Health and healthcare for Indigenous Australians

The discipline aims to improve the health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through quality education, research and engagement at individual, family, community and policy levels. 

Indigenous Health research

The School of Public Health’s Indigenous Health Discipline, Girra Maa, engages in quality research that helps convey the value of Indigenous peoples’ knowledge's and practices as being relevant for all.

Cross disciplinary in nature, Girra Maa’s research has widespread importance to all the Faculty of Health staff and students. Girra Maa has a role in ensuring researchers understand the unique position Indigenous Australians hold and cultural imperatives to underpin research.

Research Areas

Girra Maa is active in research, development and translation. Girra Maa’s research is about:

· Aboriginal youth social and emotional wellbeing

· Criminal justice as a determinant of health

· Models of care and program evaluation

· Methods for learning and teaching about Indigenous health.

The Discipline is focused on developing research partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.

Oldmeadow. Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases. https://www.gacd.org/community/research-network/projects?programme-countries=australia

Co-designing game-based farm safety education for adolescents. A national farm injury prevention education program for secondary school-aged adolescents. Lead by Amy Peden @ UNSW with a consortia of members, Faye McMillan (Chief Investigator). National Farm Safety Education Fund: Improving Farm Safety Practice. https://www.kidsafetas.com.au/uploads/FarmSafe_SaferFarmsReport2022.pdf

Strengthening Indigenous adolescent mental health and wellbeing. Bainbridge, R.,McCalman, J.,Cadet-James, Y., Tsey, K., McGorry, P.,Ballie, R., Dudgeon, P., Matthews, V., Ungar, M., McMillan, F (Chief Investigator)., Doran, C.,Spurling, G., Hirvonen, T., Askew, D., Langham, E. Australian Research Council: Indigenous Discovery. https://www.cqu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/140110/Centre-for-Indigenous-Health-Equity-Research-Grants-list-2020.pdf

Bush medicine-based scabies treatment. Jackson Thomas, Tom Calma, Daniel Engelman, Gregory Peterson, Shelley Walton, Mark Daniel, Tim Spelman, Faye McMillan (Chief Investigator), Andrew Steer. Medical Research Futures Fund Clinical Trials - Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and “Unmet Need”. https://www.canberra.edu.au/about-uc/media/newsroom/2019/march/uc-researcher-awarded-$1.3-million-grant-for-bush-medicine-based-scabies-treatment

Improving coverage, confidence, and knowledge about COVID-19 vaccination among Aboriginal women of child-bearing age in Western Australia. Associate Professor Anne-Marie Eades, Professor Sandra Eades, Associate Professor Katie Atwell, Dr Zoe Bradfield, Professor Chris Blyth, Professor Juli Coffin, Dr Sharynne Hamilton, Dr Samantha Carlson, Dr Martyn Symons, Dr Hueiming Liu, Ms Tiana Culbung, Ms Lesley Nelson, Mrs Margaret O Connell & Dr Tilsa Guima Chinen. NHMRC Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). 2022-2024.

Inner qualities versus inequalities’: A case study of student change learning about Aboriginal health using sequential, explanatory mixed methods. Sally Fitzpatrick (UNSW Future Health Leaders Program, Professional Doctorate in Applied Public Health, 2014-2023). Workplace Elder: Aunty Ali Golding (Birpai). Academic supervisors: Assoc Prof Sally Nathan (SPH, Primary Supervisor), Hon Assoc Prof Lois Meyer (SPH, Joint Supervisor), Conj Assoc Prof Melissa Haswell (SPH, Co-supervisor), Hon Assoc Prof Jan Ritchie (SPH, Mentor). Workplace supervisors: Prof Megan Williams (Wiradjuri, palawa), Prof Aunty Kerrie Doyle (Winninninni, Cadigal), Dist Prof Annemarie Hennessy AM, Prof Lisa Jackson Pulver AM (Wiradjuri).

Scoping review of Social Emotional Wellbeing measurement instruments, Customer Experience research, co-design of prison experience survey. Professor Megan Williams (Chief Investigator A), Dr Rohan Lulham, Dr Mark Ragg, Dr Kevin Bradley, Dr Demelza Marlin. Corrective Services NSW. 2022-2023.

Living Our Ways Community-driven Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disability research program, NSW Family and Community Services, led by First Peoples Disability Network.

Role of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations in correctional centres, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian Centre for Research Excellence in Offender Health, Kirby Institute, UNSW.

Girra Maa is available to:

· Support ethical conduct of Indigenous health research

· Increase Indigenous health research activities, translation and outputs

· Contribute to the development of the next generation of Indigenous health researchers

· Promote Indigenous health research partnership opportunities to UTS staff.

Current & Completed Projects

Here we share our current and completed research projects. Many are funded, multi-institutional projects, some are community-partnered and some are unfunded. They are all making important contributions to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health and social emotional wellbeing.

Bangamalhana: A collaborative through care program for young Aboriginal women transitioning from prison to community. Prof Elizabeth Sullivan, Prof Megan Williams (Chief Investigator B), Assoc Prof Melissa Kang, Prof Juanita Sherwood, Prof Eileen Baldry, Prof Julia Bowman, Prof James Brown, Dr Sungwong Chan, Ms Faye Worner, Dr Sarah Wayland. National Health and Medical Research Council Targeted Call for Research (APP1154002). 2019-2024.

Indigenous Mental Health Intervention Program (IMHIP) – Youth. Assoc Prof Ed Heffernan, Prof Megan Williams (Chief Investigator B), Assoc Prof Scott Harden, Prof James Scott, Dr Marshall Watson, Assoc Prof Stephen Stathis, Prof Stuart Kinner, Dr Carla Meurk, Dr Megan Steele, Mr Gregory Pratt. Medical Research Futures Fund (MRFF) 2019 Indigenous Health Research (App1200300). https://orb-tan-9e7z.squarespace.com/. 2019-2024

STRengthening systems for InDigenous healthcare Equity (CRE-STRIDE). Dr Veronica Matthews, Prof Ross Bailie, Assoc Prof Roxanne Bainbridge, Prof Sarah Larkins, Assoc Prof Megan Passey, Assoc Prof Janya McCalman, Prof Megan Williams (Chief Investigator G), Dr Nikki Percival, Assoc Prof Catrina Felton-Busch, Prof Yvonne Cadet-James. National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence (APP1170882). https://ucrh.edu.au/cre-stride/. 2020-2024

Strengthening access to best evidence based care for people with palliative care needs in Australian prisons: A national co-design and capacity building project (GO1995): A National Palliative Care Project. Prof Jane Phillips (lead; QUT) with 21 investigators in consortia, Prof Megan Williams (Chief Investigator). Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. https://www.uts.edu.au/research-and-teaching/our-research/impacct/about-us/research-impacct/studies/palliative-care-prisons-project. 2021-2024

Mibbinbah Be the Best You Can Be: Health promotion quality improvement through development of evaluation framework and tools. Jack Bulman, Mibbinbah, Prof Megan Williams (co-lead). CRE-STRIDE. https://www.mibbinbah.org/. 2022-2023

Scoping review of Social Emotional Wellbeing measurement instruments, Customer Experience research, co-design of prison experience survey. Prof Megan Williams (Chief Investigator A), Dr Rohan Lulham, Dr Mark Ragg, Dr Kevin Bradley, Dr Demelza Marlin. Corrective Services NSW. 2022-2023.

Supporting Aboriginal Women carers using a strengths based approach to the development of carer and clinician resources. Professor Faye McMillan AM (Chief Investigator A), Aunty Lorraine Tye, Aunty Patty Morris, Dr Jane Havelka, Jasmine Williams, Ella Havelka & Anna Gannon. MRFF Indigenous Health Research Fund.

Timely post-discharge medication reviews to Improve Continuity – the Transitions Of Care stewardship (TIC TOC) study in rural and regional Australia. MRFF 2022 Quality, Safety and Effectiveness of Medicine Use and Medicine Intervention by Pharmacists, Penm J, Angley M, Moles R, Criddle D, Elliott R, Rigby D, Shakib S, Sanfilippo F, Carter C, Budgeon C, Nguyen K, Yates P, Phillips K, Yik J, McMillan F, Hawthorne D, Penm M, Fleming C, Packer A, Hawthorne A, Krogh L, Poon S, Khlentzos A, Khlentzos J.

ISISTAQUIT scale-up in Indigenous populations in Australia. Faye McMillan (Chief Investigator 1), Gillian Gould, Brian Oldenburg – Baker Institute, Tom Calma, Marilyn Clarke, Ratika Kumar, Chris Doran, Michelle Bovill (now Michelle Kennedy), Chris

Our Research Academics 
SoPH Indigenous Health Academics