Search

More than 4000 Indigenous Australian students enrol and take up a placement at boarding school each year. While reasons for attending boarding school vary, the impetus for many remote and very remote-dwelling students is restricted secondary educational opportunities in their home communities. A large multi-site study is being undertaken across Queensland to understand the conditions required for these students to be resilient while studying away from home. This paper reports on levels of student satisfaction with Queensland Department of Education's Transition Support Service (TSS) that provide assistance to remote-dwelling Indigenous students in the transition to boarding schools. A survey instrument administered to students included 22 close-ended questions to elicit levels of student satisfaction with TSS. Data were collected electronically using SurveyMonkey[TM] and analysed in SPSS v24. Descriptive statistics were calculated for variables assessing service support, student perceptions and experiences. A total of 294 primary, secondary and re-engaging students across 21 sites responded. Nearly all primary students (97%) anticipated that TSS would assist their move to boarding school. All secondary students identified that TSS had assisted their transition to boarding school. All re-engaging students agreed that TSS support had increased their capacity to cope when things go wrong. Lower scores related to students' ability to access TSS when needed. Very high levels of satisfaction with TSS were countered by constraints of distance between TSS and students, and resources available to support the work of TSS. Findings point to the need for equitable provision of transition services in Queensland that emphasise the importance of relationship between service provider and student, and can inform the design of similar transition services across Australia.

: Objectives: Identify the number, type, scope and quality of economic evaluations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health programs. Methods: A systematic review of peer‐reviewed and grey literature was conducted for articles published from 2010 to 2020 that reported a full economic evaluation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health programs. Data extraction included: type of economic evaluation, comparators, data sources and concerns, and outcome measures. Methodological quality was assessed using the Drummond checklist. Results: Thirteen publications met inclusion criteria: two cost‐consequence analyses, two cost‐effectiveness analyses, five cost‐utility analyses, and four cost‐benefit/return on investment analyses. Most studies (n=10) adopted a health system perspective and used a range of key data sources for economic analyses. Ten studies identified data access limitations that restricted analyses and two studies identified data quality concerns. Twelve studies were of good methodological quality and one was of average quality. Conclusions: Despite significant investment in strategies to close the gap in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, there is limited evidence about what constitutes a cost‐effective investment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcare. Implications for public health: More economic evaluation is required to justify the significant investment in health programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people., Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 3.3% of the Australian population[sup.1] but experience a disproportionate burden of ill health.[sup.2] Disparities in health outcomes are a result of the [...]

Indigenous research leadership can enhance research benefits to Indigenous communities. Our research investigates how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (henceforth Indigenous) leadership is expressed in the context of academic research, and how Indigenous leadership is supported or constrained in such context. This exploratory study includes semi-structured interviews with 20 Indigenous Australian researchers and document analysis. The thematic content analysis suggests that 'Indigenous leadership in research' refers to features, qualities or processes that enable certain outcomes, rather than formal ranking. Our research proposes a model connecting Indigenous leadership features in research with the achievement of (social) research impacts. The performance measures valued in academic research reflect a limited part of leadership as expressed by interviewees, hindering the achievement of higher hierarchical positions by those who holistically pursue such a leadership model. We suggest changes in the incentive structure and performance measures to better support Indigenous leadership in research.

Background: Effective management of hearing loss in adults is fundamental for communication, relationships, employment, and learning. This study examined the rates and management of self-reported hearing loss in urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults. Methods: A retrospective, observational study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged ≥15 years who had annual health checks at an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare clinic in Inala, Queensland, was conducted to determine self-reported hearing loss rates by age and ethnic groups stratified by sex. A medical record audit of patients who self-reported hearing loss from January to June 2021 was performed to identify current management approaches, and the proportion of patients that were appropriately managed. Results: Of the 1735 patients (average age 40.7 years, range 15.0–88.5 years, 900 [52.0%] women) who completed 3090 health checks between July 2018 and September 2021, 18.8% self-reported hearing loss. Rates did not differ between men and women. However, significant effects were noted for age, with rates increasing from 10.7% for patients aged 15–24 years to 38.7% for those aged ≥65 years. An audit of 73 patient medical records revealed that 39.7% of patients with self-reported hearing loss were referred to Ear, Nose and Throat/audiology or received other management. A total of 17.8% of patients owned hearing aids. Conclusions: Only 40% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults who self-reported hearing loss were referred for management. Significant changes to clinical management and government-funded referral options for hearing services are required to improve the management of self-reported hearing loss in this population. Limited evidence on hearing loss in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults exists. In this primary care adult population, the rate of self-reported hearing loss was 18.8%. Only two in five adults received further action to manage their hearing loss with successful hearing outcomes evident. Hearing loss in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults is underreported, undermanaged, and requires urgent attention from health professionals and government policymakers to enhance its clinical management leading to improved quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationally, schools have recognised the need for supporting and improving the resilience of students, particularly those facing a multiplicity of challenges. However, social and emotional learning programmes, including those aimed at enhancing resilience, are often not evaluated thoroughly nor detail process and economic evaluations. This paper evaluates a multi-component integrated intervention designed to strengthen the resilience of remote-living Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students attending boarding schools. This evaluation is largely process-based, focussing on the acceptability, feasibility, preliminary outcomes and affordability of implementation of the intervention. Fourteen boarding or teaching staff members, eight female and six who identified as Aboriginal, were interviewed. The interviews were conducted with staff members at eight Queensland boarding sites where the intervention was delivered. Qualitative inductive thematic analysis was used to evaluate feasibility and acceptability and outcomes described by staff. A descriptive analysis of the costs (AU$ 2018) was performed in Microsoft Excel 2013. This evaluation identified multiple major themes around feasibility and acceptability, including sharing experience across sites, staff knowledge, attitudes and behaviours, and perceived student achievement, leadership and relationships. Implementation of the resilience intervention was considered feasible and affordable, and embraced by boarding providers. School-based participatory action research interventions aimed at improving culturally appropriate support structures for Indigenous boarding students are achievable with the appropriate resourcing and time to implement and embed change.

Education provides opportunities for adolescents to make developmental gains. Remote Indigenous adolescents not engaged in education programs need alternate learning opportunities to reach developmental goals. This review identifies attributes that contribute to an alternate model of education within the existing literature and reports on the quantity and nature of evidence. Thirty-seven databases and grey literature were canvassed using strict search criteria. Analysis of papers was conducted to find the enablers of alternate models by identifying the conditions, strategies and outcomes the intervention produced. Papers were categorised according to their nature by Canada's Hierarchy of Evidence and the Sanson-Fisher model. There was limited literature on alternate models of education for Indigenous adolescents in settings outside a school environment. Three papers were classified as descriptive and ten as intervention research. All papers were described as "emerging" and "promising" practices. The five attributes embedded within a model included: (1) cultural connectedness and awareness; (2) being contextually designed; (3) fosters relationships with peers and adults; (4) specific teaching and learning strategies; and (5) holistic outcomes. The findings will contribute to the co-design of an alternate model of education for remote Indigenous communities. Gaps identified in the literature included examples of "best practice" models and highlighted the need for further research of innovative models that move from descriptive research to form an evidence base.

In meeting the social and emotional learning (SEL) needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, the capacities of school staff are critical. There is very limited evidence for relevant capacity development initiatives. This evaluation reports a multicomponent SEL training intervention delivered to staff of an Australian education service that operates independently of any particular school to assist with the transitions of students from remote communities to boarding schools. A participatory action research (PAR) approach was implemented over 13-months with 21 staff participants. Results from a pre-, mid- and six months post-training survey and staff interviews were analysed and fed back through reflective group discussions. The training was associated with improved staff attitudes to mental health and skills to support student wellbeing. Sixteen participants received a tertiary qualification. Despite 'working in challenging environments', staff were 'dedicated to help' students, and 'acknowledged the need for change' to better support student wellbeing. However, given the service's brokering role between families and schools, fewer staff members reported feeling empowered to influence issues in their workplace. The evaluation demonstrated the value of SEL training for education staff and potential utility for school teachers and boarding staff who have direct duty of care for Indigenous students. The multicomponent training described in this study would need to be condensed for school settings.

Expanding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian (hereafter respectfully Indigenous) talent pool to undertake valuable roles in business, health, education, academia, government, policy development and community development is critical for addressing current disparities between Indigenous and other Australians. Parity of access and engagement with education plays a key role in facilitating participation in these roles but has not yet been attained. This article provides "an initial" systematic review of literature on the state of the evidence regarding access/attraction, retention and completions for Indigenous Higher Degree Research (HDR) students. This article identifies the quantity (number examined), nature (e.g. focus of study), quality (peer reviewed and evidence of methodological rigour) and characteristics (e.g. publication type, authorship) of the limited publications. Using specific search strings (words or phrases of relevance to the topic), a systematic review methodology was employed to search nine databases and grey (non-peer reviewed) literature from 1995 to 2015. The resultant 12 publications were mined with quality assessed and a predetermined framework used to extract and synthesise the characteristics from individual publications. This research contributes to existing literature about Indigenous Peoples in HDR programs internationally in identifying significant cultural and institutional barriers and highlighting institutional enablers which can contribute to attraction, retention and completion. Building on the prior limited research reported in the review, the article highlights the need for further research and provides an initial agenda of directions for universities and government to redress the disparity in entry and completion of Indigenous Peoples in HDR programs.

School completion has been hailed by many as the 'holy grail' of Indigenous education, and 42% remote-living Indigenous students now attain year 12 completion each year. But for a range of complex reasons, only 60% of these graduates translate this achievement into further engagement in study, training or employment. This systematic literature review examined the evidence for strategies that support the post-schooling transitions of these students. Adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework, it examinedthe scope and quality of the existing evidence and applied qualitative meta-synthesis to elucidate the conditions that enable or hinder, and strategies that support post-schooling transitions. Findings suggested that lower rates of post-schooling study or employment uptake are influenced by: historical misalignment of education approaches with community values and aspirations; limited opportunities in remote communities; and other socio-economic factors. Strategies were found to be most effective when cross-sectoral education/employment and community partnerships were formed, and remote communities were integral in the planning and implementation process. Strategies to improve transitions included: embedding Indigenous and Western knowledge systems in education, task-based learning, explicitly addressing students' language needs, providing immersion experiences such as in universities, and mentoring programs to widen students' aspirations. However, the evidence-base remains weak and further research is needed to understand the impact of strategies on students' aspirations and their immediate and long-term post-schooling transitions.