Aust Fam Physician
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Educating the health workforce in indigenous health has been set as a high priority by educational bodies and providers of general practice training. These groups advise the involvement of local indigenous communities in medical teaching and training. Few have asked community members what issues are important to them when teaching health professionals. ⋯ Results reveal insights into indigenous community members' perceptions, understanding of, and participation in, cross cultural teaching. Cross cultural interactions can be both rewarding and a risk to the teaching process. This needs to be managed and facilitated appropriately and in a timely manner.
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This study investigated the reasons for low uptake of Medicare Benefits Schedule rebated health assessments for Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders in mainstream general practice in the Australian Capital Territory region. ⋯ Barriers to the uptake of health assessments include low levels of routine identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, little awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander specific GP mediated health interventions, and lack of support for preventive health interventions targeted on the basis of Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander status. Poor uptake is likely to persist without a more strategic approach to overcoming these barriers.
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have long asserted the health benefits of maintaining close links with the lands and seas to which they have ancestral connections. ⋯ At the request of, and in collaboration with, Aboriginal landowners in central Arnhem Land, the study investigated the ecological and human health outcomes associated with 'caring for country' practices. The study demonstrated significant and substantial health benefits associated with greater participation in caring for country, along with a healthier environment.
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On 24 March 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the leader of the Federal Opposition, and health sector leaders signed a pledge to close the indigenous health gap by 2030 and the equity gap in health service provision by 2018. This is a big challenge - Indigenous Australians have a life expectancy 17 years less than non-Indigenous Australians and a burden of disease 2.5 times higher.
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In the BEACH program (Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health) between 2000 and 2008, Aboriginal people and/or Torres Strait Islanders accounted for approximately 1.1% of total BEACH encounters. We compare these encounters with all BEACH encounters.