there has been a raft of policy changes in child protection services. However the problems are intractable, and the numbers of Indigenous children being removed from their families continues to rise.
Research
“You’re telling us to go first?!” COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination experiences among Aboriginal adults in Western AustraliaGlobally, 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.
News & Events
The Kids Research Institute Australia researcher wins Premier’s Science AwardInfectious diseases researcher, Dr Asha Bowen, has won the Early Career Scientist of the Year Premier's Science Award for 2017.