oung-onset diabetes in Aboriginal Australians is challenging, but practical measures can be taken to improve screening.
Andreana Manifold, David Atkinson, Julia V. Marley, Lydia Scott, Gavin Cleland, Paula Edgill and Sally Singleton. Complex diabetes screening guidelines for high-risk adolescent Aboriginal Australians: a barrier to implementation in primary health care. Aust J Prim Health 2019; 25:501-508. https://doi.org/10.1071/PY19030
KIDDY Screening #1 – plain language report for community (181 KB)
KIDDY Screening #1 – plain language report for staff (241 KB)
- Dr Sally Singleton
- Dr Emma Griffiths, KAMS and RCSWA
- Dr Gavin Cleland, WACHS-Kimberley
- Dr Lydia Scott, WACHS-Kimberley
- Dr Andreana Manifold, RCSWA
- Assoc Professor Julia Marley, KAMS and RCSWA
- Prof David Atkinson, RCSWA
End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) rates are much higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, particularly those living in remote areas. Despite this, they are much less likely to receive a transplant. Concerns about this inequity have recently sparked national inquiries and the formation of the National Kidney Transplantation Taskforce (NIKTT), to which Kimberley Renal Services (KRS) provides representation.
Assessment of transplant suitability requires a review with each patient for medical, surgical and social risk factors, however no templates are available to support this process. Elsewhere a formalised process has been found to increase transplant waitlisting, but this was in a metropolitan renal unit with low numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. We would like to employ a CQI approach to develop a process for transplant suitability assessment, which will increase access to transplant waitlisting for our patients and contribute to the improvement of access to renal transplantation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
This project will have three phases:
- Develop a template and process to improve the transparency and efficiency of transplant suitability assessment. To do this we will consult with specialists in the field of nephrology and transplantation, and Aboriginal Health Workers and Care Coordinators working with Kimberley Renal Services.
- Incorporate this process into the patient’s usual schedule of care with the visiting RPH nephrologist. Each patient will be able to ask where he or she is in the assessment process and we will seek informed consent to include his or her details in the evaluation phase.
- Evaluate the process and make recommendations for future implementation. This will include numbers of patients assessed and waitlisted at the start and end of the CQI activity period and barriers and enablers to implementation. For patients who have consented to include their data, we will also summarise individual barriers and enablers to transplant waitlisting and patient feedback.
- Emma Griffiths
- James Stacey
- Assoc Prof Julia Marley
- Prof David Atkinson
- Johan Rosman
Social & Emotional Wellbeing
Improving mental health screening for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pregnant women and mothers of young children
This study aims to improve screening for, and contribute to addressing, mental health issues during pregnancy and the first 12 months after the birth of the baby.
The locally developed, culturally appropriate and user friendly Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale (KMMS) was validated against clinical assessment in a sample of 91 Kimberley Aboriginal women. Kimberley regional guidelines now recommend using the KMMS to screen for anxiety and depression during the perinatal period for Aboriginal women. The next step for Kimberley health services are to increase and improve KMMS screening in pregnancy and postnatally and address identified mental health issues. Project staff will work closely with Kimberley services to find out:
- How the KMMS can best be implemented into routine practice in each service
- If, during routine use:
- The KMMS cut point of moderate still detects everyone with GP assessed clinically moderate or high severity depression and anxiety, and