Part Two: Australian Hearing in the community

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28 Australian Hearing Annual report 2009 Indigenous Services working together Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience hearing health problems typical of third world communities. Up to seven in 10 Indigenous adults experience hearing loss. The majority of Aboriginal babies in remote communities will have symptoms of ear disease by the time they are three months old. By the time an Indigenous child reaches the age of 14, they are likely to have spent 32 months with ear disease and hearing loss. This compares with an average of three months for a non-Indigenous child. Ear disease can affect speech and language development, enjoyment of school, forming of friendships, educational achievement and vocational choices. Our Indigenous Services program Our Indigenous Services program commenced more than 30 years ago, when services entailed visiting a small number of remote communities in the Northern Territory. Since then, outreach services, funded under the CSO program, have grown steadily to include communities in all parts of Australia. These communities may be either geographically or culturally remote from our mainstream services. Over that time we have strengthened relationships with Indigenous communities and broadened the scope of our program. We are committed to making hearing services easier to access and to providing hearing services in a culturally appropriate environment. This includes ensuring that staff have an understanding of the impact of historical and cultural issues on the lives of Indigenous Australians. Outreach sites Most often, we work in partnership with Indigenous community-controlled health services to provide hearing assessment and rehabilitation services to Indigenous children and eligible adults. We also deliver services through mainstream government health and education services in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. In 2008/09, outreach audiologists visited 238 sites in 55 urban, 69 rural and 114 remote areas (based on the Department of Health and Ageing’s Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia). The number of sites visited has grown significantly over the last four years, and stabilised this financial year at 238. Table Two (below) shows the number of sites visited through the outreach program per financial year over a five-year period. Table Two: Indigenous sites visited Graph Three: Number of Indigenous Eligibility (IE) clients seen July 2005 to June 2009 Financial Year 2004/05 119 2005/06 130 2006/07 185 2007/08 232 2008/09 238 Number of sites visited NO. OF CLIENTS 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 IE >50yrs IE CDEP * INDIGENOUS ELIGIBILITY GROUP IE Total 2005/06 2007/08 2006/07 2008/09 * Community Development Employment Project.
Part Two: Australian Hearing in the community 29 Services for Indigenous adults Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults are eligible for free hearing services if they are aged over 50 years or if they are a current participant in a Community Development Employment Project (CDEP), or participated in a CDEP in the period between 1 December 2005 and 30 June 2008. Collectively, these groups are known as Indigenous Eligibility (IE), and are funded through the CSO program. During 2008/09, we provided hearing services to 1,947 adults aged over 50 and 579 adults participating in CDEP at a permanent or visiting site, or outreach site. Graph Three on page 28 shows the number of clients seen since the change to eligibility was introduced on 1 December 2005. The number of clients seen has increased steadily over this period. We also saw a further 272 Indigenous adults in 2008/09 who met other eligibility criteria. Services for Indigenous children We saw a total of 5,372 Indigenous children during 2008/09, in urban, rural and remote mainstream and outreach sites. This represents 18.7 per cent of the total number of children and young adults who received hearing services in 2008/09. Most recent census data (2006) estimates that 2.5 per cent of Australians identify as being Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or both. In view of the known prevalence of hearing health problems in the Indigenous community, we expected to see an over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children compared to the non-Indigenous population. Table Three (below) shows the breakdown of Indigenous children and young people fitted with hearing aids by State and Territory for the calendar year 2008. Strengthening partnerships with communities and agencies Our Indigenous Liaison Officers, outreach audiologists and program coordinators promote our services and build and maintain relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and clients. As a result, we provide hearing services through Indigenous community controlled health services, community organisations, and mainstream clinics and schools. Interested communities identify their hearing health needs, and hearing services are negotiated based on this. As part of this process, we are documenting the outcome of these discussions in service agreements, which describe the framework and responsibilities of the program. A review of the program takes place as required or annually. We are working with Queensland Health’s ‘Deadly Ears’ program, the Australian Government Intervention in the Northern Territory and other state-funded health services to ensure that primary and tertiary hearing health services complement each other. We saw a total of 5,372 Indigenous children during 2008/09, in urban, rural and remote mainstream and outreach sites. Table Three: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children fitted with hearing aids by State and Territory NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas ACT NT TOTAL 98 33 552 164 66 1 3 384 1,301
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Part Two: Australian Hearing in the community

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