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More than 35% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults live with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease. There is a pressing need for chronic disease prevention and management among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. Therefore, this review aimed to synthesise a decade of contemporary evidence to understand the barriers and enablers of chronic disease prevention and management for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with a view to developing policy and practice recommendations. 

Premature onset of type 2 diabetes and excess mortality are critical issues internationally, particularly in Indigenous populations. There is an urgent need for developmentally appropriate and culturally safe models of care. We describe the methods for the codesign, implementation and evaluation of enhanced models of care with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth living with type 2 diabetes across Northern Australia. 

Pelvic health conditions among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and men are under-recognised and under-reported despite indication of the significant burden of these conditions. Access to effective management provided in a culturally safe manner appears lacking.

Chris Valerie Brennan-Jones Swift PhD Head, Ear and Hearing Health Aboriginal Co-Director, Djaalinj Waakinj Centre for Ear and Hearing Health;

The Indigenous peoples of Australia have a rich linguistic and cultural history. How this relates to genetic diversity remains largely unknown because of their limited engagement with genomic studies. Here we analyse the genomes of 159 individuals from four remote Indigenous communities, including people who speak a language (Tiwi) not from the most widespread family (Pama-Nyungan). This large collection of Indigenous Australian genomes was made possible by careful community engagement and consultation.

Indigenous Australians harbour rich and unique genomic diversity. However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestries are historically under-represented in genomics research and almost completely missing from reference datasets. Addressing this representation gap is critical, both to advance our understanding of global human genomic diversity and as a prerequisite for ensuring equitable outcomes in genomic medicine.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is highly prevalent within the Indigenous Australian community. Novel glucose monitoring technology offers an accurate approach to glycaemic management, providing real-time information on glucose levels and trends. The acceptability and feasibilility of this technology in Indigenous Australians with T2DM has not been investigated. 

Discharge against medical advice (DAMA) is a priority issue for the health system. Little is known about the factors associated with DAMA for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (Aboriginal) children in Australia. 

A project, lead by Aboriginal and Aboriginal LGBTQA+ researchers examining the mental health of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ people, is launching a nation-wide survey, to help drive meaningful change for the community.

Outstanding Aboriginal mental health researcher Professor Juli Coffin has taken out top honours at the 2021 Western Australian Mental Health Awards in recognition of her ground-breaking work to enhance Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing.