Our People to Live Stronger & Longer

Month: January 2020

Spreading the message of health – Your Health Your Future at Yabun 2020

Posted on by Pawas Gupta

It was a sweltering day at Yabun, but none the less AH&MRC and Aboriginal Medical Service Redfern staff persisted in handing out resources and having a yarn with community members about health and the 715 health check. The stall was packed with merchandise when the festival started at 10 am but throughout the day stock dwindled and by our 3 pm pack down every hat, skipping rope, frisbee, bouncy ball, foam dart, wrist band and AMS Redfern goody bag had been given away.

Your Health Your Future (YHYF) Ambassador Jack Wilson AKA the deadly ninja was hugely popular with festival-goers. Fans of Ninja Warrior stopped by the AH&MRC stall to have a yarn and take a photo with the deadly ninja and his adorable staffy, Bull. AH&MRC ran a Yabun Instagram competition which festival-goers could enter for their chance to win tickets to the Illawarra Hawks vs. New Zealand Breakers on the 2nd of February. The competition involved participants taking a photo with Jack inside a YHYF selfie frame and uploading it to Instagram with the hashtag #YHYFYabun. We have received several submissions and will select the winner in the coming days. Stay tuned!

Our other YHYF Ambassador, Tyson Demos of the Illawarra Hawks, stopped by with his teammate after practice to drop off tickets for the competition winner, sign T-shirts and chat to community members. The signed T-shirts were handed out at the end of the festival along with the remaining merch at the AH&MRC stall.

Both Jack and Tyson got up on stage before at the end of the festival to have a yarn about their passion for health and giving back to the community. Their appearance on stage was sponsored by the YHYF Campaign and both ambassadors made a point of promoting the importance of getting a health check.

On the day, AH&MRC were collecting survey results from community members at Yabun to assess their knowledge of the 715 health check. Public Health Officers and AMS Redfern staff had a yarn with community members about the health check and directed them to their local AMS. The survey was completed by over 100 festival-goers which is an amazing result.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the AH&MRC and AMS Redfern stall at Yabun and a special thanks to everyone that filled out the survey, the results of which will be used to inform future AH&MRC Public Health Campaigns.

Partnership between GSK, AH&MRC and NSW Health to distribute Ventolin to bushfire smoke affected Aboriginal communities

Posted on by Pawas Gupta

Our Members, their staff and their communities have been directly impacted by the bushfire emergencies in NSW. Despite this trauma, our Member Services are playing a crucial role in providing immediate support for their affected communities during the emergency response, all while working to maintain their regular primary care services.

Beyond those communities directly affected by fires, bushfire smoke has caused poor air quality across significant portions of NSW. Densely populated metropolitan regions and rural areas close to the bushfires have experienced hazardous air quality for prolonged periods.

The particles in bushfire smoke are detrimental to health. This especially affects people with respiratory conditions, including asthma. Other groups at greater risk from the effects of smoke include children, pregnant women, elderly people, and those with underlying cardiovascular disease.

Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) has generously partnered with AH&MRC and NSW Health, through the Centre for Aboriginal Health (CAH). They have donated 1,500 units of Ventolin (salbutamol) inhalers, as valued at over $7,500.

The AH&MRC will distribute these salbutamol inhalers to Member Services currently experiencing poor air quality due to bushfire smoke. These will be provided at no cost to patients experiencing respiratory symptoms, as clinically indicated.

Bushfire smoke can be an asthma trigger, even for patients who usually have mild symptoms. This may be a useful opportunity to remind people to review and update their Asthma Action Plan.

Air quality can be checked, for those areas with monitors, through the NSW Government’s website. In general, it is recommended for people to stay indoors and avoiding physical activity when air quality is hazardous. AH&MRC has worked with CAH to distribute P2 masks in bushfire smoke affected areas. Surgical or cloth masks unfortunately do not filter out the dangerous PM2.5 particles from bushfire smoke. A well-fitted P2 mask can help to reduce exposure to bushfire smoke, but needs a good seal to be effective. This video shows how to fit masks to reduce leaks.

The following resources may be useful for further information on the health impact of bushfire smoke and air quality.

Your Health Your Future at Battle of the Countries 2020

Posted on by Pawas Gupta

The Battle of the Countries made its inaugural debut in 2019 and the 2nd annual Battle of the Countries was held this year at Croom Regional Sporting Complex, NSW. The Illawarra Titans Rugby League Football Club was proud to host the 2nd Battle of the Countries event in 2020. Similarly to last year, the event was run over 2 days on the 18th and 19th of January 2020. Men, women and children living in Aboriginal communities across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland were the target audience.  The event was a success, drawing in a large number of community members.

The purpose of the event was to bring together Indigenous communities, offering a first-class football knockout while raising awareness for suicide prevention and mental health in Aboriginal communities. Battle of the Countries and similar events help to create a space for services, young people and the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities from to enjoy football, engage in conversations and raise awareness of mental health issues that are often stigmatised and rarely discussed. The key messages were suicide prevention, mental health and wellbeing.

AH&MRC was one of the sponsors of Battle of the Countries this year. It was a great opportunity to promote the amazing work the team has done and continues to do in the health promotion space. The team shared Your Health Your Future merchandise including shirts, caps, bottles, frisbees and skipping ropes. It was an amazing opportunity for AH&MRC to learn, meet with community and network with other services and staff from other organisations.

Author:

Imran Mansoor, Public Health Team