Cancer Australia’s FAQs about COVID-19 vaccinations

Menzies School of Health Research was contracted by Cancer Australia to adapt Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the COVID-19 vaccinations. We engaged a review panel of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cancer survivors and health professionals to review and adapt the FAQs, with an aim to increase their acceptability and readability for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people affected by cancer. You can find the FAQs and more information on the Cancer Australia website.

Roundtable: Cancer Survivorship for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

On the 17th March 2021 Menzies School of Health Research and the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) co-hosted an online Roundtable on Cancer Survivorship for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The purpose of the Roundtable was to discuss cancer survivorship and survivorship care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and identify priority areas to improve their survivorship care. A diverse range of participants attended, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by cancer were well represented to ensure their perspectives were central to the discussions.

For a summary of the important discussions captured during the Roundtable you can read the report here.

E-Learning Series: Improving Cancer Outcomes For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander People

Menzies School of Health Research and the Psycho-oncology Co-operative Research Group have collaborated to bring you an e-Learning series: Improving cancer outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

This series is designed to build confidence and technical expertise among researchers and clinicians working with Australia's First Nations People. 

Menzies School of Health Research Senior Principal Research Fellow Professor Gail Garvey said “Cancer mortality rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people keep increasing, whereas the rate is decreasing for non-Indigenous Australians. We need to all work together to improve outcomes through providing quality cancer care that addresses the specific needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

PoCoG Chair, Professor Brian Kelly, said understanding the health disparities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strat Islander peoples is essential for development of effective, high quality, clinically and culturally appropriate, and affordable psycho-oncology services.

“This series of e-learning modules aims to guide clinicians and researchers working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples to gain a better understanding of current disparities and considerations for future care,” he said.

The SCNAT-IP is an evidence based supportive care needs assessment tool which accommodates the language, customs and culture-specific needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with cancer. This tool is a 27-item measure of unmet supportive care needs across four domains (physical and psychological, hospital care, information and communication and practical and cultural).

Accurate measurement of unmet support needs using the SCNAT-IP tool is important to improve care for Indigenous people with cancer.

Bowel screening can help detect changes to the bowel early, (with a simple test that detects blood in the poo), long before a patient notices any signs. The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) offers free bowel screening to Australians aged 50-74. Bowel screening kits are mailed directly to eligible people who have been identified from Medicare or Department of Veterans’ Affairs records.

An Alternative Pathway for the NBCSP has been piloted to encourage more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to do the bowel screening test, find bowel changes early and save lives. The Pilot allowed primary health care services to offer NBCSP screening kits directly to their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.

A number of resources have been developed through the Pilot Study and are available for health professionals, as well as communities and families, to learn more about bowel cancer screening.