Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients’ cancer care pathways in Queensland: insights from health professionals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audra de Witt ◽  
Veronica Matthews ◽  
Ross Bailie ◽  
Patricia C. Valery ◽  
Jon Adams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Care Pathways ◽  
Torres Strait

scholarly journals Optimal Cancer Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: A Shared Approach to System Level Change

2020 ◽  
pp. 108-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Chynoweth ◽  
Meaghan M. McCambridge ◽  
Helen M. Zorbas ◽  
Jacinta K. Elston ◽  
Robert J.S. Thomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Care Pathway ◽  
System Level ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Cultural Appropriateness ◽  
Torres Strait

PURPOSE To improve cancer outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the development and national endorsement of the first population-specific optimal care pathway (OCP) to guide the delivery of high-quality, culturally appropriate, and evidence-based cancer care. METHODS An iterative methodology was undertaken over a 2-year period, and more than 70 organizations and individuals from diverse cultural, geographic, and sectorial backgrounds provided input. Cancer Australia reviewed experiences of care and the evidence base and undertook national public consultation with the Indigenous health sector and community, health professionals, and professional colleges. Critical to the OCP development was the leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health experts and consumers. RESULTS The OCP received unanimous endorsement by all federal, state, and territory health ministers. Key elements of the OCP include attention to the cultural appropriateness of the health care environment; improvement in cross-cultural communication; relationship building with local community; optimization of health literacy; recognition of men’s and women’s business; and the need to use culturally appropriate resources. The OCP can be used as a tool for health services and health professionals to identify gaps in current cancer services and to inform quality improvement initiatives across all aspects of the care pathway. CONCLUSION The development of the OCP identified a number of areas that require prioritization. Ensuring culturally safe and accessible health services is essential to support early presentation and diagnosis. Multidisciplinary treatment planning and patient-centered care are required for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, irrespective of location. Health planners and governments acknowledge the imperative for change and have expressed strong commitment to work with Indigenous Australians to improve the accessibility, cultural appropriateness, and quality of cancer care.

scholarly journals “My work? Well, I live it and breathe it”: The seamless connect between the professional and personal/community self in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Dickson
Keyword(s):  
Health Worker ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Indigenous Research ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Torres Strait Islander Health

Abstract Background Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals often juggle the challenges of working and living in the same community in ways that are positive for both themselves and their clients. This study specifically examines the strategies Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals have developed to enable them to feel empowered by the sense of being always visible or perceived as being always available. Findings provide examples of how participants (Team Members) established a seamless working self, including how they often held different perspectives to many work colleagues, how Team Members were always visible to community and how Team Members were comfortable to be seen as working when not at work. Methods This qualitative study engages an Indigenous research methodology and uses an Indigenous method, PhotoYarning, to explore lived experiences of a group (n = 15) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers as they worked in the Australian health sector. Results The analysis presented here comes from data generated through PhotoYarning sessions. Team Members in this study all work in health care settings in the communities in which they also live, they manage an extremely complex network of interactions and relationships in their daily working lives. They occupy an ambivalent, and sometimes ambiguous, position as representing both their health profession and their community. This article explores examples of what working with seamlessness involved, with findings citing four main themes: (1) Being fellow members of their cultural community, (2) the feeling of always being visible to community as a health worker, (3) the feeling of always being available as a health worker to community even when not at work and (4) the need to set an example. Conclusions While creating the seamlessness of working and living in the same community was not easy, Team Members considered it an important feature of the work they did and vital if they were to be able to provide quality health service to their community. However, they reported that the seamless working self was at odds with the way many of their non-Indigenous Australian colleagues worked and it was not well understood.

scholarly journals Integrated learning in a drug and alcohol university degree for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults: a case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-51
Author(s):  
KS Kylie Lee ◽  
Michelle Harrison ◽  
Scott Wilson ◽  
Warren Miller ◽  
Jimmy Perry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Optimal Approach ◽  
University Degree ◽  
Alcohol And Other Drugs ◽  
Drug And Alcohol

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) health professionals working in the alcohol and other drugs field perform a complex role in tackling substance misuse and related harms. Professional training and development opportunities for these “frontline” Indigenous alcohol and other drugs staff is key to prevent burnout and to allow them to work to their full potential. However, there are many barriers for those seeking to improve their skills. A number of teaching approaches have been described as important, but we were unable to identify peer-reviewed publications that detail the optimal approach to tailor university learning to meet the needs of Indigenous alcohol and other drugs health professionals. This article reflects on the experience of providing one such programme: a graduate diploma in Indigenous health and substance use, designed and delivered specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mature-aged students.

Follow-up cancer care: perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cancer survivors

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 1597-1605 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Meiklejohn ◽  
G. Garvey ◽  
R. Bailie ◽  
E. Walpole ◽  
J. Adams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Survivors ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Torres Strait

Development of a Maternal and Child mHealth Intervention with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mothers: A Co-Design Approach (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Jane PERKES
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Health Behaviour ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Mhealth Intervention ◽  
Health Behaviour Change ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Design Characteristics

BACKGROUND Despite their growing popularity, there are very few mobile health (mHealth) interventions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that are culturally safe and evidence-based. A co-design approach is considered a suitable methodology for developing health interventions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to co-design a mHealth intervention to improve health knowledge, health behaviours, and access to health services for women caring for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. METHODS Aboriginal researchers led engagement and recruitment with health services and participants in three Aboriginal communities in New South Wales Australia. Focus groups and interviews were facilitated by researchers and an app developer to gather information on three pre-determined themes, 1) design characteristics, 2) content modules, and 3) features and functions. Findings from the co-design led to the development of an intervention prototype. Theories of health behaviour change were used to underpin intervention components. Existing publicly available evidence-based information was used to develop content. Governance was provided by an Aboriginal Advisory group RESULTS Thirty-one mothers and 11 health professionals participated in eight co-design focus groups and 12 interviews from June to September 2019. Six design characteristics identified as important were: (1) Credibility, (2) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander designs and cultural safety, (3) Family centredness, (4) Supportive, (5) Simple to use, and (6) Confidential. Content modules include six modules for women’s health: (1) Smoke free families, (2) Safe drinking, (3) Feeling Good, (4) Women’s Business, (5) Eating, (6) Exercise; and six modules for children’s health: (1) Breathing Well, (2) Sleeping, (3) Milestones, (4) Feeding and Eating, (5) Vaccinations and Medicine, and (6) Ears, Eyes and Teeth. Six technology features and functions were also identified: (1) Content feed, (2) Social connection, (3) Reminders, (4) Rewards, (5) Communication with health professionals, and (6) Use of videos. CONCLUSIONS An mHealth intervention including app, Facebook page, and text message modalities was developed based on the co-design findings. The intervention incorporates health behaviour change theory, evidence-based information and the preferences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and health professionals. A pilot study is now needed to assess the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention.

Engaging the youth: co-designing health promotion messages

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Finlay
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Young People ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Transition To Adulthood ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Birth Certificate ◽  
Migrant Populations ◽  
Tailored Communication ◽  
Torres Strait

Abstract We were all young once, right? Moreover, many of us still feel young despite our birth certificate suggesting otherwise. Does that mean we understand what health promotion messages are going to resonate with young people today? Does it mean we know which platforms messages for young people should be used? The short answer is no. This is particularly true for marginalised communities whose needs are often very different and therefore require tailored communication. Marginalised communities such as Indigenous people, the LGBTQI community, migrant populations and refugees. Youth is a perfect time to communicate prevention, sexual and reproductive health and other health promotion messages. Young people are our future leaders. As health professionals, we want to make sure they transition to adulthood as healthy in mind and body as we can. Part of that is developing health promotion messages which reach with young people. However, too frequently, messages are not tailored for young people; therefore, not equipping them with the knowledge and skill to make healthy choices. To ensure that as health professionals that we are maximising our impact with young people, we need to co-design health promotion messages with them. Like with many Indigenous people in colonised countries, half of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, Australia's Indigenous people are under the age of 30. Young Australian Indigenous people's health and wellbeing needs are distinctive because of the uniqueness of their culture as well as the historical, political and social context (Azzopardi 2017). To ensure that health promotion effectively reaches its target audience, a co-design methodology is often employed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This presentation will detail the development of co-designed quit smoking and suicide prevention health promotion campaigns to demonstrate their effectiveness. A method that can be applied with other young people for maximum impact.

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