Evaluation of an intervention to train health professionals working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to provide smoking cessation advice.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness and cultural relevance of Quitskills training tailored for health professionals working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who smoke. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted with data collected from 860 participants (54% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants) in tailored Quitskills training from 2012 to 2016. Course participants took part in a survey at pre-training, post-training and four-six weeks post-training to assess confidence in skills to address tobacco, and perceptions of the strengths, areas for improvement and cultural relevance of the training. RESULTS: Confidence in skills and knowledge to address tobacco increased significantly from pre- to post-training (all indicators of confidence in skills increased p<0.001) and remained high at follow-up. Tailored Quitskills training was perceived as being culturally relevant by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants, and the training facilitators were the most commonly cited strength of the training. CONCLUSIONS: Quitskills is an appropriate course for increasing skills and confidence among health professionals working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who smoke. Implications for public health: Training courses that are tailored for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can build the capacity of the health workforce in a culturally relevant manner.

Cancer Data and Aboriginal Disparities (CanDAD)-developing an Advanced Cancer Data System for Aboriginal people in South Australia: a mixed methods research protocol.

INTRODUCTION: In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People carry a greater burden of cancer-related mortality than non-Aboriginal Australians. The Cancer Data and Aboriginal Disparities Project aims to develop and test an integrated, comprehensive cancer monitoring and surveillance system capable of incorporating epidemiological and narrative data to address disparities and advocate for clinical system change. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Advanced Cancer Data System will integrate routinely collected unit record data from the South Australian Population Cancer Registry and a range of other data sources for a retrospective cohort of indigenous people with cancers diagnosed from 1990 to 2010. A randomly drawn non-Aboriginal cohort will be matched by primary cancer site, sex, age and year at diagnosis. Cross-tabulations and regression analyses will examine the extent to which demographic attributes, cancer stage and survival vary between the cohorts. Narratives from Aboriginal people with cancer, their families, carers and service providers will be collected and analysed using patient pathway mapping and thematic analysis. Statements from the narratives will structure both a concept mapping process of rating, sorting and prioritising issues, focusing on issues of importance and feasibility, and the development of a real-time Aboriginal Cancer Measure of Experience for ongoing linkage with epidemiological data in the Advanced Cancer Data System. Aboriginal Community engagement underpins this Project. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The research has been approved by relevant local and national ethics committees. Findings will be disseminated in local and international peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations. In addition, the research will provide data for knowledge translation activities across the partner organisations and feed directly into the Statewide Cancer Control Plan. It will provide a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the recommendations in these documents.