Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must help lead research into Indigenous health issues to help ensure the closing of the gap, researchers say.
Currently, Australia has fallen short of federal targets to Close the Gap.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males born between 2015 and 2017 are expected to live to 71.6 years (here), while non-Indigenous males are expected to live to 80.2 years.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females are expected to live to 75.6 years, while non-Indigenous females are expected to live to 83.4 years (here).
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Principal Committee Indigenous Caucus chair, Professor Yvonne Cadet-James, has told InSight+ it is important to determine not just whether enough Indigenous health research is being funded, but who is conducting the research as well.
“[Funding] needs to happen if we need new knowledge and discoveries,” Professor Cadet-James said.
“When I started out in research in the early 2000s, there were very few indigenous researchers leading grants, or as chief investigators.
“That’s changed over time, with the NHMRC, MRFF [Medical Research Future Fund], and the ARC [Australian Research Council] having funding allocated for Indigenous research.
“And of course, the Lowitja Institute, which is the national Indigenous research institute.”
But Professor Cadet-James said that the way the research is done is the most important element in its success.
“As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people we understand the historical, cultural and political perspectives, and that understanding helps us frame our research,” she said.
“[We have] insight into the difficulties in conducting that research due to the impact of colonisation.
“The real, on-the-ground needs, and what people are experiencing in terms of the social determinants of health, including poverty.”
“Most importantly, [we have] insight into the strength and resilience that people have in their cultural values and beliefs, in their traditional knowledge, and the resilience they’ve built over all those years,” said Professor Cadet-James.
Professor Cadet-James said that the important new research areas are genetics and genomics, but that First Nations input is crucial.
“We need to make sure that we’re involved, and that we have some very experienced researchers,” she said, pointing to the research of Professor Alex Brown and Professor Misty Jenkins as an example.
“As you know, people in research haven’t had a good a very good reputation in terms of taking tissue and blood samples , and conducting experiments on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. So, we have input into guidelines and how that research might look. And making sure that people are protected,” said Professor Cadet-James.
First Nations people driving research solutions
In a recent Medical Journal of Australia article, the Lowitja Institute CEO, Adjunct Professor Janine Mohamed, and executive manager of research and knowledge translation, Associate Professor Michelle Kennedy, explained the importance of ethics in research design.
“Indigenous peoples have been conducting research to understand complex systems of knowledge since time immemorial,” wrote Adjunct Professor Mohamed and Associate Professor Kennedy.
“Since colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been subject to ongoing unethical and inhumane research.
“In an attempt for protection, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have acted swiftly and led the prioritisation, consultation, development and consensus of specific ethical guidance and principles,” they wrote.
“But little investment has been made to uphold the ethical principles and practices established for and by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”
Changing perspectives to close the gap
In 2018, the Australian Human Rights Commission released Close the Gap: 10 Year Review, showing that Australian governments “have not succeeded in closing the health gap,” and arguing that the current course will need to change.
Two of four of its recommendations are for an investment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led, community-driven data development, and an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led health research agenda, including investment in knowledge translation and research impact.
Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians and Indigenous Health, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, told InSight+ that working alongside talented and expert researchers provides an important opportunity.
“NHMRC-administered research projects engage directly with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,” Assistant Minister McCarthy said in a statement.
“Many studies are led by prominent First Nations health researchers with cultural insight and specialist knowledge.”
The Lowitja Institute 3rd International Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Conference will be held this week, with leading researchers from around the world meeting to discuss implementing First Nations-led health research.
Professor Cadet-James is pleased to be attending the conference.
“What we need to do now is really strengthen the capacity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in different health-related organisations and in our communities,” she said.