Chemical composition of bunya nuts (Araucaria bidwillii) compared to Araucaria angustifolia and Araucaria araucana species.

Three of nineteen Araucaria tree species from around the world produce large edible seeds. While composition is established for edible pinhão and piñones nuts from Brazil and Chile, respectively, the first detailed characterisation for the composition of edible Araucaria bidwillii (bunya nut) from Australia is provided. Almost half of the kernel weight is moisture and the main component in the dried kernel is starch. Whilst low in protein and fat, it contains all essential amino acids and half the fatty acids are polyunsaturated (Omega-3 and 6). Bunya nuts are a source of dietary fibre, folate and minerals (Cu, Mn, Fe, Mg), while the nut husks and inner coating are high in phenolics, mainly catechin. The composition supports the Traditional Knowledge of Aboriginal Australians that the bunya nut is an energy dense and nutrient rich food. Similarities in the composition among the three different edible varieties were found, which should assist in developing sustainable value chain propositions via shared knowledge on processing and utilisation.

Indigenous social exclusion to inclusion: Case studies on Indigenous nursing leadership in four high income countries.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This discursive paper provides a call to action from an international collective of Indigenous nurse academics from Australia, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand and the USA, for nurses to be allies in supporting policies and resources necessary to equitably promote Indigenous health outcomes. BACKGROUND: Indigenous Peoples with experiences of colonisation have poorer health compared to other groups, as health systems have failed to address their needs and preferences. Achieving health equity will require leadership from Indigenous nurses to develop and implement new systems of care delivery. However, little is known about how Indigenous nurses influence health systems as levers for change. DESIGN: A Kaupapa Maori case study design. METHODS: Using a Kaupapa Maori case study methodology, coupled with expert Indigenous nursing knowledge, we developed a consensus on key themes. Themes were derived from three questions posed across the four countries. Themes were collated to illustrate how Indigenous nurses have provided nursing leadership to redress colonial injustices, contribute to models of care and enhance the Indigenous workforce. RESULTS: These case studies highlight Indigenous nurses provide strong leadership to influence outcomes for Indigenous Peoples. Five strategies were noted across the four countries: (1) Indigenous nationhood and reconciliation as levers for change, (2) Indigenous nursing leadership, (3) Indigenous workforce strategies, (4) Development of culturally safe practice and Indigenous models of care and (5) Indigenous nurse activism. CONCLUSIONS: In light of 2020 declared International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, we assert Indigenous nurses' work must be visible to support development of strategic approaches for improving health outcomes, including resources for workforce expansion and for implementing new care models. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Curating strategies to promote Indigenous nurse leaders around the world is essential for improving models of healthcare delivery and health outcomes for Indigenous Peoples.

Lunatic Asylums and Indigenous Australians during the Nineteenth Century.

Lunatic asylums formed part of the civic infrastructure that was constructed out of British colonists invading and subsequently colonising unceded, Indigenous Australian lands during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. This historical narrative examined nineteenth century primary and secondary sources including, patient lists, medical files, and government correspondence, to provide insight into the experiences of Indigenous Australians admitted to Australia's earliest lunatic asylums. Awareness that lunatic asylums formed part of the structure imposed during colonisation, provides nurses and other health professionals with greater historical literacy regarding the impact of colonial lunatic asylums on Indigenous Australians. Such impacts continue to be experienced through transgenerational trauma and emphasise the importance of culturally safe mental health services.

Educating the educators: Implementing cultural safety in the nursing and midwifery curriculum.

BACKGROUND: The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council mandates the teaching of cultural safety in Bachelor of Nursing and Midwifery programs in Australia. However nursing and midwifery academics may lack the awareness and knowledge required to share and develop cultural safety practices with their students. Specific cultural safety professional development for academics may be needed. OBJECTIVES: This research explores how nursing and midwifery academics at an Australian university understand cultural safety and whether they are equipped to embed it in the curriculum. It also examines whether professional development workshops can support academics to prepare for cultural safety. METHODS: An intervention involving three cultural safety professional development workshops was offered to nursing academics at an Australian university. The authors used qualitative surveys to consider whether the workshops deepened participants' understanding of cultural safety and developed the self-reflection required to embed cultural safety in teaching. RESULTS: The workshops contributed to participants' improved understandings of culture, colonisation, white privilege and the need for self-reflection, but not all participants developed a working knowledge of cultural safety practice. CONCLUSION: Professional development workshops can assist nursing and midwifery academics to develop their knowledge of cultural safety, but detailed, contextual understanding is likely to need more than three sessions. Academics' motivations to include cultural safety in their teaching may be linked to their desire for patient-driven and equitable services and a desire to meet accreditation requirements.

Talking Circle For Young Adults (TC4YA) intervention: a culturally safe research exemplar.

Background: As a result of the intergenerational trauma impact and experience, Native Americans continue to exhibit trauma-related issues such as high rates of substance use. After leaving high school, the pressures and stress of continuing an education, finding work/employment, and the responsibilities related to family and tribal community obligations result in the Native American young adult being more vulnerable to substance use.Objective: The purpose of this paper is to report findings of the Talking Circle intervention impact on the outcome variables of Native-Reliance, substance use, stress, and behavioural health, depression, and cumulative trauma.Methods: Native-Reliance was the theoretical underpinning for the study, demonstrating culturally safe research. A pre-test/post-test one-group design was utilised to examine how the Talking Circle intervention influenced the outcome variables. In total, 75 Native American participants, ages 18-24, participated in the Talking Circle intervention sessions. Baseline pre-intervention measures were completed and were repeated at 6-month post-intervention.Results: At 6-month post-intervention, Native-Reliance significantly revealed an increase of 40.55 (t = 22.13, p < .001), sources of stress (SS) revealed a significant decline of 3.68 (t = -18.39, p < .001), behavioural health issues (BH) showed a significant decline of 3.63 (t = -15.36, p < .001), substance-related issues (SR) showed a significant decline of 3.57 (t = -15.24, p < .001), depression (PHQ-9) showed a significant decline of 4.85 (t = -17.02, p < .001), and cumulative trauma revealed a significant decline of 2.77 (t = -13.39, p < .001).Conclusions: The use of a culturally safe Talking Circle intervention evidenced a research approach that resulted in a positive impact on reducing substance use and increasing the well-being of young Native American young adults.Impact Statement: Culturally safer intervention environments are conducive to results in outcomes that are positive and effective.

Sensory properties of Australian bunya nuts.

Bunya nuts are the seeds of Araucaria bidwillii, a conifer native to South-East Queensland, Australia. They are one of the 19 species of Araucaria family found around the world, with the nuts from South America being the most commonly consumed. They are traditionally eaten boiled or roasted. This study aims to profile the sensory properties of bunya nuts with chestnut as a comparator. Since chestnuts do not come from a conifer tree, it is expected that there will be differences. Different methods of preparation are also expected to change the sensory attributes. Representative samples were collected from a variety of locations in South-East Queensland, prepared and presented to a panel of 14 experienced tasters applying conventional sensory descriptive profiling. During training, the panel developed a lexicon of 23 sensory attributes together with definitions and reference. Profiles of the boiled and roasted bunya nuts revealed higher scores for hardness on the first bite than chestnuts and, when chewed, became more crumbly, dry, and grainy. They had a savory aroma and flavor, and roasted samples exhibited a roasted aroma. Bunya nut samples were less sweet than chestnut samples. Differences in the sensory properties due to method of preparation were also observed. Boiled bunya nuts were softer and moister, with lower scores for crumbly and grainy. This research is foundational in providing technical information on the sensory profile of this important Indigenous Australian nut and provides a strong basis to support novel food sector opportunities for the bunya nut as a reemerging food source not only in Australia, but also South America. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: There is an increase demand for local, sustainable, and natural foods. Bunya nuts are native to Australia and are part of the Araucaria family, which includes 19 species that can be found around the world. To the best of our knowledge there is no study characterizing Araucaria nuts in terms of sensory attributes. This study builds a lexicon for bunya nuts and compares to chestnuts. It also shows how different preparation methods affect its sensory attributes, as well as possible future uses in product development. The outcomes might provide information to support studies on Araucaria nuts in other countries.

Clarifying Cultural Safety: its focus and intent in an Australian context.

The nursing/midwifery professions are facing a sea change with the inclusion of cultural safety in the Code of Conduct for Registered Nurses [Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2018a). Midwife standards of practice. Retrieved January 30, 2021, from https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/codes-guidelines-statements/professional-standards.aspx], the Code of Conduct for Midwives [Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2018b). Code of conduct for nurses. Retrieved January 30, 2021, from https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/codes-guidelines-statements/professional-standards.aspx], the Registered Nurse Accreditation Standards (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council. (2019). Registered Nurse Accreditation Standards. Retrieved from https://www.anmac.org.au/), and the Midwife Accreditation Standards [Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council. (2021). Midwife Accreditation Standards. Retrieved from https://www.anmac.org.au/standards-and-review/midwife]. In this paper, we focus on the theme of enabling cultural safety seeking to overcome the barrier of confusion surrounding it. The inclusion of cultural safety in codes and accreditation standards highlights the pressing need for these professions to attain deep understanding of cultural safety so that clinicians and educators can confidently practice and teach in this area. This need is underscored by the context of heightened awareness, that developed amongst mainstream Australians with Black Lives Matter in 2020, of inequity including health inequity. Our concern as academics responsible for staff development, curriculum development and implementation in university Schools of Nursing/Midwifery is to enable and support the teaching and practice of cultural safety. Its focus on working in partnership, addressing power imbalances, racisms and related systems of discrimination constitutes it as a vastly different model to cultural other-awareness and notions of cultural competency which have held sway on matters of culture in health service provision up to now. Our approach was to undertake a reflection on our combined decades of studying, leadership, teaching, and practice of cultural safety, which consistently showed the confusion in Australia about the model overall and about the definition of culture underpinning it. This paper supports the profession by addressing the need to educate academics and clinicians on cultural safety itself and on the role of all nurses/midwives, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, in these endeavours. This paper encourages a coherent development and confident implementation of cultural safety curriculum and practice to meet current requirements.

An Aboriginal nurse-led working model for success in graduating Indigenous Australian nurses.

Abstract Australia needs more Indigenous nurses. This is widely recognised in both academic literature and government policy. In 2012, only 0.8 percent of the Australian nursing workforce was Indigenous (AIHW, 2012). In spite of the clear need, there is little discussion about how to successfully recruit, retain and graduate Indigenous nursing students. This paper describes a successful programme being implemented at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). Between 2000 and 2012, USQ graduated 80 Indigenous nurses and midwives, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In this paper, the authors outline the journey they undertook to develop the successful programme at USQ: The Indigenous nursing support model: Helping hands. They argue that four elements underpin success for Indigenous nursing students: The availability of Indigenous academics, Indigenous health content in the nursing curriculum, Indigenous-specific recruitment materials, and individual mentoring and nurturing of Indigenous students.

An Aboriginal nurse-led working model for success in graduating Indigenous Australian nurses.

Abstract Australia needs more Indigenous nurses. This is widely recognised in both academic literature and government policy. In 2012, only 0.8 percent of the Australian nursing workforce was Indigenous (AIHW, 2012). In spite of the clear need, there is little discussion about how to successfully recruit, retain and graduate Indigenous nursing students. This paper describes a successful program being implemented at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). Between 2000 and 2012, USQ graduated 80 Indigenous nurses and midwives, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In this paper, the authors outline the journey they undertook to develop the successful program at USQ: the Indigenous Nursing Support (INS) Model: Helping Hands. They argue that four elements underpin success for Indigenous nursing students: the availability of Indigenous academics, Indigenous health content in the nursing curriculum, Indigenous-specific recruitment materials, and individual mentoring and nurturing of Indigenous students.

Meet Queensland health's indigenous nursing advisor.

Amid the recent focus of state and federal governments on Indigenous health, it seems increasing Indigenous nurse and midwifery numbers will play a significant part in addressing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Earlier this year Queensland Health established a full-time Indigenous Nursing Advisor position to implement strategies to boost the number of Indigenous nurses and midwives and support them in their role. TQN caught up with Odette Best, who commenced full-time in the role in January this year.