This community profile report provides information about the Aboriginal population of the Illawarra Region. It is intended to begin a discussion about how research can contribute to the social health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people. The report highlights disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians that are apparent not only in the health statistics but also in almost every key socioeconomic indicator. However the report is not just about ill-health and disadvantage. The Illawarra region has...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
Aboriginal communities have a long history of working to address the needs of Aboriginal peoples. Since the first Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS) was established in Redfern, NSW in 1971, more than 150 ACCHSs have been established around Australia. While the Aboriginal community controlled health sector has long argued that ACCHSs are a vital part of Australia’s health care system, there has been little in the published literature acknowledging and supporting their roles and...read more
This seventh national report presents information from 278 organisations across Australia, funded by the Australian Government to provide one or more of the following health services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: primary health care, maternal and child health care, social and emotional wellbeing services, and substance-use services. These organisations participated in the 2014–15 Online Services Report data collection. Information is presented on the characteristics of these organisations, the health services and activities provided...read more
Last week’s terrible news that a 10-year-old Aboriginal girl had taken her own life shook many Australians. Yet there would be few Aboriginal families who have not already been affected by the suicide or attempted suicide of their young people. This includes our own extended families and kin.read more
Since 2007, Aboriginal children and young people have participated in a range of the Commissioner’s consultation projects on topics such as wellbeing, mental health and alcohol-related harm. Additionally, the Commissioner has consulted with Aboriginal children and young people, their families and communities, during many visits to regional and remote communities from Kununurra to Albany and Kalgoorlie, and many towns and cities in between. To build on this work, the Commissioner decided in 2014 to hold...read more
“We are working at a pace to make a real difference but in the end it will come down to governments recognising that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide is a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. If you are an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged 15 to 35, nearly one in three deaths will be a suicide, We have the capacity to radically reduce the suicide crisis within less than a decade but we need the...read more
A community-driven mental health program in an Arnhem Land Indigenous community is being held up as a case study for the rest of Australia. A small local team has been running the program at Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island for the past eight years, which has included support for the community in the aftermath of two tropical cyclones. 5th October 2015read more
The IAHA Cultural Responsiveness Framework provides information and support to prepare you to engage in a transformation so that, whatever your role, you can positively influence the health and wellbeing, quality of life, future aspirations, and prosperity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, families and communities. 6read more
This chapter provides an overarching framework for understanding the components of healthy communities through a healing and community life development approach. The chapter explores three major themes covering the nature of the trauma that has occurred over many generations and continues to be experienced in the present. These are: - the extreme sense of powerlessness and loss of control; - the profound sense of loss, grief and disconnection; and - the overwhelming sense of trauma...read more
