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Bold bid to end rheumatic heart disease

Some of the nation’s leading medical researchers will converge on Darwin this week to step out a plan to wipe out rheumatic heart disease.

Bush Tucker and Vitamin D

This five-year project in Western Australia (WA) aims to promote vitamin D sufficiency among Aboriginal people by developing food-based dietary strategies to increase vitamin D intakes and by encouraging safe sun exposure.

Identifying social pathways to enhanced life outcomes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

Carrington Shepherd PhD Honorary Research Associate Honorary Research Associate Areas of research expertise: Population health; Aboriginal and Torres

The Child Mortality Research Program

Brad Carrington Fiona Farrant Shepherd Stanley BSc (Hons), PhD PhD FAA FASSA MSc MD FFPHM FAFPHM FRACP FRANZCOG HonDSc HonDUniv HonFRACGP HonMD

Racism in maternity care as a determinant of First Nations women's health: a qualitative study with First Nations women and families in the Australian Capital Territory

First Nations women in Australia continue to experience disproportionately adverse maternal and infant outcomes. The ongoing legacy of colonisation and systemic racism shapes these outcomes. In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), maternity services remain dominated by Western biomedical approaches that fail to deliver culturally safe and anti-racist care despite national standards that mandate such practices. 

“It Makes You Feel Like Not Sending Your Kids to School”: Aboriginal Parents’ Experiences of the Transition to School

The transition to formal schooling is a critical milestone in a child’s development. For Aboriginal children, early experiences are shaped by both cultural strengths and enduring impacts of colonisation. This study explored factors influencing Aboriginal families’ transition-to-school experiences in an urban Western Australian community.

First Nations families’ maternity care experiences in the Australian Capital Territory: Kapati Time Yarning, intergenerational trauma and the case for Birthing with Country

First Nations women often experience harmful, inequitable maternity care, shaped by intergenerational trauma and culturally unsafe care. Historical forced removal of First Nations children has created enduring trauma that influences pregnancy and birthing experiences. In the Australian Capital Territory, maternity care is provided through Western biomedical systems, where increasing child protection interventions and fear of surveillance affect women's engagement with care.

Child Development Interventions Among Indigenous Peoples in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States: A Scoping Review

Children's development is dependent on a range of factors influencing their life course outcomes. Protective and challenging social and cultural determinants impact how Indigenous families support their children's developmental foundations. However, there is a lack of international evidence investigating Indigenous child development interventions.

Hot weather, maternal health, and pregnancy experiences, impacts and responses: A systematic review of global qualitative research

Extreme heat exposure is a major global public health threat that is affecting people across the life course, including the pregnancy period. Studies have linked extreme heat with adverse pregnancy and newborn health outcomes globally.

Approaches that support Indigenous children and families in the transition to school: A systematic review

The early years are critical for lifelong wellbeing, with transition to formal school a key period for development. For Indigenous children, this transition provides opportunities to build on cultural strengths and belonging. However, many children face systemic barriers that impact their transition experiences, highlighting a need for culturally safe programs that support Indigenous families during this significant time.