Intrinsic capacity and ageing well for Aboriginal people in remote Western Australia: a longitudinal cohort study.

Objective: To assess intrinsic capacity, an important component of ageing well, in older Aboriginal people living in remote Western Australia.

Study Design: Longitudinal cohort study; secondary analysis of survey and clinical assessment data.

Setting: Kimberley region of Western Australia (six remote communities, and the town of Derby).

Strength together: examining risk and protective factors associated with dementia and cognitive impairment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through harmonisation of landmark studies.

Background: Rates of dementia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are three to five times greater compared to non-Indigenous Australians, with earlier age of onset. However, the risk and protective factors that drive these higher rates vary across existing cohort studies, with minimal findings on the role of vascular risk factors beyond stroke. Harmonisation of data across studies may offer greater insights through enhanced diversity and strengthened statistical capabilities.

Prevalence of functional limitations in older remote-living Aboriginal Australians.

Introduction: To better tailor prevention and care strategies, there is a need to identify modifiable factors associated with functional impairment in older Aboriginal people, and related service needs.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and associated factors for functional impairment in older Aboriginal people, and related service needs.

Design: Cross-sectional survey of 289 Aboriginal people aged ≥45 years living in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Medications and cognitive risk in Aboriginal primary care: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are ageing with high rates of comorbidity, yet little is known about suboptimal prescribing in this population.

Aim: The prevalence of potentially suboptimal prescribing and associated risk factors were investigated among older patients attending primary care through Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs).

Methods: Medical records of 420 systematically selected patients aged ≥50 years attending urban, rural and remote health services were audited.

Risk, protective, and biomarkers of dementia in Indigenous peoples: A systematic review.

Introduction: Dementia is an emergent health priority for Indigenous peoples worldwide, yet little is known about disease drivers and protective factors.

Methods: Database searches were conducted in March 2022 to identify original publications on risk, protective, genetic, neuroradiological, and biological factors related to dementia and cognitive impairment involving Indigenous peoples.

Results: Modifiable risk factors featured across multiple studies include childhood adversity, hearing loss, low education attainment, unskilled work history, stroke, head injury, epilepsy, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, depression, low BMI, poor mobility, and continence issues.

Aboriginal community-controlled art centres: Keeping Elders strong and connected. Articulating an ontologically situated, intergenerational model of care.

Objective: To articulate how Aboriginal community-controlled art centres support the role of Elders and older people within an ontologically situated, intergenerational model of care.

Methods: In this paper, we draw on stories (data) generated through interviews involving 75 people associated with three Aboriginal community-controlled art centres and field notes taken during a Participatory Action Research (PAR) study. The study was undertaken in collaboration with three community-controlled art centres and two aged care providers over almost 4 years, in diverse Indigenous sovereignties, all located in geographically remote Australian locations.

Art centres supporting our Elders - 'old people, that's where our strength comes from' - results from a national survey of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled art centres.

Introduction: There are approximately 90 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled art centres across Australia, the majority in geographically remote locations. This survey explored how these centres are supporting older people, including people living with dementia, if and how they are collaborating with aged care services and what challenges and opportunities they identify in these arrangements.

Methods: An online survey was developed by a team of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers, art centre staff and art centre consultants.

Strong Carers, Strong Communities: a cluster randomised controlled trial to improve wellbeing of family carers of older people in remote Aboriginal communities.

Introduction: Unpaid carers have a crucial role in supporting older people with cognitive impairment and disability, but their own health and wellbeing are often impacted. There are limited data on how carer strain, depression and empowerment may be improved for carers.

Methods: This was a cluster randomised controlled trial to compare the effect of a carer support program developed with a community-based participatory action research (PAR) approach to the delivery of information sessions to 100 carers of people aged 45 years or more living in four remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia.

Prevalence and sites of pain in remote-living older Aboriginal Australians, and associations with depressive symptoms and disability.

Background: Pain is a growing public health problem associated with significant health and functional implications. Limited data exist for Aboriginal Australians.

Aims: To describe the prevalence, severity and sites of pain, analgesic use and associated factors, including depression and disability, in remote-living Aboriginal Australians.

The Well-Being of Carers of Older Aboriginal People Living in the Kimberley Region of Remote Western Australia: Empowerment, Depression, and Carer Burden.

To describe demographic features and well-being of carers of Aboriginal Australians aged ≥45 years in remote Western Australia. Carer burden, empowerment, and depression were assessed in 124 Aboriginal carers in four remote Aboriginal communities. Carers were aged 38.

Potentially suboptimal prescribing of medicines for older Aboriginal Australians in remote areas.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of polypharmacy, under-prescribing and potentially inappropriate medicine use among Aboriginal Australians living in remote Western Australia.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Six remote communities and the town of Derby in the Kimberley, Western Australia.

Assessment, incidence and factors associated with urinary incontinence in older Aboriginal Australians.

Background: Little is known about urinary incontinence in older Aboriginal Australians.

Aim: To describe urinary incontinence assessment, prevalence, incidence and associated conditions in older Aboriginal Australians.

Methods: Wave 1 consisted of 363 Aboriginal participants aged ≥45 years from Western Australia; 289 participants participated in Wave 2, with 184 included at both time points.

Falls risk assessment outcomes and factors associated with falls for older Indigenous Australians.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of falls and associated risk factors in older Indigenous Australians, and compare the accuracy of validated falls risk screening and assessment tools in this population in classifying fall status.

Method: Cross-sectional study of 289 Indigenous Australians aged ≥45 years from the Kimberley region of Western Australia who had a detailed assessment including self-reported falls in the past year (n=289), the adapted Elderly Falls Screening Tool (EFST; n=255), and the Falls Risk for Older People-Community (FROP-Com) screening tool (3 items, n=74) and FROP-Com falls assessment tool (n=74).

Results: 32% of participants had ≥1 fall in the preceding year, and 37.

Prevalence and incidence of frailty in Aboriginal Australians, and associations with mortality and disability.

Objectives: Frailty represents a loss of homeostasis, markedly increasing the risk of death and disability. Frailty has been measured in several ethnic groups, but not, to our knowledge, in Aboriginal Australians. We aimed to determine the prevalence and incidence of frailty, and associations with mortality and disability, in remote-living Aboriginal people.

Incidence and predictors of cognitive impairment and dementia in Aboriginal Australians: A follow-up study of 5 years.

Introduction: Aboriginal Australians are reported to develop dementia earlier than the general population. The causes remain unknown.

Methods: This was a longitudinal study of 363 participants aged ≥45 years.

The Kimberley assessment of depression of older Indigenous Australians: prevalence of depressive disorders, risk factors and validation of the KICA-dep scale.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a culturally acceptable and valid scale to assess depressive symptoms in older Indigenous Australians, to determine the prevalence of depressive disorders in the older Kimberley community, and to investigate the sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical factors associated with depression in this population.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey of adults aged 45 years or over from six remote Indigenous communities in the Kimberley and 30% of those living in Derby, Western Australia. The 11 linguistic and culturally sensitive items of the Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment of Depression (KICA-dep) scale were derived from the signs and symptoms required to establish the diagnosis of a depressive episode according to the DSM-IV-TR and ICD-10 criteria, and their frequency was rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 'never' to 'all the time' (range of scores: 0 to 33).