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Research

‘Can you sleep tonight knowing that child is going to be safe?’: Australian community organisation risk work in child protection practice

Risk averse practice has dominated the child protection field for decades, with high-profile child deaths, ever-tightening surveillance, and regulation of families. In this context, the practice of social work as ‘risk work’ including the use of risk assessment tools has been subject to substantial scholarly investigation. Less attention has been paid to the community organisations that play a central role in supporting child protection-involved parents. Based on interviews with Australian community workers, we examine their negotiation of the parent support/parent risk dichotomy.

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Prevalence and predictors of vitamin D deficiency in a nationally representative sample of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults

Vitamin D deficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration <50 nmol/l) is recognised as a public health problem globally. The present study details the prevalence and predictors of vitamin D deficiency in a nationally representative sample (n 3250) of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged ≥18 years. We used data from the 2012-2013 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (AATSIHS). Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem MS.

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Estimation of the force of infection and infectious period of skin sores in remote Australian communities using interval-censored data

Prevalence of impetigo (skin sores) remains high in remote Australian Aboriginal communities, Fiji, and other areas of socio-economic disadvantage. Skin sore infections, driven primarily in these settings by Group A Streptococcus (GAS) contribute substantially to the disease burden in these areas. Despite this, estimates for the force of infection, infectious period and basic reproductive ratio-all necessary for the construction of dynamic transmission models-have not been obtained.

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Symptom-related distress among indigenous Australians in specialist end-of-life care: Findings from the multi-jurisdictional palliative care outcomes collaboration data

These findings provide reassurance of reasonable equivalence of end-of-life outcomes for Indigenous patients who have been accepted for specialist palliative care

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Reference exome data for Australian Aboriginal populations to support health-based research

Our data set provides a useful reference point for genomic studies on Aboriginal Australians

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Raising strong, solid Koolunga: Values and beliefs about early child development among Perth's Aboriginal community

We detail the unique findings from an Aboriginal early child development research project with a specific focus on the Nyoongar/Aboriginal community of Perth

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Lessons learned in genetic research with Indigenous Australian participants

We reflect on the lessons learned from a recent genome‐wide association study of rheumatic heart disease with Aboriginal Australian participants

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Psychosocial disadvantage and residential remoteness is associated with Aboriginal women's mental health prior to childbirth

Optimal mental health in the pre-conception, pregnancy and postpartum periods is important for both maternal and infant wellbeing. Few studies, however, have focused on Indigenous women and the specific risk and protective factors that may prompt vulnerability to perinatal mental disorders in this culturally diverse population.

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Qualitative study of psychosocial factors impacting on Aboriginal women's management of chronic disease

The caring roles and responsibilities Aboriginal women have in their community impact on their health

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“If you don't speak from the heart, the young mob aren't going to listen at all”: An invitation for youth mental health services to engage in new ways of working

Building Bridges demonstrates the centrality of trusting relationships for systemic change and the way in which meaningful engagement is at the core of both the process and the outcome