Developing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural indicators: an overview from Mayi Kuwayu, the National Study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing.

Background: For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culture is foundational to health and wellbeing. However, its inherent conceptual complexity and diversity across and within different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural groups means that it has rarely been explored in depth by epidemiological research. As a result, there are very few measures which adequately represent the heterogeneity and importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures for health and wellbeing.

"We are not stray leaves blowing about in the wind": exploring the impact of Family Wellbeing empowerment research, 1998-2021.

Background: An Aboriginal-developed empowerment and social and emotional wellbeing program, known as Family Wellbeing (FWB), has been found to strengthen the protective factors that help Indigenous Australians to deal with the legacy of colonisation and intergenerational trauma. This article reviews the research that has accompanied the implementation of the program, over a 23 year period. The aim is to assess the long-term impact of FWB research and identify the key enablers of research impact and the limitations of the impact assessment exercise.

Reliability, validity, and clinical utility of a culturally modified Kessler scale (MK-K5) in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.

Background: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first people of Australia. Consequences of historic and contemporary settler-colonialism including racism, trauma, grief and loss (of land, culture, spirituality, and freedoms) have led to substantial negative health and wellbeing impacts. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scales are population and individual-level tools designed to measure general psychological health status.

Alcohol and Other Drug Service Availability, Capacity, and Diversity in Urban and Rural Australia: An Integrated Atlas.

Objective: Variation exists in the patterns of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and related impacts across geographic locations and over time. Understanding the existing AOD service system and the local context that it operates within is fundamental to optimize service provision. This article describes and compares the availability, placement capacity, and diversity of AOD services in urban and rural regions in Australia.

A latent class analysis of psychiatric symptom profiles associated with past-month methamphetamine use.

We explored latent psychiatric symptom profiles associated with methamphetamine use, and examined how these corresponded to diagnoses of schizophrenia (SZ) and methamphetamine-associated psychosis (MAP). We assessed psychiatric symptoms among 160 people who had used methamphetamine in the past month. Psychiatric symptoms were defined as a score of 4+ on Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) items.

'We walked side by side through the whole thing': A mixed-methods study of key elements of community-based participatory research partnerships between rural Aboriginal communities and researchers.

Objectives: To advance the rural practice in working with Aboriginal communities by (a) identifying the extent of community partners' participation in and (b) operationalising the key elements of three community-based participatory research partnerships between university-based researchers and Australian rural Aboriginal communities.

Design: A mixed-methods study. Quantitative survey and qualitative one-on-one interviews with local project implementation committee members and group interviews with other community partners and project documentation.

Factors Associated with Alcohol-Related Injuries for Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Australians: An Observational Study.

Alcohol use and related injuries are a leading risk factor for deaths and disabilities in Australia, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. An improved understanding of individual and geographical community characteristics that are significantly associated with higher rates of alcohol-related injuries for specific populations can contribute to more effective efforts aimed at reducing alcohol-related injuries. For Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians in New South Wales, this study used emergency department (ED) data to investigate rates of alcohol-related injuries, whether differences in rates vary between communities, and individual and community characteristics significantly associated with alcohol-related injuries.

Holistic primary health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners: exploring the role of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.

Objective: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) have been identified as having an important role in improving the health and wellbeing of individuals in prison; however, a lack of information exists on how to strengthen this role. This paper explores the experiences of ACCHO staff in primary health care to individuals inside or leaving prison.

Methods: Nineteen staff from four ACCHOs were interviewed.

Is there a discrete negative symptom syndrome in people who use methamphetamine?

Background: Positive psychotic symptoms have consistently been associated with methamphetamine use but the presence of a negative symptom cluster remains unclear. We used exploratory factor analysis to examine whether a discrete negative syndrome could be delineated among methamphetamine users, and to examine the clinical correlates of this syndrome.

Method: Participants (N = 154) were people who used methamphetamine at least monthly and did not meet DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for lifetime schizophrenia.

Reducing drug and alcohol use and improving well-being for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians using the Community Reinforcement Approach: A feasibility and acceptability study.

There is a lack of evidence of effective and appropriate drug and alcohol treatment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This paper contributes to addressing the evidence gap by examining the feasibility and acceptability and conducting a pre/post-evaluation of the Aboriginal-adapted Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) delivered in New South Wales, Australia. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal clients (n = 55) received tailored CRA delivery between March and November 2013.

A Systematic Review of the Symptom Profile and Course of Methamphetamine-Associated Psychosis.

Objectives: The psychiatric symptom profile of methamphetamine-associated psychosis (MAP) has varied considerably across studies of different research designs. We performed a systematic review to examine the available evidence for specific psychotic symptoms associated with MAP, including the clinical course and longitudinal changes in this symptom profile.

Methods: Five key electronic databases were searched to identify studies that examined the symptom profile or clinical course of MAP in individuals identified as having MAP.

General practitioners' perspectives on the prevention of cardiovascular disease: systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies.

Objective: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, and prevention of CVD is a public health priority. This paper aims to describe the perspectives of general practitioners (GPs) on the prevention of CVD across different contexts.

Design: Systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies using the Enhancing Transparency of Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative research (ENTREQ) framework.

'Telling our story... Creating our own history': caregivers' reasons for participating in an Australian longitudinal study of Indigenous children.

Background: Improving the wellbeing of Indigenous populations is an international priority. Robust research conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is key to developing programs and policies to improve health and wellbeing. This paper aims to quantify the extent of participation in a national longitudinal study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous Australian) children, and to understand the reasons why caregivers participate in the study.

Socioeconomic variation in absolute cardiovascular disease risk and treatment in the Australian population.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), preventable through appropriate management of absolute CVD risk, disproportionately affects socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. The aim of this study was to estimate absolute and relative socioeconomic inequalities in absolute CVD risk and treatment in the Australian population using cross-sectional representative data on 4751 people aged 45-74 from the 2011-12 Australian Health Survey. Poisson regression was used to calculate prevalence differences (PD) and ratios (PR) for prior CVD, high 5-year absolute risk of a primary CVD event and guideline-recommended medication use, in relation to socioeconomic position (SEP, measured by education).

Absolute cardiovascular disease risk and lipid-lowering therapy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Objective: To quantify absolute cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their use of lipid-lowering therapies.

Design, Participants: Cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative data from 2820 participants aged 18-74 years who provided biomedical data for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Survey component of the 2012-13 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey.

Main Outcome Measures: Prior CVD and use of lipid-lowering medications were ascertained at interview.

A Need for Tailored Programs and Policies to Reduce Rates of Alcohol-related Crimes for Vulnerable Communities and Young People: An Analysis of Routinely Collected Police Data.

Background And Aims: Given ongoing community concern about high rates of alcohol-related crimes (ARCs) experienced by disadvantaged populations, a more specific and nuanced understanding of factors associated with ARCs would help inform the development of more sophisticated programs and policies aimed at reducing ARCs. This study estimates rates of ARCs across all communities in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, using routinely collected police data; investigates whether there are differences between communities; and identifies individual and community characteristics that are significantly associated with higher rates of ARCs.

Short Summary: This study analysed routinely collected police data in New South Wales, Australia, to identify individual and community characteristics associated with alcohol-related crimes.

The relationship between illicit amphetamine use and psychiatric symptom profiles in schizophrenia and affective psychoses.

This study examines whether illicit amphetamine use is associated with differences in the prevalence of specific psychiatric symptoms in a community sample of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia or affective psychotic disorders. Data was drawn from the Australian Survey of High Impact Psychosis. The Diagnostic Interview for Psychosis was used to measure substance use and psychiatric symptoms.

Indigenous health program evaluation design and methods in Australia: a systematic review of the evidence.

Objective: Indigenous Australians experience a disproportionately higher burden of disease compared to non-Indigenous Australians. High-quality evaluation of Indigenous health programs is required to inform health and health services improvement. We aimed to quantify methodological and other characteristics of Australian Indigenous health program evaluations published in the peer-reviewed literature.

Socioeconomic variation in incidence of primary and secondary major cardiovascular disease events: an Australian population-based prospective cohort study.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) disproportionately affects disadvantaged people, but reliable quantitative evidence on socioeconomic variation in CVD incidence in Australia is lacking. This study aimed to quantify socioeconomic variation in rates of primary and secondary CVD events in mid-age and older Australians.

Methods: Baseline data (2006-2009) from the 45 and Up Study, an Australian cohort involving 267,153 men and women aged ≥ 45, were linked to hospital and death data (to December 2013).

A systematic review of studies evaluating Australian indigenous community development projects: the extent of community participation, their methodological quality and their outcomes.

Background: Community development is a health promotion approach identified as having great potential to improve Indigenous health, because of its potential for extensive community participation. There has been no systematic examination of the extent of community participation in community development projects and little analysis of their effectiveness. This systematic review aims to identify the extent of community participation in community development projects implemented in Australian Indigenous communities, critically appraise the qualitative and quantitative methods used in their evaluation, and summarise their outcomes.

Identifying Aboriginal-specific AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3 cutoff scores for at-risk, high-risk, and likely dependent drinkers using measures of agreement with the 10-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test.

Background: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is a 10-item alcohol screener that has been recommended for use in Aboriginal primary health care settings. The time it takes respondents to complete AUDIT, however, has proven to be a barrier to its routine delivery. Two shorter versions, AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3, have been used as screening instruments in primary health care.

Tailoring a family-based alcohol intervention for Aboriginal Australians, and the experiences and perceptions of health care providers trained in its delivery.

Background: Aboriginal Australians experience a disproportionately high burden of alcohol-related harm compared to the general Australian population. Alcohol treatment approaches that simultaneously target individuals and families offer considerable potential to reduce these harms if they can be successfully tailored for routine delivery to Aboriginal Australians. The Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) and Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) are two related interventions that are consistent with Aboriginal Australians' notions of health and wellbeing.

The global epidemiology and contribution of cannabis use and dependence to the global burden of disease: results from the GBD 2010 study.

Aims: Estimate the prevalence of cannabis dependence and its contribution to the global burden of disease.

Methods: Systematic reviews of epidemiological data on cannabis dependence (1990-2008) were conducted in line with PRISMA and meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines. Culling and data extraction followed protocols, with cross-checking and consistency checks.