Facilitating engagement through strong relationships between primary healthcare and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

OBJECTIVE: Given the high prevalence of chronic disease, it is of concern that access to and sustained engagement with primary healthcare services by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians is often far lower than would be expected. This study sought to explore ways in which relationships can support sustained engagement with healthcare services. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 126 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants with and without chronic disease and 97 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous healthcare providers, healthcare service managers or administrative staff. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that when faced with acute health issues, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants did prioritise care, provided that the service was both physically and emotionally welcoming. Trustworthiness of healthcare providers and strong relationships with patients were the most important factors for encouraging sustained engagement overtime. CONCLUSIONS: Responsibility for sustaining relationships does not rest solely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. Rather, healthcare providers need to commit to the process of building and maintaining relationships. IMPLICATIONS: First and foremost healthcare providers should take time to establish and then maintain relationships. Healthcare services can also contribute by ensuring facilities are welcoming for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Building better systems of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: findings from the Kanyini health systems assessment.

BACKGROUND: Australian federal and jurisdictional governments are implementing ambitious policy initiatives intended to improve health care access and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In this qualitative study we explored Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) staff views on factors needed to improve chronic care systems and assessed their relevance to the new policy environment. METHODS: Two theories informed the study: (1) 'candidacy', which explores "the ways in which people's eligibility for care is jointly negotiated between individuals and health services"; and (2) kanyini or 'holding', a Central Australian philosophy which describes the principle and obligations of nurturing and protecting others. A structured health systems assessment, locally adapted from Chronic Care Model domains, was administered via group interviews with 37 health staff in six AMSs and one government Indigenous-led health service. Data were thematically analysed. RESULTS: Staff emphasised AMS health care was different to private general practices. Consistent with kanyini, community governance and leadership, community representation among staff, and commitment to community development were important organisational features to retain and nurture both staff and patients. This was undermined, however, by constant fear of government funding for AMSs being withheld. Staff resourcing, information systems and high-level leadership were perceived to be key drivers of health care quality. On-site specialist services, managed by AMS staff, were considered an enabling strategy to increase specialist access. Candidacy theory suggests the above factors influence whether a service is 'tractable' and 'navigable' to its users. Staff also described entrenched patient discrimination in hospitals and the need to expend considerable effort to reinstate care. This suggests that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are still constructed as 'non-ideal users' and are denied from being 'held' by hospital staff. CONCLUSIONS: Some new policy initiatives (workforce capacity strengthening, improving chronic care delivery systems and increasing specialist access) have potential to address barriers highlighted in this study. Few of these initiatives, however, capitalise on the unique mechanisms by which AMSs 'hold' their users and enhance their candidacy to health care. Kanyini and candidacy are promising and complementary theories for conceptualising health care access and provide a potential framework for improving systems of care.

Exploring the expression of depression and distress in aboriginal men in central Australia: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Despite being at heightened risk of developing mental illness, there has been little research into the experience of depression in Australian Aboriginal populations. This study aimed to outline the expression, experience, manifestations and consequences of emotional distress and depression in Aboriginal men in central Australia. METHODS: Utilizing a grounded theory approach, in depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 theoretically sampled young, middle aged and senior Aboriginal men and traditional healers. Analysis was conducted by a single investigator using constant comparison methods. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms were common and identifiable, and largely consistent with symptom profiles seen in non-Aboriginal groups. For Aboriginal men, depression was expressed and understood as primarily related to weakness or injury of the spirit, with a lack of reference to hopelessness and specific somatic complaints. The primary contributors to depression related to the loss of connection to social and cultural features of Aboriginal life, cumulative stress and marginalisation. CONCLUSIONS: Depression and depressive symptomatology clearly exists in Aboriginal men, however its determinants and expression differ from mainstream populations. Emotions were understood within the construction of spirit, Kurunpa, which was vulnerable to repetitive and powerful negative social forces, loss, and stress across the life course, and served to frame the physical and emotional experience and expression of depression.

Cardiovascular disease risk management for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in primary health care settings: findings from the Kanyini Audit.

OBJECTIVE: To describe cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk management in Indigenous primary health care. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Review of 1165 randomly selected case records of Indigenous Australian adults, aged >/= 18 years, regularly attending eight health services in diverse settings in New South Wales, Queensland and Central Australia, October 2007 - May 2008. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Adherence to CVD risk screening and management guidelines, especially with respect to overall or absolute CVD risk. RESULTS: More than half the people in the sample (53%) were not adequately screened for CVD risk according to national recommendations. Underscreening was significantly associated with younger age, less frequent attendance, and lower uptake of the Medicare Health Assessment. Of the sample, 9% had established CVD, and 29% of those aged >/= 30 years were classified as high risk according to the 2004 National Heart Foundation of Australia (NHFA) adjusted Framingham equation. Of those with CVD, 40% (95% CI, 30%-50%) were not prescribed a combination of blood pressure (BP) medicines, statins and antiplatelet agents, and 56% (95% CI, 49%-62%) of high-risk individuals without CVD were not prescribed BP medicines and statins. For high-risk individuals not prescribed BP medicines or statins, 74% (95% CI, 64%-84%) and 30% (95% CI, 23%-39%) respectively, did not meet 2004 NHFA criteria for prescribing of these medications, and of those already prescribed BP medicines or statins, 41% (95% CI, 36%-47%) and 59% (95% CI, 52%-66%) did not meet respective guideline targets. CONCLUSIONS: These management gaps are similar to those found in non-Indigenous health care settings, suggesting deficiencies across the health system. Prescribing guidelines which exclude many high-risk individuals contribute to suboptimal management. Guideline reform and improved health service capacity could substantially improve Indigenous vascular health.