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Globally, acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. While ARI-related mortality is low in Australia, First Nations infants are hospitalised with ARIs up to nine times more often than their non-First Nations counterparts.
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living on Kaurna Country in northern Adelaide experience adverse health and social circumstances. The Taingiwilta Pirku Kawantila study sought to understand challenges facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and identify solutions for the health and social service system to promote social and emotional wellbeing.
Language is significant for communicating knowledge across cultures and generations and has the power to attribute meanings and alter our worldviews.
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.
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.
A 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.
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.