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Box 1.25Things that work• Congress Alukura, based in Alice Springs, NT, is a women’s health and birthingcentre developed in the 1980s to address the needs of Aboriginal women in CentralAustralia (box 5.3.2).• The Strong Women, Strong Babies, Strong Culture Program in the NT supportsIndigenous women to teach young pregnant women and new mothers to care forthemselves and their children in ways that reflect traditional cultural values andpractices (box 5.3.2).• Djuli Galban operates in Kempsey, NSW, with a focus on antenatal and earlypostnatal care and education (box 5.3.2).• The Koori Maternity Strategy in Victoria provides culturally appropriate maternitycare to Koori women (box 5.3.2).• The Marrang Aboriginal Child and Family Health Model was developed to improveaccess and health outcomes for Aboriginal families in Orange, NSW (box 5.3.2).• Nganampa Health Council Child and Maternal Health Program is an intensiveantenatal and early postnatal care program operating in the Anangu Pitjantjatjaralands of SA since the mid 1980s (box 5.3.2).• Ngua Gundi — the Mother/Child Project — was funded by the CommonwealthBirthing Services Project to address the low use of antenatal services by youngAboriginal mothers in Woorabinda, Queensland (box 5.3.2).Hearing impedimentsOtitis media, the main cause of hearing problems experienced by Indigenouschildren, is characterised by very early onset, persistence and high rates of severity.It can become a chronic disease which is carried from childhood into adolescence.Box 1.26KEY MESSAGES• In 2004-05, the prevalence of hearing conditions for Indigenous children was threetimes as high as for non-Indigenous children (table 5A.4.1).• Between 2001 and 2004-05, there was no statistically significant change in theoverall prevalence of hearing problems among Indigenous children (figure 5.4.1).• From 2001-02 to 2004-05, hospitalisations for middle ear and mastoid diseasesdecreased for Indigenous children aged 0–3 years (from 13 per 1000 to10 per 1000) (tables 5A.4.6 to 5A.4.9).30 OVERCOMINGINDIGENOUSDISADVANTAGE 2007