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Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the geospatial distribution of COVID-19 vaccination rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples across Local Government Areas in Australia., Methods: We described the patterns of COVID-19 vaccination across jurisdictions, identified clusters with different levels of vaccination uptake, and assessed the relationship between contextual factors and vaccination (spatial error model, spatial lag model, and geographic weighted regression)., Results: The proportion of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population that received at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by the last week of June 2022 ranged from 62.9% to 97.5% across Local Government Areas. The proportion of the overall population who is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (β = 0.280, standard deviation [SD] = 1.92), proportion of the total labour force employed (β =0.286, SD = 0.98), and proportion of individuals who speak an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language (β =0.215, SD = 0.15) had, on average, the strongest effects on COVID-19 vaccination rates., Conclusion: Findings underscore the extent to which area-level demographic influence the COVID-19 vaccination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians., Implications for Public Health: Findings can inform vaccination strategies that prioritise geographic areas with higher vulnerability to promote equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Arguably, the deficit narrative of oral health inequities, perpetuated by colonial re-search agendas, media and sociopolitical discourse, contributes to oral disease burden and fatalism among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. There remains a need to evolve the way oral health is understood, in a manner that reflects the lived experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples., Methods: This paper proposes decolonising methodologies as a strategy to ensure oral health re-search creates more equitable oral health outcomes and realities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. Anchored by a critical reflection of the failure of dominant oral health inequity re-search practices to address Indigenous oral health, both in Australia and internationally, we propose five explicit pathways for decolonising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander oral health re-search., Results: We argue the need for (1) positionality statements in all re-search endeavours, (2) studies that honour reciprocal relationships through the development of proposals that ask questions and follow models based on Traditional Knowledges, (3) the development of culturally secure and strengths-based data capturing tools, (4) frameworks that address the intersection of multiple axes of oppression in creating inequitable conditions and (5) decolonising knowledge translation techniques., Conclusion: Importantly, we recognize that re-search will never be entirely 'decolonised' due to the colonial foundations upheld by academic institutions and society more broadly; however, as oral health re-searchers, we ascertain that there is an ethical compulsion to drive decolonising re-search pursuits that produce equitable oral health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities., (© 2023 The Authors. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

As part of a (bio)colonial project, the biological information of Indigenous Peoples has historically been under scientific scrutiny, with very limited benefits for communities and donors. Negative past experiences have contributed to further exclude Indigenous communities from novel developments in the field of omics research. Over the past decade, new guidelines, reflections, and projects of genetic research with Indigenous Peoples have flourished in Australia, providing opportunities to move the field into a place of respect and ethical relationships. This review explores the ethical and cultural implications of the use of biological samples from Indigenous communities in biomedical research. A structured framework outlining emerging topics of interest for the development of respectful omics research partnerships with Indigenous Australians is presented. This paper highlights aspects related to Indigenous governance, community and individual consent, respectful handling of biological samples, data management, and communication in order to protect Indigenous interests and rights and to promote communities' autonomy., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) requires general dental practitioners (GDPs) to agree to regulatory advertising guidelines on initial registration and annual renewal. The aim of this study was to determine the compliance of GDPs websites to these requirements., Methods: A representative sample of GDPs websites from each state and territory in Australia was based on the total AHPRA registrant distribution. Assessment of compliance was used across five domains consisting of 17 criteria related to AHPRA's advertising of regulated health services guidelines, as well as section 133 of the National Law. Inter-rater reliability was estimated using Fleiss's Kappa., Results: One hundred and ninety-two GDPs websites were reviewed with 85% non-compliant with at least one of the legal and regulatory requirements relating to advertising. Of these websites, 52% displayed false and misleading information, 12.8% had offers and inducement without clear terms and conditions, 11.5% used written testimonials, 33.9% created unrealistic expectation of benefit and 39.6% encouraged indiscriminate and unnecessary use of health services., Conclusions: More than 85% of GDP websites in Australia did not comply with legal and regulatory requirements related to advertising. A multi-stakeholder approach involving AHPRA, professional dental bodies and dental registrants is necessary to improve compliance., (© 2023 The Authors. Australian Dental Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Dental Association.)

Very little research has focussed on children's school lunchboxes from both a health and environment standpoint. This scoping review explores studies that considered children's lunchbox food consumption trends at school and the environmental impacts of lunchbox contents. We conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed literature with a focus on lunchboxes of children in preschool or primary school settings that contained food packed from home, through the lens of food and nutrition in combination with environmental outcomes-particularly food and/or packaging waste. The review included 10 studies, with articles from Australia, USA, Spain, New Zealand and the UK. Half of them were intervention studies aiming to shift knowledge levels and attitudes of teachers, parents and children with regard to reducing packaged food choices and food waste, and improving dietary habits. Acknowledging the complexity of lunchbox packing and consumption practices, this review recommends the consideration of socio-ecological influences on children's health and sustainability behaviour, and mobilizing their pro-environmental agency., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Purpose: Systemic diseases or drugs administered early in life may cause a disruption in amelogenesis and contribute to the qualitative defect of enamel described as molar-incisor hypomineralisation (MIH). Therefore, an increase in prevalence of MIH in children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) may be expected as this systemic disorder is commonly diagnosed in early childhood. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of MIH in a cohort of children with T1D and investigate diagnosis of MIH with T1D factors., Methods: Cross-sectional study of children with T1D recruited from paediatric diabetes clinics at the Women's and Children's Hospital (South Australia). A detailed medical history, comprehensive dental and MIH examination according to the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD) long form classification was collected for each child. All upper and lower first permanent molars and central incisors were scored., Results: A total number of 73 participants; 35 (47.95%) males were examined including 584 teeth. The mean age of the participants was 13.25 ± 2.58 years, with a mean age of diagnosis 7.75 ± 3.58 years, and a mean HbA1c of 8.5 ± 1.6%. 42 out of 73 children (54.8%) had enamel defects on at least one of the teeth examined. However, 19.2% met the criteria for MIH. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted but no significant associations were noted between MIH and risk factors including diabetes control (p > 0.1)., Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of enamel defects and MIH amongst children with T1D. More research is required to establish association between T1D and MIH., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: To identify and describe the involvement of Indigenous Health Workers within ear health screening programs for Indigenous Peoples in Australia, Canada, the US and New Zealand., Methods: Peer-reviewed and grey literature sources were systematically searched to identify evidence. This scoping review was conducted in accordance with the scoping review extension of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines., Results: Forty pieces of evidence were included in this review. While almost all included studies identified the critical role of Indigenous Health Workers in ear and hearing health, Indigenous leadership and involvement in research projects and service delivery varied significantly and none of the included studies reported Indigenous health worker perspectives. Approximately half of the authorship teams had at least one Indigenous author., Conclusions: There is a clear need for Indigenous leadership in ear and hearing health research and programming. Specialist teams involved in health service delivery and research need to enable this transition by understanding and privileging Indigenous leadership and investing in appropriate training for non-Indigenous specialists providing care in Indigenous health contexts., Implications for Public Health: These findings are discussed in terms of opportunities to improve Indigenous ear and hearing health research and programming., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Introduction: There has been a recent surge in the use of teledentistry services in Australia that has paralleled the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the limited published literature reflecting on this transition, this article employed a systematic scoping review methodology., Objective: The objective was to explore the role of teledentistry in the provision of clinical dental services in Australia., Design: Two independent reviewers searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and grey literature sources to identify literature eligible for inclusion. The search was restricted to Australia and service delivery. Data were categorically synthesised by modalities and reported benefits and limitations; findings were cross-referenced with the COVID-19 pandemic timeline., Findings: The systematic search identified 758 articles, of which 25 met the inclusion criteria. Results highlight a range of service providers and definitions of teledentistry. A shift in modality from asynchronous towards synchronous teledentistry pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic is detailed., Discussion: Whilst highly useful during the COVID-19 pandemic, teledentistry provides a unique opportunity to continue to increase the accessibility of dental services, especially for patients in rural areas or those who are immunocompromised., Conclusion: Clinicians and researchers must consider opportunities to merge existing research with the recent clinical uptake of teledentistry for patients that would benefit from teledental services beyond the COVID-19 pandemic., (© 2022 The Authors. Australian Journal of Rural Health published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.)

Objective: Despite the colonial roots and modern presence of systemic racism within academic institutions, Indigenous researchers have successfully led a change in expectations of what constitutes 'good' research with Indigenous Communities. From a mixed Indigenous and non-Indigenous research perspective, this paper explores the processes that enable meaningful and ethical Indigenous oral health research., Methods: This paper utilises Yarning as its methodology to capture our research process and identify our core values. The idea for this paper was a result of social and collaborative yarns, which were used as the framework for a final research topic yarn., Results: We propose Relational Yarning as a mechanism to ensure the prioritisation of six core values in our research approach: respect, relationships, advocacy, reciprocity, time and gratitude., Conclusions: We argue that these values are not only essential at the individual or team level but must extend to all institutions in which Indigenous research operates. Therefore, academic institutions, funding bodies and academic journals are compelled to mandate policies that disrupt patterns of symbolic violence and eliminate institutional racism., Implications for Public Health: Our framework provides an opportunity for all researchers engaging with Indigenous Communities to facilitate meaningful and ethical research and prioritise culturally secure research environments., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Background: During the 1970s, optimal oral health was experienced more frequently amongst Indigenous children in Australia than their non-Indigenous counterparts. As a result of public health interventions targeting oral disease, oral health has improved for most children; however, Indigenous children today experience oral disease at alarmingly high rates. A history of colonisation, assimilation, racism and cultural annihilation has had profound impacts on oral health for Indigenous peoples; compounded by environmental dispossession and a shift from traditional diets to one of processed and nutrient-poor foods, often high in sugar., Methods: This project aimed to identify factors related to the increased occurrence of caries in Indigenous children. Using purposive sampling from the larger project, this paper thematically analyses 327 motivational interviews to explore current barriers impeding parental efforts to establish oral health and nutrition practices for Indigenous children. Representation of socioeconomic positions of families were compared across themes, as based on maternal age, employment, residency and number of children in care., Results: Findings resulted in a conceptual model of barriers that exist across knowledge, social, structural and parental factors. Major thematic results include: social consumption of processed foods, busy households, misleading nutrition marketing, sugar cravings and lack of oral health and nutrition knowledge., Conclusion: A discussion of the findings results in the following recommendations increased oral health promotion efforts in non-metropolitan areas; utilisation of community experiences in creating strategies that encourage oral health and nutrition knowledge; and the extension of oral health initiatives and future research to include all family members. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12611000111976; registered 01/02/2011., (© 2021. The Author(s).)