Policy Implications for Controlling Communicable Diseases in Indigenous Communities: Case of Strongyloidiasis in Australia
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Smith, Michelle L
Judd, Jenni A
Speare, Rick
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Abstract
The objective of this paper is to document the knowledge and experiences of healthcare professionals and researchers in Australia about the barriers to controlling Strongyloides stercoralis in Australian Indigenous communities. Qualitative research methods were used to conduct in-depth semi-structured interviews, which were digitally recorded, transcribed, and participant-checked. Data were thematically analysed to identify significant themes. Five major themes were identified:
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Barriers to health/treatment;
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Access to healthcare;
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Policy;
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Learning opportunity; and
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Ideas for intervention.
The findings suggest that Australian Indigenous communities will continue to suffer increased morbidity and mortality due to a lack of control or prevention of Strongyloides stercoralis. Issues such as institutional racism, improvements to health promotion, education, socioeconomic determinants, and health care system policy and procedures need to be addressed. This study identifies several direct implications for Indigenous health:
- The need for increased knowledge and understanding of the risks to health for Indigenous community members;
- The need for prevention policy development for neglected tropical diseases in Indigenous communities;
- The need for increased knowledge and understanding of the treatment, diagnosis, and healthcare access concerning -Strongyloides stercoralis for health professionals and policymakers who work within Indigenous health;
- The need to raise awareness of systematic institutional racism in the control and prevention of neglected tropical diseases in Indigenous communities; and
- The need for a health promotion framework that can provide the basis for multiple-level interventions to control and prevent Strongyloides in Indigenous communities.
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Aboriginal policy studies
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7
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1
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© The Author(s) 2018. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Health policy
Public health
Epidemiology
Medical parasitology
Social Sciences
Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
HEALTH-CARE
ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
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Miller, A; Smith, ML; Judd, JA; Speare, R, Policy Implications for Controlling Communicable Diseases in Indigenous Communities: Case of Strongyloidiasis in Australia, ABORIGINAL POLICY STUDIES, 2018, 7 (1), pp. 148-179