Good News

• Congratulations to the Mayi Kuwayu team. The Mayi Kuwayu Study Protocol was published on 27 June.  'Mayi Kuwayu' means 'to follow Aboriginal people over time' in Ngiyampaa language.  Mayi Kuwayu is a national longitudinal survey and includes questions that matter to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The study aims to provide information for communities, services and policy makers to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing.  The study will be rolled out in the second half of 2018 and will provide much needed evidence on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and its impact on health and wellbeing. For more information see http://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/200000-indigenous-people-asked-to-be-part-of-national-study

Implementation, Engagement and Outreach    

• A seminar on Aboriginal Ranger jobs and wellbeing outcomes in Central Australia was hosted by NCEPH and the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) at the ANU, on 11 July. This seminar was co-presented by NCEPH and the Central Land Council.
• The report on barriers to access of the MBS Health Check (Item 715) was submitted to DoH as part of the Absolute Risk Assessment of CVD for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander program and distributed to NACCHO and RACGP.
• Rosemary Korda and Prof Kirsty Douglas (ANU Medical School) presented to the Medicare Benefits Schedule Review Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group on our work on Absolute CVD risk and health assessments.

Conferences

• Emily Banks presented at the Knowledge Mobilisation Conference, Sydney on “Output-oriented policy engagement: a model for advancing the use of epidemiological evidence in policy and practice”.
• Emily Banks presented at the Heart Foundation’s Women with Heart Award in 2018, Canberra, June 2018. “Preliminary findings from Women and Heart Health Project”.

Publications

1. Jones R, Thurber KA, Wright A, Chapman J, Donohoe P, Davis V, Lovett R.  Associations between Participation in a Ranger Program and Health and Wellbeing Outcomes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Central Australia: A Proof of Concept Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018 Jul 12;15(7). pii: E1478. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15071478.
2. Paige E, Welsh J, Agostino J, Calabria B, Banks E, Korda RJ.  Socioeconomic variation in absolute cardiovascular disease risk and treatment in the Australian population. Prev Med. 2018 Jul 17;114:217-222. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.07.011. [Epub ahead of print]
3. Xu H, Egger S, Velentzis L, Banks E, O’Connell D, Sitas F, Canfell K. Hormonal contraceptive use and smoking as risk factors for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in unvaccinated women aged 30-44 years: a case-control study in New South Wales, Australia. Cancer Epidemiol 2018;55:162-169.
4. Dyda A, McIntyre P, Karki S, MacIntyre R, Newall A, Banks E, Kaldor J, Liu B. Pertussis vaccination in a cohort of older Australian adults following a cocooning vaccination program. Vaccine 2018;36:4157-4160.
5. Goldsbury D, Yap S, Weber M, Veerman L, Rankin N, Banks E, Canfell K, O’Connell. Health services costs for cancer care in Australia: Estimates from the 45 and Up Study. PLoS One (accepted 23 July 2018).