New education opportunities and career pathways are planned as part of a recently opened Queensland centre specialising in the health needs of Indigenous populations in urban settings.Opened in early November 2009 by Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health and Regional Services Delivery, Warren Snowdon, the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health in Brisbane received funding totalling $312,618 toward the establishment and implementation of its initial phase.With the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people currently residing in urban centres, enabling access to services for Indigenous people was crucial to “closing the gap in health status between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians,” Snowdon said in a statement at the opening.

“This Institute will go a long way to a coordinated, integrated approach to the planning, development and delivery of primary health care services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations within the region, involving Indigenous-specific and key mainstream providers.”

As well as integrating health planning and services within Brisbane and the surrounding regions to meet the health needs of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, the institute will establish a new teaching centre in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health through collaboration with the Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Queensland (UQ).

Health providers, educators and government departments confirm that historically the specific needs of urban Indigenous populations have been overlooked in favour of a focus on Indigenous populations in remote areas. However, if data from the Federal Department of Health is any indication, centres of research and teaching specialising in Australian cities’ Indigenous populations are in demand.

“Most Indigenous Australians - nearly one-third - live in major cities, followed by outer regional and inner regional areas,” a spokeswoman for the Department confirmed. “The smallest proportion of Indigenous people live in remote and very remote Australia.”

And while at first glance, access to basic health services such as antenatal care appears, at 96 per cent, high for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, closer reading shows that Indigenous populations’ needs are being sidelined, with 46 per cent of the demographic attending antenatal care during the first trimester compared to 62 per cent of non-Indigenous mothers.

Furthermore, a high percentage of Indigenous Australians in non-remote areas reports not accessing doctors, dentists and other health professionals when needed compared with those living in remote areas, the spokeswoman confirmed. Reasons for not accessing services varied between regions, although cost tended to be a key factor in non remote areas.

The Institute’s educational mandate ties in with emerging approaches to medical education which emphasise demand for services that caters to the specific needs of the Indigenous population.

According to the Committee of Deans of Australian Medical Schools (CDAMS) Indigenous Health Curriculum Framework of 2004, “a better informed medical education sector regarding Indigenous health issues will translate into better educational outcomes for medical students, which may, in turn, contribute to better health outcomes for Indigenous Australians.”

The framework also holds that recognising the specific needs of city or town dwelling Indigenous communities is critical.

“Teaching Indigenous health only as part of rural health can also potentially marginalise urban Indigenous experience. A significant proportion of Indigenouspeople live in urban areas. While the two separate disciplines may at times be appropriately taught together, it is important to balance rural teaching with urban placements.”

By Belinda Smart

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