National Indigenous Health Conference Report
Nov 25th – 27th, 2013, Cairns
Prof Elizabeth Elliott, Barbara Lucas, Pip Dossetor
Please note: Abstracts were not provided with the Conference Program
Sessions Attended
1. The Winnuga Model of Holistic Care 1998 – 2013. Julie Tongs, CEO Winnunga Nimmityjah
Aboriginal Health Service ACT.
 Aboriginal health is holistic, encompassing mental, physical, cultural and physical health
 Evaluation: of program not provided
2. Healthy Kids, Health Future Program. Dr Louise Ormerod, CEO Nutrition Plus
 Healthy Plus school program developed in 2008
 Program encompasses the provision of “Juice Plus” (micronutrient enriched fruit and
vegetable juice), developing edible gardens, and promoting bush tucker, culture and health
eating
 Aim to close the gap through Nutrition Plus.
 Projects in NT, northern NSW, WA and ??
 Affiliation with USyd Dept Agriculture and Environment with the Tingha Project northern
NSW
 Evaluation: formal evaluation of the program not yet occurred and they are looking for a
research facility to partner them. Anecdotal evidence that skin infections and other illnesses
dramatically reduced in participating children
 Comment: very promising program/concept. No discussion about parental engagement in
this program.
3. Building a collaborative Indigenous Health Service. Neressa Johnson; Indigenous Liaison and Jodi
Dyer; Advanced Indigenous Health Worker, Officer Redcliff Hospital.
 Program aims to reduce Discharge Against Medical Advice (DAMA) and provide best patient
outcomes by engaging all clinical areas and members of the multidisciplinary health care
team
 Liaison Officer and Advanced Indigenous Health Worker facilitate patient engagement with
multidisciplinary team
 Evaluation: of program not provided
4. Opening the Pathways to Self-Management of Chronic Disease for our Aboriginal Community.
Pam Sutton; Aboriginal Health Worker, Rebecca Jarman; Dietician and Vickilee Mackay; Clinical
Nurse Specialist, SWSLHD.
National Indigenous Health Conference Report 2013
1
(i) Food insecurity
 20 - 40% increase in obesity if food is insecure
 This leads to fluctuating blood sugar levels, fluid retention and other issues
 This program addresses food insecurity through
- Oz Harvest weekly food delivery
- Salvation Army Food Bank $15
- Education days
- Using healthy meal kits and recipes as raffle prizes
- Providing oral nutrition supplements
- Promoting self-management to wean indigenous clients off meals on
wheels ($300 - $500/month)and nutritional supplements
Evaluation: of program not provided
(ii) Quit smoking
 The rate of smoking is twice as high in the indigenous population
 Aim of the quite group was to reduce smoking rates by 5%
 Quit group lasts 8 weeks, total 13 people
 Evaluation: baseline 92% smoked daily. At 1 and 3 months this was reduced to 57%. One
person has quit smoking.
5. Indigenous Ear Health: Planning for sustainable social impact. Paul Higginbottom; CEO and Lara
Shur; Director of Clinical Services, Earbus Foundation WA.







Funded by Medicare Locals and Rotary
Hearing impairment has a huge impact on social outcomes. Poor hearing decimates
early language development and the assimilation of culture. Research shows that
middle ear disease is a risk factor for poverty.
Ear bus travels out to remote communities to provide hearing assessment and
management of impairments
Earbus provide mobile assessment base and accommodation for travelling
professionals
Evaluation: being undertaken
Comment: very promising model of care
Contact: otitismedia@hotmail.com or carbus@outlook.com
6. Dream Catchers and Diabetes – How the Kehwl Womens’s Group reduced isolation and
imparted positive messages to women in a remote First Nation’s community (Canada).
Bella Ribbonleg.
 This community had high levels of depression, violence, sexual assault and few jobs.
There was a pervading sense of hopelessness. This program found that the use of
ceremony to provide empowerment is the treatment of choice
 Evaluation: of program not provided
National Indigenous Health Conference Report 2013
2
8. Accessing Access Health. Kerry Arabena; Chair for Indigenous Health and Professor and
Director Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit.
 Based in the Melbourne CBD
 Model of care includes Aboriginal Liaison Officer working in various capacities to
improve health access eg assisting with transport to and from appointments,
facilitating engagement with patient and health professionals
 Main age of those accessing the program: 31 – 49 years
 Racism within the health system is a strong factor in service avoidance for those
seeking healthcare. For example, indigenous people find it difficult to organise
themselves to be on time for an appointment. Health workers are time poor and are
unable to accommodate for missed appointment time slots and don’t have the time
to sit with patients to interview and assess in a more culturally sensitive manner.
 Evaluation: of the program is currently been undertaken and will be available on the
following website: www.onemda.unimelb.edu.au
 Comment: this program could be transferable to other metropolitan hospitals which
service indigenous clients. Linkages with the AMS were not mentioned.
9. Dementia Awareness in Indigenous Communities. Carol Chapman, Special Access Liaison
Officer, Alzheimer’s Australia (Qld).
 Dementia has a huge impact in indigenous communities as without memories “we
don’t have our stories or our past”.
 This presentation gave and overview of the types of dementia likely to affect
indigenous communities
 Dementia is often misdiagnosed in ATSI as it is easy to assume that changes are
related to depression, menopause, work and relationship stress, and diabetes.
 This program provides education to communities to improve community awareness
 Evaluation: of program not provided
 Comment: presenter provided an excellent overview of dementia
10. Nooka Murrook “to give Goodness”: A Palliative Approach. Michelle Wilkes; Aboriginal
Health Education Officer and Colleen Devitt; Aboriginal Liaison Officer at Manning Rural
Referral Hospital, NSW.
 This program works with dementia suffers to support their participation in the
community as long as possible eg the “Navigator” can liaise with a client’s employee
to provide more a suitable position to accommodate for dementia deterioration
 Evaluation: of program not provided
11. Machado Joseph Disease and MJD Foundation Programs in the Northern Territory.
Libby Massey, Director Research and Community Services, MJD Foundation, NT.
National Indigenous Health Conference Report 2013
3




Foundation established in 2008
This presentation provided an excellent overview of the MJD and it’s presenting
symptoms, genetic linkages, and research and advocacy work being performed
World prevalence is estimated to be 0.63/100,000
East Arnhem Land 303 – 909/100,000.
National Indigenous Health Conference Report 2013
4