This review provides an overview of key information on diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. The review focuses mostly on type 2 diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people because type 2 diabetes is responsible for the majority of cases of diabetes in this population. However, the review also refers to type 1 diabetes and gestational diabetes where information is available. It provides a historical, social and cultural background to the development of diabetes, and the behavioural and medical factors that contribute to diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It provides information on the levels of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other diseases and conditions that are caused or triggered by diabetes. This information includes data on: incidence (the number of new cases) and prevalence (the number of existing cases) how many people are hospitalised, die or are disabled because of diabetes. Issues of prevention and management of diabetes are discussed, and the review provides information on programs, services, policies and strategies relating to diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This review draws mostly on journal publications, government reports, national data collections and national surveys. Most of these can be accessed through the HealthInfoNet's Australian Indigenous HealthBibliography.
Issue addressed Participation in physical activity programs can be an effective strategy to reduce chronic disease risk factors and improve broader social outcomes. Health and social outcomes are worse among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders than non-Indigenous Australians, who represent an important group for culturally specific programs. The extent of current practice in physical activity programs is largely unknown. This study identifies such programs targeting this population group and describes their characteristics. Methods Bibliographic and Internet searches and snowball sampling identified eligible programs operating between 2012 and 2015 in Australia (phase 1). Program coordinators were contacted to verify sourced information (phase 2). Descriptive characteristics were documented for each program. Results A total of 110 programs were identified across urban, rural and remote locations within all states and territories. Only 11 programs were located through bibliographic sources; the remainder through Internet searches. The programs aimed to influence physical activity for health or broader social outcomes. Sixty five took place in community settings and most involved multiple sectors such as sport, health and education. Almost all were free for participants and involved Indigenous stakeholders. The majority received Government funding and had commenced within the last decade. More than 20 programs reached over 1000 people each; 14 reached 0-100 participants. Most included process or impact evaluation indicators, typically reflecting their aims. Conclusion This snapshot provides a comprehensive description of current physical activity program provision for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia. The majority of programs were only identified through the grey literature. Many programs collect evaluation data, yet this is underrepresented in academic literature. So what? Capturing current practice can inform future efforts to increase the impact of physical activity programs to improve health and social indicators. Targeted, culturally relevant programs are essential to reduce levels of disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
This overview of the health of Indigenous people in Western Australia has been prepared by the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet as a part of our efforts to contribute to improvements in Indigenous health by making relevant, high quality knowledge and information easily accessible to policy makers, health service providers, program managers, clinicians, researchers and the general community. Its preparation was undertaken as a part of the development within the HealthInfoNet site of a specific section devoted to Indigenous health in Western Australia. Development of the section, the first of a planned series for all States and Territories, has been enabled with the provision of separate funds from the Western Australian Department of Health's Office of Aboriginal Health. The HealthInfoNetis grateful for this support. Preparation of the overview involved the collection, collation, and analysis of a wide range of relevant information, including both published and unpublished material. Sources included government reports, articles in journals and other periodicals, books and book chapters, and reports from specific studies and projects. The overview draws on information from the main administrative data collections (such as the birth and death registration systems and the hospital inpatient collections) and surveys. Information from these sources has been published mainly in government reports, particularly those produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Importantly, the overview draws also on a wide variety of other information sources, including registers for specific diseases and other conditions, regional and local surveys, and numerous epidemiological and other studies examining particular diseases, conditions, and health determinants. Information from these sources is disseminated mainly through journals and similar periodicals, or in special reports (such as the annual reports of the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry (ANZDATA)). A number of sections include the results of the HealthInfoNet's own analyses of data obtained from a variety of sources. For example, estimates of the age-adjusted incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were made using notification data provided by ANZDATA. The initial sections provide information about the Indigenous population, the context of Indigenous health, and various measures of population health status. Most sections about specific health conditions comprise a brief summary about the condition and evidence of the current burden of the condition among Indigenous people in Western Australia.
This overview has been prepared by the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet as a part of our efforts to contribute to 'closing the gap' in health between Indigenous people and other Australians by making relevant, high quality knowledge and information easily accessible to policy makers, health service providers, program managers, clinicians, researchers and the general community. Research for the overview involves the collection, collation, and analysis of a wide range of relevant information, including both published and unpublished material. Sources include government reports, particularly those produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and the Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision (SCRGSP). Very important additions to the regular ABS and AIHW publications are four series of special reports that bring together key information about Indigenous disadvantages in health and related areas. A number of sections include the results of our own analyses of data obtained from a variety of sources. For example, estimates of the age-adjusted incidence of end-stage renal disease were made using notification data provided by ANZDATA. Similarly, information about a number of communicable diseases was derived from data published by the Kirby Institute. The initial sections provide information about the context of Indigenous health, Indigenous population, and various measures of population health status. Most sections about specific health conditions comprise an introduction about the condition and evidence of the current burden of the condition among Indigenous people.
This overview has been prepared by the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet as a part of our efforts to contribute to improvements in Australian Indigenous health by making relevant, high quality knowledge and information easily accessible to policy makers, health service providers, program managers, clinicians, researchers and the general community. The main purpose of the overview is to provide a comprehensive summary of the most recent indicators of the health of Indigenous people. It is beyond the scope of the overview to analyse trends in the various indicators, so it tends to draw attention to the persisting poor health status of Australia's Indigenous peoples. It is important to acknowledge that some improvements have occurred in Indigenous health status. Research for the overview involved the collection, collation, and analysis of a wide range of relevant information, including both published and unpublished material. Sources included government reports, articles in journals and other periodicals, books and book chapters, and reports from specific studies and projects. The overview draws on information from the main administrative data collections (such as the birth and death registration systems and the hospital inpatient collections) and national surveys. Information from these sources has been published mainly in government reports, particularly those produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Importantly, the overview draws also on a wide variety of other information sources, including registers for specific diseases and other conditions, regional and local surveys, and numerous epidemiological and other studies examining particular diseases, conditions, and health determinants. Information from these sources is disseminated mainly through journals and similar periodicals, or in special reports (such as the annual reports of the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry (ANZDATA)). A number of sections include the results of our own analyses of data obtained from a variety of sources. For example, estimates of the age-adjusted incidence of end-stage renal disease were made using notification data published by ANZDATA. Similarly, information about a number of communicable diseases was derived from data published by the National Centre for HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research. The initial sections provide information about the Indigenous population and various measures of population health status. Most sections about specific health conditions comprise an introduction about the condition and evidence of the current burden of the condition among Indigenous people.
This Overview has been prepared by the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet as a part of our contributions to 'closing the gap' in health between Indigenous people and other Australians by making relevant, high quality knowledge and information easily accessible to policy makers, health service providers, program managers, clinicians, researchers, students and the general community. The main purpose of the Overview is to provide a comprehensive summary of the most recent indicators of the health of Indigenous people. Research for this Overview involved the collection, collation, and analysis of a wide range of relevant information, including both published and unpublished material. Sources include the full range of relevant literature, including journal articles and other relevant publications, the vast majority of which are accessible via the HealthInfoNet's Australian Indigenous HealthBibliography. This bibliography, with more than more 20,000 entries, captures all relevant journal articles, books, book chapters and reports (including the 'grey' literature). As well as the relevant journal literature, the HealthInfoNet's overviews draw on important government reports, particularly those produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), the Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision (SCRGSP), and reports in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health performance framework series. These reports, prepared by the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council (AHMAC) in 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2012, are accompanied by substantial detailed analyses, including analyses that are specific to WA, and accessible on the AIHW website. The HealthInfoNet's overviews also draw on information from the main administrative data collections (such as the birth and death registration systems and the hospital inpatient collections) and national surveys. Information from these sources has been published mainly in government reports, particularly those produced by the ABS, the AIHW, and the SCRGSP. Importantly, this Overview draws also on a wide variety of other information sources, including registers for specific diseases and other conditions, regional and local surveys, and numerous epidemiological and other studies examining particular diseases, conditions, and health determinants. Information from these sources is disseminated mainly through journals and similar periodicals, or in special reports. A number of sections include the results of our own analyses of data obtained from a variety of sources. For example, estimates of some health conditions were made using notification data provided by the Epidemiology Branch at the WA Department of Health.The section on cancer benefitted from information provided by the WA Cancer Registry. The initial sections of this Overview provide information about the context of Indigenous health, Indigenous population, and various measures of population health status. Most sections about specific health conditions comprise an introduction about the condition and evidence of the current burden of the condition among Indigenous people.
This overview has been prepared by the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet as a part of our efforts to contribute to improvements in Australian Indigenous health by making relevant, high quality knowledge and information easily accessible to policy makers, health service providers, program managers, clinicians, researchers and the general community. The main purpose of the overview is to provide a comprehensive summary of the most recent indicators of the health of Indigenous people. It is beyond the scope of the overview to analyse trends in the various indicators, so it tends to draw attention to the persisting poor health status of Australia's Indigenous peoples. It is important to acknowledge that some improvements have occurred in Indigenous health status. Research for the overview involved the collection, collation, and analysis of a wide range of relevant information, including both published and unpublished material. Sources included government reports, articles in journals and other periodicals, books and book chapters, and reports from specific studies and projects. The overview draws on information from the main administrative data collections (such as the birth and death registration systems and the hospital inpatient collections) and national surveys. Information from these sources has been published mainly in government reports, particularly those produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Importantly, the overview draws also on a wide variety of other information sources, including registers for specific diseases and other conditions, regional and local surveys, and numerous epidemiological and other studies examining particular diseases, conditions, and health determinants. Information from these sources is disseminated mainly through journals and similar periodicals, or in special reports (such as the annual reports of the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry (ANZDATA)). A number of sections include the results of our own analyses of data obtained from a variety of sources. For example, estimates of the age-adjusted incidence of end-stage renal disease were made using notification data published by ANZDATA. Similarly, information about a number of communicable diseases was derived from data published by the National Centre for HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research. The initial sections provide information about the Indigenous population and various measures of population health status. Most sections about specific health conditions comprise an introduction about the condition and evidence of the current burden of the condition among Indigenous people.
This Overview has been prepared by the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet as a part of our contributions to 'closing the gap' in health between Indigenous people and other Australians by making relevant, high quality knowledge and information easily accessible to policy makers, health service providers, program managers, clinicians, researchers, students and the general community. The main purpose of the Overview is to provide a comprehensive summary of the most recent indicators of the health of Indigenous people. Research for the Overview involves the collection, collation, and analysis of a wide range of relevant information, including both published and unpublished material. Sources include government reports, particularly those produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council (AHMAC) and the Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision (SCRGSP). This Overview draws heavily on information from the main administrative data collections (such as the birth and death registration systems and the hospital inpatient collections) and national surveys. Information from these sources has been published mainly in government reports, particularly those produced by the ABS, the AIHW, and the SCRGSP. Importantly, the Overview draws also on a wide variety of other information sources, including registers for specific diseases and other conditions, regional and local surveys, and numerous epidemiological and other studies examining particular diseases, conditions, and health determinants. Information from these sources is disseminated mainly through journals and similar periodicals, or in special reports (such as the annual reports of the Kirby Institute and the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry (ANZDATA)). A number of sections include the results of our own analyses of data obtained from a variety of sources. For example, estimates of the age-adjusted incidence of end-stage renal disease were made using notification data provided by ANZDATA. Similarly, information about a number of communicable diseases was derived from data published by the Kirby Institute. The initial sections of this Overview provide information about the context of Indigenous health, Indigenous population, and various measures of population health status. Most sections about specific health conditions comprise an introduction about the condition and evidence of the current burden of the condition among Indigenous people.