SNAICC and many of its members have been watching with concern as, around the country, a range of processes are undertaken to progress longer-term care arrangements for children. They vary in detail but have been broadly described as permanency planning measures. Some of these proposals have already taken the form of legislative changes (NSW, Vic. and NT), whilst in other jurisdictions they are still being considered (WA and Qld). The promotion of permanency planning has...read more
Objective: To describe a community developed Aboriginal model for early identification and referral of people with psychological distress and suicidal ideation. Method: A description of an Aboriginal mental health service model is presented, as established at the Njernda Aboriginal Corporation, Echuca, Victoria. Results: The model is presented under five headings: Setting; Recruitment and appointment of Voluntary Trained Support Persons; Identifying persons at risk; Follow-up and referral by Voluntary Trained Support Persons; Expansion and Sustainability. Conclusions:...read more
Objective: It has been acknowledged that the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has been “bedeviled” by the inappropriate application of non-Indigenous models of mental health. To enhance Indigenous health and well-being it is necessary for non-Indigenous practitioners to find a culturally safe way to enter the negotiated space of cross-cultural mental health. This will be facilitated through understanding both the points of similarity and divergence in perspectives of mental health across...read more
Worry Boss has been made with the Royal Flying Doctor Service together with communities in Central Australia. ‘Worry Boss’ is a story about anxiety. The story focuses on what makes people worry, how that makes them feel and what they can do about it.read more
Background: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health is generally the worst of any population group in Australia. Inaccessibility to health services is one possible cause of this. Shared medical appointments (SMAs) appear to be a culturally competent and appropriate way of improving access to, and the quality of, primary healthcare services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Objective: The objective of this article is to assess the acceptability and appropriateness of SMAs as an...read more
This book investigates the complex reasons for the discrepancy between the health and well-being of children in mainstream Australia and children in remote Indigenous communities. The high rate and causes of ill-health among Aboriginal children are explored through a unique blend of historical, anthropological, biological and medical analyses. Aboriginal children, history and health also includes the insights of specialists from a range of disciplines to provide an innovative framework for considering Indigenous health.read more
Introduction Prenatal alcohol exposure can cause lifelong disability, including physical, cognitive and behavioural deficits, known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Among individuals with FASD, engagement with justice services is common. Little is known about the prevalence of FASD among young people engaged with the Australian justice system. This study aims to establish FASD prevalence among sentenced young people in detention in Western Australia (WA), and use the findings to develop a screening tool for...read more
Suicide rates among Indigenous people in the Kimberley region of Western Australia are among the highest in the world. During the period 2001–2010, age-adjusted suicide rates among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians were respectively 21.4 and 10.3 per 100 000 population per year. As staff of the regional state government-funded mental health service provider, Kimberley Mental Health and Drug Service (KMHDS), we undertook a retrospective audit of an internal suicide and self-harm database that revealed much...read more
This paper explores how the Australian health sector might improve opportunities for career development for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers. It considers the current evidence surrounding career development in the health sector, along with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander worker experiences, to develop a usable conceptual framework for change. ISBN: 978-1-921889-37-0read more
The Frontier Wars refer to conflicts between Europeans and Aboriginal people including battles, acts of resistance and open massacres from 1788 to the 1930s. This website provides an overview of Aboriginal resistance to European colonisation and details a number of specific conflicts across the country. The site includes video discussion with Aboriginal and non-Indigenous peoples about their knowledge of the wars, why we need to know about the conflict, and links to further informationread more
