We have an array of prevention agencies, lifeline programs, and public mantras about “being in life”. So why don’t they seem to work in rural and remote communities?
Syphilis outbreaks tend to occur in marginalised populations where there is a lack of affordable, appropriate and culturally acceptable health care.
yaruman5/Flickr
James Ward, South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute; Donna B Mak, University of Notre Dame Australia; Johanna Dups, Australian National University, and Nathan Ryder, University of Newcastle
The syphilis outbreak in Central Australia is not about child abuse. But it highlights the urgent need for investment in sexual health services for Aboriginal Australians living in remote areas.
The Northern Territory’s Alcohol Mandatory Treatment Act is disproportionately applied to Aboriginal people.
Terry Trewin/AAP
In the Northern Territory, public drunkenness can force someone into an alcohol treatment centre for three months. The policy has no basis in evidence and discriminates against Aboriginal people.
Bush tucker is part of the connectedness with the land and each other that nourishes body and soul in Indigenous communities.
AAP/Paul Miller
In Indigenous communities beset by tragedy and social problems, the connection to each other and to the land remains a powerful source of shared contentment and happiness.
Smoking is estimated to cause one in five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths.
Dave Hunt/AAP
An Aussie smile is an instant indicator of socioeconomic status, employability and self-esteem. It’s also a predictor of physical health. So it’s shocking that Australians’ dental health has not improved…
Nutrition is one of the most important determinants of health, but has been neglected in policy.
Jason Brackins/Flickr
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have significantly poorer health and lower life expectancy than other Australians. But while reducing these inequalities is a priority for governments, national…
Many Indigenous families fear the welfare system.
AAP Image/Neda Vanovac
In some jurisdictions of Australia, the rate of Indigenous children in foster, kinship and residential care on any one night has reached almost one in ten. This rate is almost ten times higher than non-Aboriginal…
Technology has done away with the need to insert swabs into the male urethra and speculums into the vagina. Instead, blood and urine are tested.
In Tune/Shutterstock
Sexuality is a means of pleasure, fulfilment and intimate connection with other humans. But it can also be a source of anguish. So it’s perhaps no surprise that of all the areas in health care, the “STI…
Inuit women carrying their kids in traditional hooded parkas. Indigenous midwifery programs have expanded across Canada and are linked to excellent health outcomes.
Spencer/Flickr
Tony Abbott spent most of this week in North East Arnhem Land, part of his long-held hope “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. In the final of our Abbott in…
More than one in ten Indigenous Australian adults report having trouble getting around – and current licensing rules don’t help.
ZRyzner/Shutterstock
Tony Abbott spent most of this week in North East Arnhem Land, part of his long-held hope “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. We asked our experts: what stories…
If you’re born underweight, like this little baby on the left, it can make a world of difference to your lifelong health.
Menzies Health
Gurmeet Singh, Menzies School of Health Research and Susan Sayers, Menzies School of Health Research
Tony Abbott is spending this week in North-East Arnhem Land, part of his long-held hope “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. We asked our experts: what stories…
A still from the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s award-winning Be Deadly Online campaign.
ACMAcybersmart/YouTube
Tony Abbott is spending this week in North-East Arnhem Land, part of his long-held hope “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. We asked our experts: what stories…
Vision loss causes 11% of the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Rusty Stewart/Flickr
The tragedy of vision loss and blindness in Indigenous communities is striking: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults have six times more blindness than non-Indigenous adults and nearly three times…
About 42% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (TSI) people are daily smokers, compared to 16% in the non-Indigenous population.
Dave Hunt/AAP
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and early death among Indigenous Australians, with smoking responsible for about one in every five deaths. Among Indigenous Australians, tobacco…
HIV epidemics have grave implications for the world’s Indigenous cultures.
Flickr: j h
Indigenous people are estimated to comprise 4.5% of the total global population. They are often overrepresented in HIV data and recognise themselves as being particularly vulnerable to HIV. In Canada…
A good diet is essential to maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding the risk factors for many chronic diseases.
Rusty Stewart/Flickr
Amanda Lee, Queensland University of Technology and Deanne Minniecon, Queensland University of Technology
We’ve recently seen some encouraging improvements in closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage: better educational outcomes, higher child immunisation rates, more health checks, and a 35% drop in the…
Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are endemic in Australia’s Indigenous communities.
Flickr: publik16
Vintage medical textbooks are filled with diagnoses unfamiliar to contemporary doctors – wandering wombs, blackwater fever, biliousness and other historic curios. Acute rheumatic fever has become one of…
For a while, it was possible that Tony Abbott would be a transformative leader on Indigenous policy, but he has thus far not lived up to that promise.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Despite prime minister Tony Abbott’s apparent passion for Indigenous affairs, last week’s federal budget – his government’s first – shows he has followed a well-trodden political path. This path leads…
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne