Evaluation of the Deadly Liver Mob program: insights for roll-out and scale-up of a pilot program to engage Aboriginal Australians in hepatitis C and sexual health education, screening, and care.

Background: Deadly Liver Mob (DLM) is a peer-driven, incentivised health promotion program aimed at increasing understanding of hepatitis C, promoting harm reduction in relation to injecting drug use, and linking participants to screening for hepatitis C, other blood borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections among Aboriginal people in Western Sydney, NSW. This paper presents the evaluation of a pilot study examining the acceptability of the program as a first step of a scalability assessment.

Methods: Deadly Liver Mob operated in co-located needle and syringe programs and sexual health clinics in two sites: (Site 1: two and a half years for 2 days/week; Site 2: 1 year for 1 day per week).

"I Had a Little Bit of a Bloke Meltdown…But the Next Day, I Was Up": Understanding Cancer Experiences Among Aboriginal Men.

Background: Although cancer in indigenous populations is receiving increased research attention, there is a gap in understanding the particular experiences of Aboriginal men.

Objective: The aim of this study is to integrate a range of primary and secondary accounts of the experiences of Aboriginal men in engaging with a cancer diagnosis and treatment in Australia.

Methods: Secondary analysis of qualitative interviews (n = 54) conducted between 2008 and 2011 revealed recurrent themes regarding the cancer experiences of Aboriginal men in a subset of participant interviews (n = 23).

HCV knowledge among a sample of HCV positive Aboriginal Australians residing in New South Wales.

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are overrepresented in both the prevalence and incidence of the hepatitis C (HCV). HCV knowledge has been associated with a range of positive health behaviours. HCV knowledge has previously been investigated as a single construct; however examining different knowledge domains (i.

The role of Aboriginal community attachment in promoting lifestyle changes after hepatitis C diagnosis.

This research assessed whether greater attachment to an Aboriginal community buffers against the negative effects of stigma and promotes positive health outcomes. Aboriginal Australians ( = 203) living with hepatitis C completed a survey assessing community attachment, stigma, resilience, quality of life, treatment intent, hepatitis C knowledge and positive lifestyle changes. A stronger sense of community attachment was associated with greater resilience, increased quality of life, less hepatitis C-related stigma and with increased lifestyle changes after diagnosis.

Experiences of diagnosis, care and treatment among Aboriginal people living with hepatitis C.

Objective: Aboriginal Australians are disproportionately affected by hepatitis C (HCV). There are a range of barriers to HCV care, often beginning with poor diagnosis experiences. Little research exists on the experiences of Aboriginal Australians living with HCV.

Care and treatment of hepatitis C among Aboriginal people in New South Wales, Australia: implications for the implementation of new treatments.

Introduction: Despite Aboriginal Australians being over-represented in populations of people living with hepatitis C (HCV), there is a dearth of research to guide policy and programme development in the area of care and treatment, particularly relating to new HCV treatments.

Method: In-depth interviews were conducted with 39 people identifying as Aboriginal Australians and living with HCV in New South Wales.

Results: Participants' experiences were characterised by a lack of detailed or appropriate information provided at diagnosis, high levels of stigma associated with HCV and low overall knowledge of HCV as reported for themselves and their communities.

Health literacy in relation to cancer: addressing the silence about and absence of cancer discussion among Aboriginal people, communities and health services.

Cancer outcomes for Aboriginal Australians are poorer when compared with cancer outcomes for non-Aboriginal Australians despite overall improvements in cancer outcomes. One concept used to examine inequities in health outcomes between groups is health literacy. Recent research and advocacy have pointed to the importance of increasing health literacy as it relates to cancer among Aboriginal people.

"I can't do this, it's too much": building social inclusion in cancer diagnosis and treatment experiences of Aboriginal people, their carers and health workers.

Objectives: Social inclusion theory has been used to understand how people at the margins of society engage with service provision. The aim of this paper was to explore the cancer care experiences of Aboriginal people in NSW using a social inclusion lens.

Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 22 Aboriginal people with cancer, 18 carers of Aboriginal people and 16 health care workers.

One size fits all? The discursive framing of cultural difference in health professional accounts of providing cancer care to Aboriginal people.

Objectives: Cancer is the second biggest killer of Aboriginal Australians. For some cancers, the mortality rate is more than three times higher in Aboriginal people than for non-Aboriginal people. The Aboriginal Patterns of Cancer Care Study explored barriers to and facilitators of cancer diagnosis and treatment among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in New South Wales.