CLOSING THE GAP

Improving cancer outcomes for Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people
Prevalence of cancer contributes to the gap in life
expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
Australians.
The 2015 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Cancer Framework, launched by Cancer
Australia, identifies seven national evidence-based
priorities to improve cancer outcomes experienced
by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Cancer Australia undertakes a range of initiatives
to address disparities and improve outcomes for
Indigenous Australians with cancer. For example, in
2015-16, Cancer Australia supported the Aboriginal
Health Council of South Australia to develop resources
to support Indigenous Australians with lung cancer
and deliver up to 60 community workshops to raise
awareness of the risks of lung, breast and gynaecological
cancer and the importance of early detection.
Health and wellbeing of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people with a disability
The National Disability Strategy 2010-2020 provides a
policy framework for all levels of government to improve
the lives of people with disability. As part of the strategy’s
second implementation plan, the Australian Government
plan to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people with disability is being developed. The
vision for the plan is an environment where Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people with disability achieve
improved life outcomes and overall social, emotional
and cultural wellbeing. This is the first time such a plan
has been developed. It is forward-looking and supports
community-driven approaches for better access to
culturally responsive support and service systems.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement
Strategy under the National Disability Insurance
Scheme focuses on building relationships
between service providers and communities on
a community-by-community basis, supporting
providers to build culturally appropriate skills and
engage in a culturally responsive manner.
Social and emotional wellbeing
Social and emotional wellbeing is a holistic concept
which recognises the importance of connection to land,
culture, spirituality, ancestry, family and community, and
how these affect the individual. A person’s wellbeing
can be affected by the social determinants of health
including homelessness, education and unemployment
and a broader range of problems resulting from
grief and loss, trauma, violence, removal from family,
cultural dislocation, racism and social disadvantage.
Governments are working together to develop the Fifth
National Mental Health Plan to improve the wellbeing
of all Australians and prioritise Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander mental health and suicide prevention.
Aboriginal community controlled health services provide
frontline counselling, case management and healing
services. The PHNs work with the Aboriginal community
controlled health sector to provide greater access to
culturally appropriate and integrated mental health
services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Suicide prevention
Indigenous suicide rates are double that of
non-Indigenous Australians. During 2011 to 2015,
among Indigenous Australians, 71 per cent of suicides
were male. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project Report was
commissioned by the Commonwealth to identify what
is working to address this national crisis and provide
a blueprint to improve culturally appropriate services
in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
The report was built by working with families who
have been personally impacted by the tragedy of
suicide, including through the first ever Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention
conference held in Alice Springs in May 2016. The
report recommendations focus on the need for
approaches to Indigenous suicide prevention that are
culturally-embedded, community-led, and include
specialist trauma training for regional workers.
As part of a broad suicide prevention initiative, four PHNs
in Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and North Coast New
South Wales are trialling new collaborative approaches
to community-based suicide prevention. In addition,
eight regional sites including in Townsville and the
Kimberley, will trial new suicide prevention and follow-up
care models and build partnerships with local service
providers and communities. The trial site in the Kimberley
will include a focus on the development of a model
that can support the unique and culturally sensitive
requirements of remote Indigenous communities.
CLOSING THE GAP: PRIME MINISTER'S REPORT 2017
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