218,638 research outputs found
Serum vitamin D levels, diabetes and cardio-metabolic risk factors in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
No full textAssesses levels of serum 25(OH)D in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and explores relationships between 25(OH)D and cardio-metabolic risk factors and diabetes.
Abstract
Background: Low levels of serum 25 – hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D), have been associated with development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD); however there are limited data on serum 25(OH)D in Indigenous Australians, a population at high risk for both diabetes and CVD. We aimed to assess levels of serum 25(OH)D in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and to explore relationships between 25(OH)D and cardio-metabolic risk factors and diabetes.
Methods: 592 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australian participants of The eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) Study, a cross-sectional analysis of a cohort study performed in 2007 – 2011, from urban and remote centres within communities, primary care and tertiary hospitals across Northern Territory, Far North Queensland and Western Australia. Assessment of serum 25(OH)D, cardio-metabolic risk factors (central obesity, diabetes, hypertension, history of cardiovascular disease, current smoker, low HDL-cholesterol), and diabetes (by history or HbA1c ≥ 6.5%) was performed. Associations were explored between 25(OH)D and outcome measures of diabetes and number of cardio-metabolic risk factors.
Results: The median (IQR) serum 25(OH)D was 60 (45 – 77) nmol/L, 31% had 25(OH)D <50 nmol/L. For participants with 25(OH)D < 50 vs ≥ 50 nmol/L, cardio-metabolic risk profile differed for: diabetes (54%, 36% p < 0.001), past history of cardiovascular disease (16%, 9%, p = 0.014), waist-hip ratio (0.98, 0.92, p < 0.001), urine albumin-creatinine ratio (2.7, 1.5 mg/mmol, p < 0.001). The OR (95% CI) for diabetes was 2.02 (1.03 – 3.95) for people in the lowest vs highest tertiles of 25(OH)D (<53 vs >72 nmol/L, respectively) after adjusting for known cardio-metabolic risk factors.
Conclusion: The percentage of 25(OH)D levels <50 nmol/L was high among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians from Northern and Central Australia. Low 25(OH)D level was associated with adverse cardio-metabolic risk profile and was independently associated with diabetes. These findings require exploration in longitudinal studies
Dr. Rodolfo D. Torres talk at University of Washington Tacoma: After Latino Metropolis
No full textThe role of class and spatial politics in Latino Los Angeles will be the subject of this timely talk. Professor Rodolfo D. Torres is co-author of the highly acclaimed book, Latino Metropolis (University of Minnesota Press, 2000). He will revisit this important book
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health plan 2013-2023
No full textIn 2008 Australian Governments committed to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on an incredibly important task - to achieve equality in health status and life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous Australians by the year 2031. The commitment – in the form of the Close the Gap Statement of Intent – creates the platform for this National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan, which has been developed in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their representatives.
This Health Plan provides a long-term, evidence-based policy framework as part of the overarching Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) approach to Closing the Gap in Indigenous disadvantage, which has been set out in the National Indigenous Reform Agreement (NIRA) signed in 2008. The NIRA has established a framework of national targets and policy building blocks. Two of the Closing the Gap targets, to halve the gap in child mortality by 2018 and close the life expectancy gap by 2031, go directly to health outcomes, while others address social determinants of health such as education and employment.
The Health Plan builds on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It adopts a strengths-based approach to ensure policies and programs improve health, social and emotional wellbeing, and resilience and promote positive health behaviours. It emphasises the centrality of culture in the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the rights of individuals to a safe, healthy and empowered life. The Health Plan also builds on existing strategies and planning approaches to improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health performance framework 2012 report: Australian Capital Territory
No full textThis report provides the latest information on how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are faring according to a range of indicators on health status, determinants or health and health system performance.Executive summaryThe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2012 report for the Australian Capital Territory finds areas of improvement in the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in the territory, including:a significant increase in health assessments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 55 years and over recorded through Medicare since the introduction of the National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes in July 2009corresponding increases in allied health-care services claimed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through Medicare since 1 July 2009. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have higher rates of general practitioner management plans and team care arrangements than non-Indigenous Australiansimmunisation coverage rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are close to those for other Australian children by age 5some improvements in literacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Year 3 and 5 between 2009 and 2011apparent retention rates from Year 7 to Year 10 and from Year 11 to Year 12 are higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Capital Territory than for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people nationally.Areas of concern include:high rates of smoking during pregnancy (51% total)around half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 18 and over reported drinking alcohol at short-term risky/high-risk levels in the past 12 months, which was higher than the proportion for non-Indigenous people and for Indigenous people nationallyalmost two-thirds (63%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 18 and over in the Australian Capital Territory have a disability or long-term health condition, which is higher than the proportion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people nationally (41%)breast cancer screening rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are lower than for other women
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services report 2011-12: online services report - key results
No full textThis report examines health services, Aboriginal community controlled and non-community controlled health organisations, funded by the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health.SummaryPrimary health careIn 2011-12, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health-care services, funded by the Australian Government, provided 2.6 million episodes of health care to about 445,000 clients. Compared with 2010-11, there was a 5% increase in episodes of care and a 3% increase in the number of clients reported. About 4 in 5 clients (79% or 350,000) were Indigenous.About 5,500 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, including 3,500 FTE health staff and 2,000 FTE managerial, administrative, support and other staff, worked for, and were paid by, health services providers. This is similar to the previous year. These staff were assisted in the delivery of primary health care by 395 FTE visiting health professionals who were paid for by other organisations.Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people held more than half (57%) of the FTE positions paid by health services providers.Substance use In 2011-12, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander substance use services (funded by the Australian Government) provided treatment and assistance for substance use issues to about 32,600 clients, an increase of 14% compared with 2010-11. More than 4 in 5 clients (83% or 27,000) were Indigenous.About 1,040 FTE staff from a variety of health (620 FTE) and managerial, administrative, support and other staff (420 FTE) worked for and, were paid by, health services providers. These staff were assisted in the delivery of substance use treatment by 58 FTE visiting health professionals who were paid for by other organisations.Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people held more than half (64%) of the FTE positions paid by health services providers.Bringing Them Home and Link Up counsellingIn 2011-12, Bringing Them Home and Link Up counselling services (funded by the Australian Government) provided counselling to about 9,800 clients, a decrease of about 17% compared with 2010-11. Most (96% or 9,400) clients were Indigenous.A total of 129 counsellors (113 FTE) were employed by the counselling services. Most services providers (83%) had at least one Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander counsellor.Data quality Data with significant and non-rectifiable quality issues were not included in this report. It should also be noted that some data presented in this report-particularly around client numbers, episodes of care and client contacts-were estimates of actual figures and should be used and interpreted with caution
Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: final report
No full textOn 28 November 2012, the Parliament agreed that a Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples be appointed to inquire into and report on steps that can be taken to progress towards a successful referendum on Indigenous constitutional recognition.
Chair\u27s foreword
For the last 114 years, Australia\u27s founding document, the Constitution, has been silent on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Excluded from voting, and from participating in the convention debates which led to the drafting of the Constitution, the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were silenced by the framers of the Constitution.
While there is no constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, that silence will continue. The absence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from the Constitution makes silent and renders invisible the world\u27s oldest continuing culture.
European contact began in the 1600s when ships from Europe first explored the coastlines of the lands and waters that would become known as Australia.
In 1770, Captain James Cook made landfall at Botany Bay. On 26 January 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip established a settlement at Sydney Cove made up of those who travelled as part of the First Fleet.
Over the next century, new colonies were founded and borders were drawn up across a continent that had been home to hundreds of Aboriginal nations for tens of thousands of years.
When the Constitution was drafted, the exclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was unremarkable for the time, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were not considered citizens and had minimal rights and protections.
However, the continued constitutional silence maintained by this exclusion is remarkable.
That our Constitution allows a state to ban a race from voting is remarkable.
That in our Constitution there are more references to lighthouses than to the first
peoples of this nation is remarkable.
That constitutional recognition has not occurred already is remarkable.
The Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples has engaged the Australian community on constitutional recognition by conducting fifteen public hearings, speaking with constitutional law experts and holding community forums. At all times, the committee has sought to hear the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The committee strongly believes that in order to achieve constitutional recognition, the support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is of critical importance. Without this support, the imposed silence of the past will continue into the future.
The committee has heard that it is time to remedy the injustice of exclusion and recognise in our founding document the significant contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to a modern Australia.
The committee heard that in order to achieve this, the mere removal of racist sections of the Constitution would not be enough and that much more is needed. The committee heard that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will accept nothing less than a protection from racial discrimination in the Constitution.
Since the time of Captain Cook\u27s first landfall, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have suffered from continuous dislocation, discrimination and disadvantage.
The committee heard of the serious and pressing issues faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in everyday life and heard of the endemic racial discrimination faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The committee acknowledges that recognition in the Constitution will not end racism in Australia, nor will it be a solution to the serious problems faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. However, constitutional recognition will be a vital step towards reconciliation and give a voice to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in a Constitution better aligned with a modern Australia.
By protecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from discrimination on the basis of race, Australia will be better placed to offer its first peoples a future in which their historical mistreatment is not repeated.
This final report of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples recommends that a referendum be held on the matter of recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution.
I commend this report of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to the Prime Minister and the Australian Parliament.
Committee members
Mr Ken Wyatt AM MP, Chair
Senator Nova Peris OAM, Deputy Chair
The Hon Shayne Neumann MP
The Hon Christian Porter MP (until 11 February 2015)
Ms Sarah Henderson MP (from 11 February 2015)
Mr Stephen Jones MP
Senator Bridget McKenzie
Senator James McGrath (from 1 July 2014 – 23 June 2015)
Senator Anne Ruston (until 1 July 2014, from 23 June 2015)
Senator Rachel Siewer
El castillo de las 300 torres
No full text“Según Ramón Muntaner (1265-1336), caballero y escritor catalán, en su “Crónica” se refirió metafóricamente al Castillo de Onda y a su recinto amurallado como “de las 300 Torres”, porque al parecer en su época de máximo esplendor tuvo tantas torres como días tiene el año.
Sobre la huella de las antiguas culturas ibérica y romana, los musulmanes construyeron en el siglo X una extraordinaria fortaleza, de la que su Castillo todavía hoy vigila la ciudad.
Retrato de familia de D. Leopoldo Torres Balbás
No full textVidrio, Positivo, Diapositiva, 118 x 95 mm, Gelatino Bromuro, S_integro, E_IntegraRetrato de familia de D. Leopoldo Torres Balbás en el patio de su casa en la AlhambraUnidad Documenta
Injury of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people due to transport: 2005-06 to 2009-10
No full textThis report looks at death and serious injury of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia due to transport accidents in the five-year period 2005-06 to 2009-10. Land transport accidents accounted for 26% of all fatal injury cases and 9% of all serious injury cases for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The age-standardised rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 2.8 times the rate for Other Australians for fatal cases, and 1.3 times the rate for Other Australians for serious injuries
Review of higher education access and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: final report
No full textThis report proposes a collaborative approach be developed involving universities, governments, professional bodies, the business sector and communities working together to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through higher education.
The Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People follows on from the 2008 Review of Higher Education (the Bradley Review) by proposing measures that address what is a significant gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians’ higher education outcomes.
The Bradley Review recognised, in light of Australia’s growing economic and social policy challenges, the need for specific strategies to increase the participation in higher education of groups currently underrepresented within the system, particularly those from a low socio-economic status (SES) background. The Bradley Review specifically identified the need to address access and outcomes in higher education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The terms of reference for the Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People (the Review) asked the Review Panel (the Panel) to provide advice and make recommendations in relation to:
achieving parity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, researchers, and academic and non-academic staff
best practice and opportunities for change inside universities and other higher education providers (spanning both Indigenous-specific units and whole-of-university culture, policies, activities and programs)
the effectiveness of existing Commonwealth Government programs that aim to encourage better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in higher education
the recognition and equivalence of Indigenous knowledge in the higher education sector.
The Panel proposes a collaborative approach be developed involving universities, governments, professional bodies, the business sector and communities working together to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through higher education. Strategies outlined in the report include attracting and retaining more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and staff, improving academic achievement, simplifying and better focusing university and government support programs and ensuring that graduates are better equipped to meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through embedding Indigenous perspectives in teaching, learning and research.
The expert panel consisted of Professor Larissa Behrendt (Chair), Professor Steven Larkin, Mr Robert Griew and Ms Patricia Kelly
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