Indigenous
Health benefits of improving basic nutrition in Aboriginal communitiesRaymond Jones, Fiona Smith Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation, Grafton, New South Wales This program is an extension of research conducted in a remote NSW Aboriginal community. Initially students at the local primary school experienced high rates of skin infections and recurrent otitis media. Blood tests revealed that all students were deficient in vitamin C, so a program was established to supplement the students’ diets with fresh fruit, as well as vegetables grown in the school vegetable garden. |
Is there enough sun in Australia? - A study of vitamin D deficiency in an urban Australian Aboriginal populationJill Benson, Nigel Stocks, Nicole Moulding
Discipline of General Practice, University of Adelaide, South
Australia There is a well established body of literature on the metabolism of vitamin D in individuals with different skin pigmentation and on its deficiency in overseas populations and within Australia, especially among particular migrant groups. However there is no available literature on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the Australian Aboriginal population. One of the possible sequelae of vitamin D deficiency, muscle pain, appears to have a higher prevalence in Aboriginal people. This was the relationship explored in this research. |
What is the future of cultural safety training? Report on the post-pilot developmentof training for GPs to assist them to work better with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peopleTim Leahy, Gloria Khan, Michael Doyle Aboriginal Health Council of WA, Perth, Western Australia The first part of the presentation will update the audience with progress on this project. National piloting, with subsequent internal and external evaluation of the training and the modules, has lead to the recommendation that they be rolled out nationally. This will require assistance, commitments from a range of groups and partnerships. We will report on our results and plans. |
Cervical screening for indigenous women: the GP roleDr Fiona B Millard Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service, Mackay, Queensland To describe the role of a GP piloting a project to promote cervical screening, and supporting a continuing service. |