Evaluation of a collaborative operation to improve child sexual abuse reporting in Western Australian indigenous communities

This study presents an evaluation of Operation RESET, a community engagement intervention designed to help remote Indigenous communities and human service agencies to uncover, respond to, and prevent child sexual abuse. The primary aim of this evaluation was to determine whether the intervention was associated with increased reporting. Data were obtained for six Western Australian regions between 2007 and 2012. Number of reports and arrests significantly increased in the intervention areas during the intervention compared with the pre-intervention time period but not in the control areas. Arrest rates significantly increased during the intervention and increased further following the intervention. There were no changes in arrest rates in regions that did not participate in the operation. This evidence suggests that the reforms led to a marked improvement in some key outcomes for Indigenous victims of child sexual abuse and supports the adoption of this collaborative approach by other jurisdictions.

Perspectives of sporting opportunities for remote indigenous Cape York communities

The health outcomes for Indigenous peoples are well publicised as being poorer than that of the rest of the Australian population. The importance of physical activity as part of a balanced approach to health and wellbeing are well documented. Physical inactivity is a significant risk factor for many preventable diseases that many non-Indigenous, but specifically more Indigenous peoples die from. A recent report on Indigenous health indicated that only 23% of adults living in remote and very remote areas, such as Cape York, participated in regular physical activity. Physical activity initiatives in remote Indigenous communities on Cape York are commonly delivered by external agencies that ‘fly in and fly out’. While members of Indigenous communities may engage with the initiatives while they are being provided once the external agencies leave some of the benefits made may be quickly lost. There is no current published literature on the variety, prevalence and outcomes of ‘fly-in fly-out’ physical activity programs, or on the agencies that provide them. An understanding of these factors would facilitate a better understanding of the opportunities available to Indigenous communities on Cape York and provide important foregrounding to an investigation of community capacity for physical activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the range of physical activity programs being offered by external agencies to Indigenous Cape York communities.

Methods: Five physical activity agencies that routinely engaged with Indigenous communities on Cape York were interviewed. The semi-structured interviews focussed on what activities were being conducted; by whom; when; and their concomitant outcomes. Interviews were recorded and professionally transcribed. Transcriptions were then analysed using content analysis to identify themes.

Results: Each physical activity agency had a variety of ways of engaging with community. The key initial focus point for each provider was the local school. Contacts within the school and opportunities to provide workshop opportunities for the students then facilitated wider community engagement.

Discussion: There were limited opportunities for these agencies to build community capacity to maintain their physical activities due to a variety of reasons that included: resources (both human and material); transient populations and an entrenched culture of ‘having things done to’ rather than with Indigenous people. In order to improve the physical activity outcomes of Indigenous people on Cape York community’s strategies that engage and empower the local population to take control of their needs should be employed.

Stores healthy options project in remote indigenous communities (SHOP@RIC): a protocol of a randomised trial promoting healthy food and beverage purchases through price discounts and in-store nutrition education

Background
Indigenous Australians suffer a disproportionate burden of preventable chronic disease compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts – much of it diet-related. Increasing fruit and vegetable intakes and reducing sugar-sweetened soft-drink consumption can reduce the risk of preventable chronic disease. There is evidence from some general population studies that subsidising healthier foods can modify dietary behaviour. There is little such evidence relating specifically to socio-economically disadvantaged populations, even though dietary behaviour in such populations is arguably more likely to be susceptible to such interventions.

This study aims to assess the impact and cost-effectiveness of a price discount intervention with or without an in-store nutrition education intervention on purchases of fruit, vegetables, water and diet soft-drinks among remote Indigenous communities.

Methods/Design
We will utilise a randomised multiple baseline (stepped wedge) design involving 20 communities in remote Indigenous Australia. The study will be conducted in partnership with two store associations and twenty Indigenous store boards. Communities will be randomised to either i) a 20% price discount on fruit, vegetables, water and diet soft-drinks; or ii) a combined price discount and in-store nutrition education strategy. These interventions will be initiated, at one of five possible time-points, spaced two-months apart. Weekly point-of-sale data will be collected from each community store before, during, and for six months after the six-month intervention period to measure impact on purchasing of discounted food and drinks. Data on physical, social and economic factors influencing weekly store sales will be collected in order to identify important covariates. Intervention fidelity and mediators of behaviour change will also be assessed.

Discussion
This study will provide original evidence on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of price discounts with or without an in-store nutrition education intervention on food and drink purchasing among a socio-economically disadvantaged population in a real-life setting.

What do indigenous communities think of the CSR practices of mining companies?

This paper examines how one indigenous community in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) views the social responsibility initiatives of OK Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML). This mining operation has been controversial since its inception, and various operators of the mine have sought to engage the community and to undertake a number of CSR-related projects. Insights gained from four focus groups amongst the Ok Tedi River indigenous communities show that while some members of the community are satisfied with the company’s efforts at the macro level, many have reservations about the effectiveness of the programs at the micro level on the village and family unit. The implementation of CSR activities are slow and in many instances do not effectively address stakeholder concerns.

Measuring community and service provider attitudes to child sexual abuse in remote indigenous communities in Western Australia

This study aimed to evaluate a scale to measure attitudes to child sexual abuse (CSA) in remote Australian Indigenous communities. The scale was developed to gauge attitudes that may be inhibiting the reporting of cases of CSA to police, as well as to evaluate whether interventions that focused on collaborative relationships between community members and police resulted in changes in attitudes. Participants included service providers living outside the community (58%), community members (living within the community; 9%), and service providers who were also community members (33%); 18% of participants identified as Indigenous. Principal components analysis revealed a nonintuitive six-factor solution that did not support the original four concepts. Four intuitive factors emerged from an abridged version of the scale: entrenched issues, personal understanding and knowledge, communication between community and government, and community action. The scale detected significant differences between community status and between Indigenous status groups on some factors.

The comparative cost of food and beverages at remote Indigenous communities, Northern Territory, Australia

OBJECTIVE: To determine the average price difference between foods and beverages in remote Indigenous community stores and capital city supermarkets and explore differences across products.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey compared prices derived from point-of-sale data in 20 remote Northern Territory stores with supermarkets in capital cities of the Northern Territory and South Australia for groceries commonly purchased in remote stores. Average price differences for products, supply categories and food groups were examined.

RESULTS: The 443 products examined represented 63% of food and beverage expenditure in remote stores. Remote products were, on average, 60% and 68% more expensive than advertised prices for Darwin and Adelaide supermarkets, respectively. The average price difference for fresh products was half that of packaged groceries for Darwin supermarkets and more than 50% for food groups that contributed most to purchasing.

CONCLUSIONS: Strategies employed by manufacturers and supermarkets, such as promotional pricing, and supermarkets' generic products lead to lower prices. These opportunities are not equally available to remote customers and are a major driver of price disparity.

IMPLICATIONS: Food affordability for already disadvantaged residents of remote communities could be improved by policies targeted at manufacturers, wholesalers and/or major supermarket chains.

Just deserts in post-colonial society : problems in the punishment of indigenous offenders.

Revised version of a paper presented to the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology Conference, Sydney, 2-3 October 2003 - disproportionate number of indigenous persons in the criminal justice system - the concept of 'just deserts' in regard to indigenous punishment - legislative reforms are needed to empower the judiciary in the sentencing process - must take account of the historical fact of dispossession - destructive effects on indigenous communities.

Addressing training needs for community care assessment in remote Indigenous communities

Access to Home and Community Care services in Australia is based on the assessed needs of individual clients, with individual Home and Community Care organisations generally being responsible for initial assessment of eligibility and need. Home and Community Care funded services are expected to operate within the agency's program guidelines and to adhere to minimum service standards. However, service delivery contexts in remote areas of Australia present particular challenges for staff in the practice of assessment and care planning. This paper discusses the findings of a project which investigated approaches to assessment of client needs in remote Home and Community Care services. Some of the challenges of providing care in remote/Indigenous contexts are discussed. The research project highlighted that there was an inadequate knowledge base to assist staff with assessment and care planning in these cross-cultural contexts; a greater focus on developing the assessment skills of staff was needed. Subsequently, an education program incorporating the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health was developed for Home and Community Care assessment staff in remote communities. Rather than focusing on process skills and procedures, the program was designed to equip staff with a solid and consistent conceptual framework to assist with assessment and care planning.

Just deserts in a post-colonial society : problems in the punishment of indigenous offenders

An enduring aspect of the operation of the criminal justice system in Australia has been the disproportionate representation of indigenous persons. Under current sentencing principles, aboriginality can be taken into account as a factor in mitigation because of the nature of social and economic disadvantage suffered by indigenous communities. It is contended that such an approach is inadequate as it fails to comprehend the reasons for that disadvantage. In short, the effects of colonialism and dispossession. An account of punishment will be developed that colonialism and dispossession cannot be omitted from any satisfactory account of the theory and history of punishment of indigenous persons. By relying on the notion of ‘just deserts’ an account of punishment will be proposed that extends the categories currently put forward to justify punishing indigenous persons. Traditional, philosophical accounts of punishment and insights from critical race theory will both be used in an attempt to articulate what ‘just deserts’ means in the context of a post-colonial society.

Assessment of indigenous older peoples ’ needs for home and community care in remote central Australia

The Home and Community Care (HACC) program in Australia provides services which supports older people to live at home. Individual HACC organisations are generally responsible for initial assessment of eligibility and need of clients presenting for services. This paper reports on a project which aimed to develop an understanding of the various approaches to assessment of client needs in Central Australia. The majority of clients in this geographical area are indigenous. The project was initiated in recognition of the primary importance of assessment in determining service access and service delivery and of the particular challenges faced by service providers in remote areas. This paper discusses key project findings including the client group and services provided, initial needs assessment and care planning processes. Evident inconsistencies in practice reflect a variety of complex contextual factors. Staff in remote areas have an inadequate knowledge base to draw upon to assist them with assessment and care planning decisions, and further research and professional development is required.

The recruitment and retention of Indigenous criminal justice agency staff in an Australian state

In Australia, as in other countries that have experienced colonisation, indigenous people are massively overrepresented in all stages of the criminal justice system. If criminal justice agencies are to provide culturally responsive and effective services to this group, it is important that they employ significant numbers of indigenous staff across all levels of their organisations. Despite the positive intentions of many justice agencies to increase the proportion of indigenous staff members they employ, the numbers remain low. In this article, we explore some of the possible reasons for this by reporting the results of focus groups conducted with existing indigenous justice agency employees. The employees raised a number of issues relevant to recruitment and retention. These are discussed in terms of their potential value in improving justice agency indigenous recruitment and retention strategies.