Eradication of commercial tobacco related disease and death.

The eradication of the commercial tobacco industry is a crucial goal for health and well-being, particularly from a public health and health justice perspective. The term 'eradication' is applied in epidemiology to mean the process and outcome of elimination of the-commercial tobacco industry as a human-made-agent of disease and death. In this commentary, we outline why the eradication of the tobacco industry is necessary, urgent and realistic.

Inclusive language in health policy - a timely case (study) of cervical screening in Australia.

Language is important in health policy development. Policy changes in Australia to increase cervical screening offers a timely case example to explore the function of inclusive language in health policy. Gender and sexuality diverse people with a cervix have been largely invisible within health promotion programs, which has led to reduced awareness of, and access to, cervical screening.

Nudging towards COVID-19 and influenza vaccination uptake in medically at-risk children: EPIC study protocol of randomised controlled trials in Australian paediatric outpatient clinics.

Introduction: Children with chronic medical diseases are at an unacceptable risk of hospitalisation and death from influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections. Over the past two decades, behavioural scientists have learnt how to design non-coercive 'nudge' interventions to encourage positive health behaviours. Our study aims to evaluate the impact of multicomponent nudge interventions on the uptake of COVID-19 and influenza vaccines in medically at-risk children.

Kulay Kalingka, a national cohort study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' cancer experiences: a study protocol.

Introduction: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the First Peoples of Australia. Since settler colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have experienced disparities in health outcomes, including cancer, when compared with non-Indigenous Australians, including higher cancer incidence and mortality rates, and lower participation in cancer screening programmes. Data to monitor and improve outcomes are limited.

The Indigenous Australian Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Cohort Study 2, Continuation for 5 to 10 Years: Protocol for a Longitudinal Study.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, a common sexually transmitted disease, is associated with cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and head and neck. Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC; throat cancer) is a type of cancer involving the head and neck area that is rapidly increasing across the globe. There are higher rates of OPSCC among Indigenous populations relative to non-Indigenous Australian populations, although the HPV-attributable fraction remains unknown.

Ethical publishing in 'Indigenous' contexts.

Ethical publishing practices are vital to tobacco control research practice, particularly research involving Indigenous (: For the purposes of this Special Communication, we use the term Indigenous people(s) to include self-identified individuals and communities who frequently have historical continuity with precolonial/presettler societies; are strongly linked to the land on which they or their societies reside; and often maintain their own distinct language(s), belief and social-political systems, economies and sciences. The authors humbly acknowledge, respect and value that Indigenous peoples are diverse and constitute many nations, cultures and language groups. Many Indigenous peoples also exist as governments in treaty relations with settler-colonial societies, and all Indigenous peoples have inherent rights under international law.

Assessing the Prevalence of Trachoma: Lessons from Community Screening with Laboratory Testing in Australia's Torres Strait Islands.

Purpose: We undertook a screening program between 2016 and 2019 to determine if trachoma was endemic in the Torres Strait Islands of Queensland, Australia.

Methods: Eleven screening surveys assessing trachoma prevalence were undertaken in seven communities using the World Health Organization (WHO) simplified grading tool. Additionally, an ophthalmologist performed a detailed clinical assessment including examination for Herbert's pits and corneal pannus and, where clinically indicated, collection of conjunctival specimens to investigate the presence of nucleic acid.

Clinical signs of trachoma and laboratory evidence of ocular Chlamydia trachomatis infection in a remote Queensland community: a serial cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To compare the findings of standard clinical assessments and of complementary clinical and laboratory methods for determining whether community-wide treatment for trachoma is warranted in a remote Queensland community.

Design: Three cross-sectional screening surveys, 2019-2021, complemented by laboratory pathology testing.

Setting: Small community in northwest Queensland with geographic and cultural ties to Northern Territory communities where trachoma persists.

Interrogating the intentions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health: a narrative review of research outputs since the introduction of Closing the Gap.

Despite the "best of intentions", Australia has fallen short of federal targets to close the gap in disproportionate health outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. We examined 2150 original research articles published over the 12-year period (from 2008 to 2020), of which 58% used descriptive designs and only 2.6% were randomised controlled trials.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women's views of cervical screening by self-collection: a qualitative study.

Objective: This study aimed to describe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women's views of self-collection introduced in the renewed National Cervical Screening Program.

Methods: A total of 79 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women (50 screened in previous five years, 29 under-screened) from five clinics across three Australian states/territories participated. Topics discussed were perceptions of self-collection, the instruction card and suggestions for implementing self-collection.

The Health and Wellbeing of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples around the Globe: Ensuring and Promoting Best Practice in Research.

Indigenous and Tribal peoples account for approximately 6 [...

Discord between presence of follicular conjunctivitis and Chlamydia trachomatis infection in a single Torres Strait Island community: a cross-sectional survey.

Objective: Recent surveys identified trachomatous inflammation - follicular (TF) at endemic levels in the Torres Strait Islands; however, local health staff do not report trachomatous trichiasis (TT) in adults. We undertook a cross-sectional survey involving eye examination and microbiological testing to better understand this disconnect.

Methods: We examined 169 of 207 (82%) residents and collected ocular swabs for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for Chlamydia trachomatis.

Black to the Future: Making the Case for Indigenist Health Humanities.

This paper outlines the development of Indigenist Health Humanities as a new and innovative field of research building an intellectual collective capable of bridging the knowledge gap that hinders current efforts to close the gap in Indigenous health inequality. Bringing together health and the humanities through the particularity of Indigenous scholarship, a deeper understanding of the human experience of health will be developed alongside a greater understanding of the enablers to building a transdisciplinary collective of Indigenist researchers. The potential benefits include a more sustainable, relational, and ethical approach to advancing new knowledge, and health outcomes, for Indigenous people in its fullest sense.

The Fabric of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing: A Conceptual Model.

Wellbeing is culturally bound and is shaped by many aspects of life, including experiences, beliefs and values. As such, in order to accurately measure wellbeing for a specific cultural group, it is necessary to understand the experiences, beliefs and values that influence the conception and experience of wellbeing of that group. This paper presents a conceptual model of wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, which was developed from a large national qualitative study that explored the views of 359 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults.

What Matters 2 Adults (WM2Adults): Understanding the Foundations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience a greater range of health and social disadvantages compared to other Australians. Wellbeing is a culturally-bound construct, and to date, a national evidence base around the components of wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is lacking. Understanding and measurement of wellbeing for this population is critical in achieving health equity.

Investigating inequities in cardiovascular care and outcomes for Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: protocol for a hospital-based retrospective cohort data linkage project.

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) represents a significant burden of disease for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, a population that continues to experience a lower life expectancy than other Australians. The aim of the Better Cardiac Care Data Linkage project is to describe patient care pathways and to identify disparities in care and health outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Queensland residents diagnosed with CVD in the state of Queensland.

Methods: This is a population-based retrospective cohort study using linked regional, state and national health and administrative data collections to describe disparities in CVD healthcare in primary and secondary prevention settings and during hospitalisation.