Report card on Indigenous health: must do better

If an approach doesn’t work, we need to find out why and how it can be improved. If it continues to fail, then we should abandon it. We have to be flexible - we can’t blindly fund programs that continue to produce poor results.

Improving Indigenous health takes an effort that’s sustained, disciplined and transparent - and that builds on the evidence of programs that work.

Evidence tells us that a public health approach with a preventative focus that informs and empowers individuals and communities is the way forward. We need to tackle problems at source - not just respond to symptoms. And we need to set children up for life in the vital early years through a range of strategies to support early childhood development.

Townsville’s Mums and Babies Project is just such an approach. It increases access to, and take up of, health services; it’s preventative and it gets results. There are plenty of other programs which have demonstrated success.

In the WA Kimberley region a program delivered by local and state government, community organisations and NGOs has cut rates of trachoma in school-aged children.

Survival Tucker, a project led by the Northern Territory community of Minjilang, promoted better nutrition and led to a decreased consumption of saturated fat and sugar. Tests confirmed that community members experienced weight loss, lower cholesterol and blood pressure and improvements in other blood-health indicators.

Indigenous involvement and ownership of programs is vital for success. The ground-breaking rehabilitation program at Mount Theo station in the Northern Territory has helped the community of Yuendumu tackle petrol sniffing, in part through engagement with traditional culture and practice.

We need to recognise that up to 70 per cent of health problems stem from broader issues, such as poverty, unemployment and lack of education. Our investment and approach must respond to this evidence.

Research also shows that Indigenous-run services engage communities and produce the best results. The Australian Medical Association’s 2004 discussion paper Healing Hands noted that to create an equitable proportion of Indigenous health professionals we would need to train 928 doctors, 161 dentists and 2,570 nurses.

This means an investment in skills and training and building the capacity of the community sector. Such an investment now will pay dividends for generations.

We need to focus on the major health challenge facing our nation. The health of our Indigenous citizens can and must be improved. A national community commitment and evidence-based solutions are the keys to progress. It's time to focus on success and it’s time to demand results.