Browsing by Author "Mohamed J."
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Item A culturally responsive trauma-informed public health emergency framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia, developed during COVID-19.(2022-12-24) Graham S.; Kamitsis I.; Kennedy M.; Heris C.; Bright T.; Bennetts S.K.; Jones K.A.; Fiolet R.; Mohamed J.; Atkinson C.; Chamberlain C.The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted peoples' livelihoods and mental wellbeing. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia continue to experience intergenerational trauma associated with colonization and may experience trauma-related distress in response to government responses to public health emergencies. We aimed to develop a culturally responsive trauma-informed public health emergency response framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led study involved: (i) a review of trauma-informed public health emergency responses to develop a draft framework (ii) interviews with 110 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents about how COVID-19 impacted their lives, and (iii) a workshop with 36 stakeholders about pandemic experiences using framework analysis to refine a culturally responsive trauma-informed framework. The framework included: an overarching philosophy (cultural humility, safety and responsiveness); key enablers (local leadership and Eldership); supporting strategies (provision of basic needs and resources, well-functioning social systems, human rights, dignity, choice, justice and ethics, mutuality and collective responsibility, and strengthening of existing systems); interdependent core concepts (safety, transparency, and empowerment, holistic support, connectedness and collaboration, and compassion, protection and caring); and central goals (a sense of security, resilience, wellbeing, self- and collective-efficacy, hope, trust, resilience, and healing from grief and loss).Copyright © 2022 by the authors.Item A unified call to action from Australian nursing and midwifery leaders: ensuring that Black lives matter.(2020-08-21) Geia L.; Baird K.; Bail K.; Barclay L.; Bennett J.; Best O.; Birks M.; Blackley L.; Blackman R.; Bonner A.; Bryant Ao R.; Buzzacott C.; Campbell S.; Catling C.; Chamberlain C.; Cox L.; Cross W.; Cruickshank M.; Cummins A.; Dahlen H.; Daly J.; Darbyshire P.; Davidson P.; Denney-Wilson E.; De Souza R.; Doyle K.; Drummond A.; Duff J.; Duffield C.; Dunning T.; East L.; Elliott D.; Elmir R.; Fergie Oam D.; Ferguson C.; Fernandez R.; Flower Am D.; Foureur M.; Fowler C.; Fry M.; Gorman E.; Grant J.; Gray J.; Halcomb E.; Hart B.; Hartz D.; Hazelton M.; Heaton L.; Hickman L.; Homer Ao C.S.E.; Hungerford C.; Hutton A.; Jackson Ao D.; Johnson A.; Kelly M.A.; Kitson A.; Knight S.; Levett-Jones T.; Lindsay D.; Lovett R.; Luck L.; Molloy L.; Manias E.; Mannix J.; Marriott A.M.R.; Martin M.; Massey D.; McCloughen A.; McGough S.; McGrath L.; Mills J.; Mitchell B.G.; Mohamed J.; Montayre J.; Moroney T.; Moyle W.; Moxham L.; Northam Oam H.; Nowlan S.; O'Brien A.P.; Ogunsiji O.; Paterson C.; Pennington K.; Peters K.; Phillips J.; Power T.; Procter N.; Ramjan L.; Ramsay N.; Rasmussen B.; Rihari-Thomas J.; Rind B.; Robinson M.; Roche M.; Sainsbury K.; Salamonson Y.; Sherwood J.; Shields L.; Sim J.; Skinner I.; Smallwood G.; Smallwood R.; Stewart L.; Taylor S.; Usher Am K.; Virdun C.; Wannell J.; Ward R.; West C.; West R.; Wilkes L.; Williams R.; Wilson R.; Wynaden D.; Wynne R.Nurses and midwives of Australia now is the time for change! As powerfully placed, Indigenous and non-Indigenous nursing and midwifery professionals, together we can ensure an effective and robust Indigenous curriculum in our nursing and midwifery schools of education. Today, Australia finds itself in a shifting tide of social change, where the voices for better and safer health care ring out loud. Voices for justice, equity and equality reverberate across our cities, our streets, homes, and institutions of learning. It is a call for new songlines of reform. The need to embed meaningful Indigenous health curricula is stronger now than it ever was for Australian nursing and midwifery. It is essential that nursing and midwifery leadership continue to build an authentic collaborative environment for Indigenous curriculum development. Bipartisan alliance is imperative for all academic staff to be confident in their teaching and learning experiences with Indigenous health syllabus. This paper is a call out. Now is the time for Indigenous and non-Indigenous nurses and midwives to make a stand together, for justice and equity in our teaching, learning, and practice. Together we will dismantle systems, policy, and practices in health that oppress. The Black Lives Matter movement provides us with a 'now window' of accepted dialogue to build a better, culturally safe Australian nursing and midwifery workforce, ensuring that Black Lives Matter in all aspects of health care.Item "Bridging two worlds?": Towards cultural safety within schools of nursing in Australian universities.(2022-04-08) Petric S.; Hart B.; Mohamed J.Background: Cultural safety has a stronghold within nursing practice and nursing education in Australia and is seen as a philosophy and practice that challenges and refutes previous concepts and frameworks of cultural awareness and cultural competence (Petric, 2019). Cultural safety practices are required for all members of the nursing profession, with a gaze now focused upon Australian Schools of Nursing to demonstrate their commitment and readiness towards cultural safety. AIM: This research study measures the commitment and readiness towards cultural safety within Schools of Nursing in Australian universities. Methods: This research study utilises a quantitative descriptive survey design, inviting the Deans of Schools of Nursing in Australia to respond to a modified Occupational Commitment and Health Professional Program Readiness Assessment Compass (DOH, 2014), that measures the current levels of commitment and readiness towards cultural safety. FINDINGS: This research study provides evidence of cultural safety strategies within Australian Schools of Nursing with leadership and commitment being the highest scoring factor (M = 34.81; SD 6.34). However, structures towards and support for the implementation of cultural safety strategies and practices were demonstrated as weaknesses (M = 21.18; SD 4.71). DISCUSSION: There is a valuable opportunity for leadership and knowledge sharing between Schools of Nursing in Australia. The research outcomes highlight the importance for Schools of Nursing to review, reflect upon, and fully implement the Nursing and Midwifery Curriculum Framework (CATSINaM, 2017) and to audit and report levels of cultural safety. Conclusions: There are cultural safety champions and their leadership is important to the continuing development of curricula, organisations and the profession. These individuals' actions must also be reflected within and supported by organisational cultures, as they fundamentally encourage or obstruct the development of cultural safety in nursing students and academics; material, cultural and human resources are fundamental to the transformations towards cultural safety and to the decolonising practices of the nursing profession (Petric, 2019).Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Item Converging crises: public interest journalism, the pandemic and public health.(2021-01-12) Sweet M.A.; Williams M.; Armstrong R.; Mohamed J.; Finlay S.M.; Coopes A.Public interest journalism has faced a longstanding funding crisis, cutbacks of staff and resources, and closures of newsrooms. This crisis is a critical public health concern, and it has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the pandemic has highlighted the important roles played by public interest journalism - including in addressing health equity issues. The pandemic has also highlighted the need to address structural weaknesses in the media industry, with concentration of media ownership and underfunding of public broadcasters leading to many communities being under-served and under-represented. The public health sector can make important contributions to developing and sustaining a robust, public interest journalism sector. Public health professionals and organisations can advocate for policy reform to support public interest journalism, and incorporate consideration of public interest journalism into advocacy, education, research and practice. Copyright © 2020 Sweet et al.Item Dismantling structural racism: nursing must not be caught on the wrong side of history.(2021-06-29) Moorley C.; Darbyshire P.; Serrant L.; Mohamed J.; Ali P.; De Souza R.Item Enshrining a First Nations voice to Australian parliament will advance global health equity.(2023-12-14) Abimbola S.; Lo S.N.; Stewart P.; Crabb B.; Mohamed J.; Evans H.; Patel A.; Fisher J.; Anderson I.Item Key features of a trauma-informed public health emergency approach: a rapid review.Heris C.L.; Kennedy M.; Graham S.; Bennetts S.K.; Atkinson C.; Mohamed J.; Woods C.; Chennall R.; Chamberlain C.COVID-19 is a major threat to public safety, and emergency public health measures to protect lives (e.g., lockdown, social distancing) have caused widespread disruption. While these measures are necessary to prevent catastrophic trauma and grief, many people are experiencing heightened stress and fear. Public health measures, risks of COVID-19 and stress responses compound existing inequities in our community. First Nations communities are particularly at risk due to historical trauma, ongoing socio-economic deprivation, and lack of trust in government authorities as a result of colonization. The objective of this study was to review evidence for trauma-informed public health emergency responses to inform development of a culturally-responsive trauma-informed public health emergency framework for First Nations communities. We searched relevant databases from 1/1/2000 to 13/11/2020 inclusive, which identified 40 primary studies (and eight associated references) for inclusion in this review. Extracted data were subjected to framework and thematic synthesis. No studies reported evaluations of a trauma-informed public health emergency response. However, included studies highlighted key elements of a "trauma-informed lens," which may help to consider implications, reduce risks and foster a sense of security, wellbeing, self- and collective-efficacy, hope and resilience for First Nations communities during COVID-19. We identified key elements for minimizing the impact of compounding trauma on First Nations communities, including: a commitment to equity and human rights, cultural responsiveness, good communication, and positive leadership. The six principles guiding trauma-informed culturally-responsive public health emergency frameworks included: (i) safety, (ii) empowerment, (iii) holistic support, (iv) connectedness and collaboration, (v) compassion and caring, and (vi) trust and transparency in multi-level responses, well-functioning social systems, and provision of basic services. These findings will be discussed with First Nations public health experts, together with data on the experiences of First Nations families and communities during COVID-19, to develop a trauma-integrated public health emergency response framework or "lens" to minimize compounding trauma for First Nations communities. Copyright © 2022 Heris, Kennedy, Graham, Bennetts, Atkinson, Mohamed, Woods, Chennall and Chamberlain.Item Knowledge translation in Indigenous health research: voices from the field.(2024-07-03) Kennedy M.; Ninomiya M.M.; Brascoupe S.; Smylie J.; Calma T.; Mohamed J.; Stewart P.J.; Maddox R.Objectives: To better understand what knowledge translation activities are effective and meaningful to Indigenous communities and what is required to advance knowledge translation in health research with, for, and by Indigenous communities. Study design: Workshop and collaborative yarning. Setting(s): Lowitja Institute International Indigenous Health Conference, Cairns, June 2023. Participant(s): About 70 conference delegates, predominantly Indigenous people involved in research and Indigenous health researchers who shared their knowledge, experiences, and recommendations for knowledge translation through yarning and knowledge sharing. Result(s): Four key themes were developed using thematic analysis: knowledge translation is fundamental to research and upholding community rights; knowledge translation approaches must be relevant to local community needs and ways of mobilising knowledge; researchers and research institutions must be accountable for ensuring knowledge translation is embedded, respected and implemented in ways that address community priorities; and knowledge translation must be planned and evaluated in ways that reflect Indigenous community measures of success. Conclusion(s): Knowledge translation is fundamental to making research matter, and critical to ethical research. It must be embedded in all stages of research practice. Effective knowledge translation approaches are Indigenous-led and move beyond Euro-Western academic metrics. Institutions, funding bodies, and academics should embed structures required to uphold Indigenous knowledge translation. We join calls for reimaging health and medical research to embed Indigenous knowledge translation as a prerequisite for generative knowledge production that makes research matter.Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Medical Journal of Australia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of AMPCo Pty Ltd.Item Population-level contribution of interpersonal discrimination to psychological distress among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, and to Indigenous-non-Indigenous inequities: cross-sectional analysis of a community-controlled First Nations cohort study.(2023-01-17) Thurber K.A.; Brinckley M.-M.; Jones R.; Evans O.; Nichols K.; Priest N.; Guo S.; Williams D.R.; Gee G.C.; Joshy G.; Banks E.; Thandrayen J.; Baffour B.; Mohamed J.; Calma T.; Lovett R.Background: International and population-specific evidence identifies elevated psychological distress prevalence among those experiencing interpersonal discrimination. We aim to quantify the potential whole-of-population contribution of interpersonal discrimination to psychological distress prevalence and Indigenous-non-Indigenous gaps in Australia. Method(s): We did a cross-sectional analysis of data from Mayi Kuwayu: the National Study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing. Baseline surveys were completed between June 8, 2018, and Sept 28, 2022. We analysed responses from participants who were aged 18 years or older at survey completion, whose surveys were processed between Oct 1, 2018, and May 1, 2021. Sample weights were developed on the basis of national population benchmarks. We measured everyday discrimination using an eight-item measure modified from the Everyday Discrimination Scale and classified experiences as racial discrimination if participants attributed these experiences to their Indigeneity. Psychological distress was measured using a validated, modified Kessler-5 scale. Applying logistic regression, we calculated unadjusted odds ratios (ORs), to approximate incident rate ratios (IRRs), for high or very high psychological distress in relation to everyday discrimination and everyday racial discrimination across age-gender strata. Population attributable fractions (PAFs), under the hypothetical assumption that ORs represent causal relationships, were calculated using these ORs and population-level exposure prevalence. These PAFs were used to quantify the contribution of everyday racial discrimination to psychological distress gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous adults. Finding(s): 9963 survey responses were eligible for inclusion in our study, of which we analysed 9951 (99.9%); 12 were excluded due to responders identifying as a gender other than man or woman (there were too few responses from this demographic to be included as a category in stratified tables or adjusted analyses). The overall prevalence of psychological distress was 48.3% (95% CI 47.0-49.6) in those experiencing everyday discrimination compared with 25.2% (23.8-26.6) in those experiencing no everyday discrimination (OR 2.77 [95% CI 2.52-3.04]) and psychological distress prevalence was 49.0% (95% CI 47.3-50.6) in those experiencing everyday racial discrimination and 31.8% (30.6-33.1) in those experiencing no everyday racial discrimination (OR 2.06 [95% CI 1.88-2.25]. Overall, 49.3% of the total psychological distress burden among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults could be attributable to everyday discrimination (39.4-58.8% across strata) and 27.1% to everyday racial discrimination. Everyday racial discrimination could explain 47.4% of the overall gap in psychological distress between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people (40.0-60.3% across strata). Interpretation(s): Our findings show that interpersonal discrimination might contribute substantially to psychological distress among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, and to inequities compared with non-Indigenous adults. Estimated PAFs include contributions from social and health disadvantage, reflecting contributions from structural racism. Although not providing strictly conclusive evidence of causality, this evidence is sufficient to indicate the psychological harm of interpersonal discrimination. Findings add weight to imperatives to combat discrimination and structural racism at its core. Urgent individual and policy action is required of non-Indigenous people and colonial structures, directed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Funding(s): National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, Ian Potter Foundation, Australian Research Council, US National Institutes of Health, and Sierra Foundation.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier LtdItem Special issue in partnership with the Lowitja Institute: centring Indigenous knowledges.(2024-07-05) Hughes J.; Kennedy M.; Kong K.; Mohamed J.; Pearson O.; Stewart P.; Ward J.; Barbour V.; Zuccala E.Item Talking about the 'r' word: a right to a health system that is free of racism.(2021-04-10) Parter C.; Murray D.; Mohamed J.; Rambaldini B.; Calma T.; Wilson S.; Hartz D.; Gwynn J.; Skinner J.Australia's local, state, territory and federal governments have agreed that the 10-year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians will be closed by 2031. However, annual Closing the Gap reports tabled by the various prime ministers in the Australian Parliament (for the past 12 years) have consistently indicated that the life expectancy gap continues to widen. Australia has seen more than three decades of government policies since the landmark 1989 National Aboriginal health strategy. What has been missing from these policy commitments is the genuine enactment of the knowledges that are held by Indigenous Australians relating to their cultural ways of being, knowing and doing. Privileging Indigenous knowledges, cultures and voices must be front and centre in developing, designing and implementing policies and programs. The sharing of power, provision of resources, culturally informed reflective policy making, and program design are critical elements. In this paper, we provide a conceptual model of practice, working at the cultural interface where knowledges are valued and innovations can occur. This model of practice is where knowledges and cultures can co-exist, and it could be the answer to Closing the Gap in life expectancy by 2031. Despite a growing willingness and need to consider these models, there remains a deep-seated resistance to identifying and addressing institutional and systemic racism and racist attitudes, including unconscious biases held by individuals. Further, western non-Indigenous worldviews of ways of being, knowing and doing continue to dominate the decisions and actions of governments - and consequentially dominate public health policies and practices. There is an unacceptable standard approach, for and about Indigenous health instead of with Indigenous peoples, resulting in the neglectful dismissal of Indigenous knowledges and Indigenous cultures of ways of being, knowing and doing. Copyright © 2021 Sax Institute. All rights reserved.Item The landscape of genomic structural variation in Indigenous Australians.(2023-12-15) Reis A.L.M.; Rapadas M.; Hammond J.M.; Gamaarachchi H.; Stevanovski I.; Ayuputeri Kumaheri M.; Chintalaphani S.R.; Dissanayake D.S.B.; Siggs O.M.; Hewitt A.W.; Llamas B.; Brown A.; Baynam G.; Mann G.J.; McMorran B.J.; Easteal S.; Hermes A.; Jenkins M.R.; Pearson G.; Roe Y.; Mohamed J.; Murray B.; Ormond-Parker L.; Kneipp E.; Nugent K.; Mann G.; Patel H.R.; Deveson I.W.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 1-3. 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. Here we apply population-scale whole-genome long-read sequencing 4 to profile genomic structural variation across four remote Indigenous communities. We uncover an abundance of large insertion-deletion variants (20-49 bp; n = 136,797), structural variants (50 b-50 kb; n = 159,912) and regions of variable copy number (>50 kb; n = 156). The majority of variants are composed of tandem repeat or interspersed mobile element sequences (up to 90%) and have not been previously annotated (up to 62%). A large fraction of structural variants appear to be exclusive to Indigenous Australians (12% lower-bound estimate) and most of these are found in only a single community, underscoring the need for broad and deep sampling to achieve a comprehensive catalogue of genomic structural variation across the Australian continent. Finally, we explore short tandem repeats throughout the genome to characterize allelic diversity at 50 known disease loci 5, uncover hundreds of novel repeat expansion sites within protein-coding genes, and identify unique patterns of diversity and constraint among short tandem repeat sequences. Our study sheds new light on the dimensions and dynamics of genomic structural variation within and beyond Australia.Copyright © 2023, The Author(s).Item To what extent could eliminating racial discrimination reduce inequities in mental health and sleep problems among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children? A causal mediation study.(2024-10-13) Priest N.; Guo S.; Wijesuriya R.; Chamberlain C.; Smith R.; Davis S.; Mohamed J.; Moreno-Betancur M.Background: Racism is a fundamental cause of health inequities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. We estimated the potential reduction in inequities in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's mental health and sleep problems if interpersonal racial discrimination was eliminated. Method(s): We drew on cross-sectional data from the Speak Out Against Racism (SOAR; N = 2818) and longitudinal data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC; N = 8627). The SOAR was completed in 2017 and the LSAC followed children from 2004 to 2014 in the kindergarten cohort and from 2008 to 2018 in the birth cohort. Exposure: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander/Anglo-European), a proxy measure of structural racism (SOAR: 10-15 years; LSAC: 4-5 years); Mediator: interpersonal racial discrimination (yes/no) (SOAR: 10-15 years; LSAC: 12-13 years); Outcomes: mental health problems (yes/no) and sleep problems (yes/no) (SOAR: 10-15 years; LSAC: 14-15 years). An interventional effects causal mediation approach was used. Finding(s): Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children had higher prevalence of mental health problems (SOAR: 40.1% versus 13.5%; LSAC: 25.3% versus 7.6%) and sleep problems (SOAR: 28.5% versus 18.4%; LSAC: 14.0% versus 9.9%) than Anglo-European children. Hypothetical interventions eliminating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's experiences of interpersonal racial discrimination could reduce 42.4% and 48.5% of mental health and sleep inequities in SOAR (equivalent to 11.2% and 4.7% absolute reductions) and 25.6% and 1.6% of mental health and sleep inequities in LSAC (equivalent to 5.5% and 0.1% absolute reductions). Absolute remaining inequities were similar across both studies for both outcomes. Interpretation(s): Targeted policy interventions that eliminate racial discrimination against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children could have high potential to reduce inequities in mental health and sleep problems. Addressing racism and racial discrimination needs a multi-component and multi-level approach directed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Funding(s): National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and Medical Research Future Fund of Australia.Copyright © 2024 The Author(s)Item Upholding our rights in research: calling for urgent investment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research ethics.(2023-07-07) Kennedy M.; Mohamed J.Item Who is speaking for us? Identifying Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholarship in health research.(2021-10-21) Mohamed J.; Matthews V.; Bainbridge R.; Williams M.Item "You can't replace that feeling of connection to culture and country": Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents' experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic.(2023-03-20) Kennedy M.; Bright T.; Graham S.; Heris C.; Bennetts S.K.; Fiolet R.; Davis E.; Jones K.A.; Mohamed J.; Atkinson C.; Chamberlain C.This Aboriginal-led study explores Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents' experiences of COVID-19. 110 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents were interviewed between October 2020 and March 2022. Participants were recruited through community networks and partner health services in South Australia, Victoria, and Northern Territory, Australia. Participants were predominantly female (89%) and based in Victoria (47%) or South Australia (45%). Inductive thematic analysis identified three themes: (1) Changes to daily living; (2) Impact on social and emotional wellbeing; and (3) Disconnection from family, community, and culture. COVID-19 impacted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. Disruption to cultural practice, and disconnection from country, family, and community was detrimental to wellbeing. These impacts aggravated pre-existing inequalities and may continue to have greater impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and communities due to intergenerational trauma, stemming from colonisation, violence and dispossession and ongoing systemic racism. We advocate for the development of a framework that ensures an equitable approach to future public health responses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.Copyright © 2022 by the authors.