An exploratory qualitative study of inter-agency health and social service partnerships focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.

Background: The siloed nature of the health and social service system threatens access for clients engaging numerous organisations. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face adverse circumstances which contribute to multiple health and social needs. Effective relationships between health and social services are integral to coordinated service provision to meet the diverse needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.

Responsive service design and workforce strengthening: Recommendations to improve aged care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Objective: This study aimed to develop innovative and practical strategies and recommendations for aged care policy and practice that support the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Methods: A research symposium was held in June 2023 on Kaurna Country at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. The symposium brought together 70 attendees including aged care consumers, Federal and State Government representatives, advocacy services, health, aged care and social service providers, and health and aged care researchers.

Translation of culturally and contextually informed diabetes training for Aboriginal primary health care providers on Aboriginal client outcomes: Protocol of a cluster randomized crossover trial of effectiveness.

Background: Indigenous populations globally have significantly high rates of type 2 diabetes compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. This study aims to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a culturally and contextually informed Aboriginal Diabetes Workforce Training Program on Aboriginal primary health care workforce knowledge, attitude, confidence, skill and practice relating to diabetes care.

Methods: A Cluster Randomised Crossover Control Trial with two arms (Group A and Group B) will be conducted with Aboriginal primary health care services in South Australia.

Supporting best practice in the management of chronic diseases in primary health care settings: a scoping review of training programs for Indigenous Health Workers and Practitioners.

Background To improve diabetes management in primary health care for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples population, training programs that are culturally and contextually relevant to the local context are required. Using a scoping review methodology, the aim of this review was to describe the characteristics of chronic disease management training programs for Aboriginal Health Workers and Practitioners, their effectiveness on knowledge and skills, and client-related outcomes, and the enablers, barriers to delivery and participation. Methods Following protocol parameters, a systematic search was conducted in relevant databases and grey literature.

Priority setting: Development of the South Australian Aboriginal Chronic Disease Consortium RoadMap for Action.

Issues Addressed: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Aboriginal) people in South Australia are overburdened by cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. The South Australian Aboriginal Chronic Disease Consortium (Consortium) was established in June 2017 as a collaborative partnership to lead the implementation of three state-wide chronic disease plans using a strategic approach to identifying key priority areas for action.

Methods: In 2017-2018, the Consortium Coordinating Centre facilitated a priority setting process, which involved extensive consultation, including a prioritisation survey and stakeholder workshops.

Health System Enablers and Barriers to Continuity of Care for First Nations Peoples Living with Chronic Disease.

Introduction: Failings in providing continuity of care following an acute event for a chronic disease contribute to care inequities for First Nations Peoples in Australia, Canada, and Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Methods: A rapid narrative review, including primary studies published in English from Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Central, concerning chronic diseases (cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, and related complications), was conducted. Barriers and enablers to continuity of care for First Nations Peoples were explored considering an empirical lens from the World Health Organization framework on integrated person-centred health services.

Exploring self-determined solutions to service and system challenges to promote social and emotional wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: a qualitative study.

Introduction: Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living on Kaurna Country in northern Adelaide experience adverse health and social circumstances. The study sought to understand challenges facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and identify solutions for the health and social service system to promote social and emotional wellbeing.

Methods: This qualitative study applied Indigenous methodologies undertaken with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander governance and leadership.

An Aboriginal-led consortium approach to chronic disease action for health equity and holistic wellbeing.

Issue Addressed: The Wellbeing Economy, which places human and ecological wellbeing at the centre of policy making, aligns with holistic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander conceptualisations of health and wellbeing. In order to address chronic diseases in South Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, the South Australian Aboriginal Chronic Disease Consortium (Consortium) is fostering action in ways that align both with the Wellbeing Economy and with Health in All Policies (HiAP) approaches.

Methods: In June 2017, the Consortium was established as a collaborative partnership between government and non-government organisations, researchers, Aboriginal organisations and communities to lead the effective implementation of three state-wide chronic disease plans.

Aboriginal community-controlled aged care: principles, practices and actions to integrate with primary health care.

Aim: To identify: 1) best practice aged care principles and practices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander older peoples, and 2) actions to integrate aged care services with Aboriginal community-controlled primary health care.

Background: There is a growing number of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and an unmet demand for accessible, culturally safe aged care services. The principles and features of aged care service delivery designed to meet the unique needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have not been extensively explored and must be understood to inform aged care policy and primary health care planning into the future.

Understanding culturally safe aged care from the perspectives of older Aboriginal Australians in rural and remote communities.

Issue Addressed: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face challenges in accessing aged care and are less likely to use some services than their non-Indigenous counterparts. Culturally safe care is increasingly recognised as an enabler to improve access and quality of care. This study explored older Aboriginal peoples' perceptions and experience of culturally safe aged care.

Assessing the quality of health research from an Indigenous perspective: the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander quality appraisal tool.

Background: The lack of attention to Indigenous epistemologies and, more broadly, Indigenous values in primary research, is mirrored in the standardised critical appraisal tools used to guide evidence-based practice and systematic reviews and meta-syntheses. These critical appraisal tools offer no guidance on how validity or contextual relevance should be assessed for Indigenous populations and cultural contexts. Failure to tailor the research questions, design, analysis, dissemination and knowledge translation to capture understandings that are specific to Indigenous peoples results in research of limited acceptability and benefit and potentially harms Indigenous peoples.

Aboriginal experiences of cancer and care coordination: Lessons from the Cancer Data and Aboriginal Disparities (CanDAD) narratives.

Background: Aboriginal people with cancer experience worse outcomes than other Australians for a range of complex and interrelated reasons. A younger age at diagnosis, higher likelihood of more advanced cancer or cancer type with poorer prognosis, geographic isolation and cultural and language diversity mean that patient pathways are potentially more complex for Aboriginal people with cancer. In addition, variation in the quality and acceptability of care may influence cancer outcomes.

Cancer Data and Aboriginal Disparities (CanDAD)-developing an Advanced Cancer Data System for Aboriginal people in South Australia: a mixed methods research protocol.

Introduction: In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People carry a greater burden of cancer-related mortality than non-Aboriginal Australians. The Cancer Data and Aboriginal Disparities Project aims to develop and test an integrated, comprehensive cancer monitoring and surveillance system capable of incorporating epidemiological and narrative data to address disparities and advocate for clinical system change.

Methods And Analysis: The Advanced Cancer Data System will integrate routinely collected unit record data from the South Australian Population Cancer Registry and a range of other data sources for a retrospective cohort of indigenous people with cancers diagnosed from 1990 to 2010.

Exploring barriers to and enablers of adequate healthcare for Indigenous Australian prisoners with cancer: a scoping review drawing on evidence from Australia, Canada and the United States.

Background: International frameworks supported by national principles in Australia stipulate that prisoners should be provided with health services equivalent to those provided in the general community. However, a number of barriers unique to the prison system may hinder the provision of equitable healthcare for this population. In Australia, Indigenous people carry a greater burden of cancer mortality, which the Cancer Data and Aboriginal Disparities (CanDAD) project is seeking to address.

Culturally appropriate methodology in obtaining a representative sample of South Australian Aboriginal adults for a cross-sectional population health study: challenges and resolutions.

Background: The considerably lower average life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, compared with non-Aboriginal and non-Torres Strait Islander Australians, has been widely reported. Prevalence data for chronic disease and health risk factors are needed to provide evidence based estimates for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders population health planning. Representative surveys for these populations are difficult due to complex methodology.