Some targets seem easier to meet than others, while some are just plain unreliable. Here are four things we’ve learnt from the last decade of Closing the Gap policy.
A design team at Emily Carr University worked with families from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) Nation to support the development of healthy environments for children.
A diagnosis of mental illness is only one in a number of risk factors for suicide. And for Indigenous Australians, a history of dispossession and disempowerment plays a much bigger role.
Recent revelations of the coerced sterilization of Indigenous women in Canada are part of a long, complex and disturbing history – in which feminism became a fight to keep one’s own children.
The NDIS has good intentions, but its design doesn’t seem to support the unique needs of Indigenous people living with a disability, particularly if they’re living in remote communities.
Traditional Aboriginal healers are recognised as having special facilities for healing in childhood and are encouraged to develop their skills. They are often taught by their grandparents.
To deliver better housing for health, we must go back to what we know works, to the proven evidence-based solutions for design, construction, delivery and maintenance.
James Ward, South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute; Belinda Hengel, South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute et John Boffa, Curtin University
Young people in remote Aboriginal communities have high rates of STIs for a number of reasons, including inconsistent condom use and poor access to health services.
Decent housing underpins the Closing the Gap goals, with a decade-long national remote housing program having made measurable progress. If the Commonwealth pulls out now, hard-won gains could be lost.
New research assessing young people in WA detention found 89% were severely impaired in at least one area of brain function. One in three had fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Politicians make sweeping statements on how to close the gap. But here’s advice from people working directly with Indigenous communities who have evidence for what actually works.
Like many Indigenous groups around the world, the James Bay Cree of northern Québec have a disproportionately high rate of diabetes. They’re facing it down with a decidedly Indigenous solution.
While school sores – or impetigo – is a treatable condition, if left untreated it can lead to much more serious illness such as kidney and heart disease.
The latest census data reveals valuable insights into Closing the Gap targets. While there’s some improvement in school attendance rates, all other indicators suggest a radical rethink is required.
Infectious diseases pose a continual threat to Canadians. Ensuring the population stays healthy requires increasing investment in our public health system.
City living costs are driving people to organise themselves to share a room with strangers. These precarious living arrangements hardly qualify as a home.
Much has been written about success of Indigenous players at elite levels of the game. But perhaps the more important story is one of Indigenous participation in grass roots and community football.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne