Features & Stories
- Smoking trends
Life Matters,
We have a new picture of Australians' smoking patterns, thanks to the latest wave of data released by HILDA - the Household Income and Labour Dynamics Australia survey. For the first time respondents were asked about their smoking, past and present. It means we can see what people do over a lifetime, and compare generations - both within Australia, and internationally. This information takes on extra significance when figures to be released later this week show that smoking is still the single most preventable cause of death and ill-health. And in the indigenous community, smoking is twice as prevalent as in the rest of the population. - Mentally ill man dies in Townsville hospital after police handcuffing
AM,
A Queensland Police ethical standards team is investigating the death of a 27-year-old Indigenous man who died after being restrained by police at the Townsville hospital. An aunty of the deceased who is also a nurse says she's concerned about the way mental health patients are treated. - Funding hurdles for Indigenous drug programs
PM,
A new report has found serious flaws in funding for Indigenous drug and alcohol programs. The National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee report describes the rates of alcohol and drug abuse among Aboriginal people as alarmingly high. But it says organisations set up to tackle the problems are hampered by one-off funding grants and that many programs are short lived. - New Indigenous health chair
Life Matters,
Dr Brad Murphy has many stories to tell. A popular central Queensland GP, he's the chair of the new Faculty of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Health at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Brad did his medical degree in his late 30s. He is an unofficial medical adviser to touring country music performers; a former Navy medic and ambulance paramedic; and a descendant of the Kamilaroi people of north-western NSW. And Brad Murphy has plenty of ideas on how to improve health services for Indigenous people. - Concerns raised over child protection in NT
The World Today,
An inquiry into the Northern Territory's child protection system has been told reports of children with cigarette burns on their skin weren't properly followed up, and that not enough is being done to protect Aboriginal children when they're placed with relatives. - Diabetes a disaster for Indigenous Australians
AM,
An Indigenous diabetes forum in Melbourne will bring together leading Australian business figures, Indigenous leaders and health experts for new ideas to fight the disease affecting approximately half of all Indigenous Australians. Aboriginal leaders point to diabetes as the biggest health problem for their community.
Indigenous Health News
Fact Files
ABC HealthPetrol Sniffing fact file
Petrol sniffing is a major source of illness, death and social dysfunction in Indigenous communities - fuelled by poverty, boredom unemployment and the ready availability of petrol.
ABC HealthTrachoma fact file
Trachoma is an eye disease caused by a bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. It is the leading cause of blindness worldwide, and is almost entirely a disease of undeveloped countries, with one exception - Australia.
Indigenous Health Links
- Aboriginal and Torres Straig Islander Health - Department of Health and Aging
- Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
- Indigenous communities - Australian Drug Information Network
- NACCHO - National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation
- Koori Health in Victoria
- Rural Health Education Foundation