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The colonisation of Australia around 250 years ago left a significant enduring impact on the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Vitamin D may play a role in modulating mental health as its receptors are present in the brain regions associated with mood and behaviour regulation.
First Nations women often experience harmful, inequitable maternity care, shaped by intergenerational trauma and culturally unsafe care. Historical forced removal of First Nations children has created enduring trauma that influences pregnancy and birthing experiences. In the Australian Capital Territory, maternity care is provided through Western biomedical systems, where increasing child protection interventions and fear of surveillance affect women's engagement with care.
Children's development is dependent on a range of factors influencing their life course outcomes. Protective and challenging social and cultural determinants impact how Indigenous families support their children's developmental foundations. However, there is a lack of international evidence investigating Indigenous child development interventions.
Skin concerns are frequent among urban-living Aboriginal children, yet specialist dermatology consultations are limited with studies highlighting the need for improved cultural security. Through newly established paediatric dermatology clinics at two urban Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), we aimed to describe clinic and patient data, including disease frequencies and associations, to inform dermatology service provision and advocacy.
Despite increasing urbanisation, little is known about skin health for urban-living Aboriginal children and young people (CYP, aged <18 years). This study aimed to investigate the primary care burden and clinical characteristics of skin conditions in this cohort.
Australia does not have a national strategy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescent health and as a result, policy and programming actions are fragmented and may not be responsive to needs. Efforts to date have also rarely engaged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in co-designing solutions. The Roadmap Project aims to work in partnership with young people to define priority areas of health and well-being need and establish the corresponding developmentally appropriate, evidence-based actions.
Facilitate research interest & opportunities that involve Aboriginal families & communities and build the capacity and development of Institute researchers
There is scant literature about the management of stillbirth and the subsequent risk of severe maternal morbidity (SMM). We aimed to assess the risk of SMM associated with stillbirths compared with live births and whether this differed by the presence of maternal comorbidities.
Fiona Pete Stanley Azzopardi FAA FASSA MSc MD FFPHM FAFPHM FRACP FRANZCOG HonDSc HonDUniv HonFRACGP HonMD HonFRCPCH HonLLB (honoris causa) PhD, FRACP
This population-based study investigated the association of BMI and other predictors with gestational diabetes mellitus among Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal mothers. We conducted a state-wide retrospective cohort study that included all singleton births in Western Australia between 2012 and 2015 using population health datasets linked by the Western Australian Data Linkage Branch.