What Makes for Healthy Ageing in the Torres Strait?

Objective: Many studies focus on impediments to healthy ageing, but few examine factors leading to healthy ageing. Whilst many older First Nations people are ageing well, few studies have examined this issue in First Nations people. This study examined indicators associated with healthy ageing in the Torres Strait region of Queensland, Australia.

Evaluating the outcomes of Australia's first all-age public hospital Sport and Exercise Medicine Outpatient Clinic: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of Australia's first public hospital all-age Sport and Exercise Medicine Outpatient Clinic (SEMOC). Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study of patients referred to and reviewed in the SEMOC, during a study period from March to October 2023, was performed. Outcomes were the number of appointments, number of patients reviewed, proportion reviewed within Queensland Health recommended timeframes, patient satisfaction, proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, and the rurality of the patients based on the Modified Monash Model of remoteness.

The prevalence of falls and associated factors in older adults of the Torres Strait.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of falls and examine associations between falls and potential risk factors in older adults of the Torres Strait Region of Australia.

Methods: Two hundred and fifty people aged ≥45 years residing in the Torres Strait, who identified as Torres Strait Islander, Aboriginal or both, were asked whether they had sustained any falls in the past year. Associations between self-reported falls and predictor variables were examined using logistic regression.

Primary care biomarkers and dementia in people of the Torres Strait, Australia: extended data analysis.

Objective: Dementia disproportionately affects First Nations populations. Biomarkers collected in primary care may assist with determining dementia risk. Our previous underpowered study showed some suggestive associations between baseline biomarkers with follow-up dementia or cognitive impairment.

Validation of the Kimberley Cognitive Assessment (KICA-Cog) for Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to validate the Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment-Cognitive Component (KICA-Cog) adapted for dementia screening in Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Methods: Data were obtained from a broader dementia prevalence study completed in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area between 2015 and 2018. Modifications were made to items from the original KICA-Cog to ensure they were culturally appropriate for the Torres Strait.

Erratum: Potentially preventable dementia in a First Nations population in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area of North Queensland, Australia: a cross sectional analysis using population attributable fractions.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.

Potentially modifiable dementia risk factors in all Australians and within population groups: an analysis using cross-sectional survey data.

Background: Dementia is the second leading cause of disease burden in Australia. We aimed to calculate the population attributable fractions (PAFs) of dementia attributable to 11 of 12 previously identified potentially modifiable health and social risk factors (less education, hearing loss, hypertension, obesity, smoking, depression, social isolation, physical inactivity, diabetes, alcohol excess, air pollution, and traumatic brain injury), for Australians overall and three population groups (First Nations, and those of European and Asian ancestry).

Methods: We calculated the prevalence of dementia risk factors (excluding traumatic brain injury) and PAFs, adjusted for communality, from the cross-sectional National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (2018-19), National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (2014-15), National Health Survey (2017-18), and General Social Survey (2014) conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Effect of experimental hookworm infection on insulin resistance in people at risk of type 2 diabetes.

The reduced prevalence of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in countries with endemic parasitic worm infections suggests a protective role for worms against metabolic disorders, however clinical evidence has been non-existent. This 2-year randomised, double-blinded clinical trial in Australia of hookworm infection in 40 male and female adults at risk of type 2 diabetes assessed the safety and potential metabolic benefits of treatment with either 20 (n = 14) or 40 (n = 13) Necator americanus larvae (L3) or Placebo (n = 13) (Registration ACTRN12617000818336). Primary outcome was safety defined by adverse events and completion rate.

Cost-effectiveness of a community-based integrated care model compared with usual care for older adults with complex needs: a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial.

Objective: To assess the cost of implementation, delivery and cost-effectiveness (CE) of a flagship community-based integrated care model (OPEN ARCH) against the usual primary care.

Design: A 9-month stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial.

Setting And Participants: Community-dwelling older adults with chronic conditions and complex care needs were recruited from primary care (14 general practices) in Far North Queensland, Australia.

Dementia Risk Models in an Australian First Nations Population: Cross-Sectional Associations and Preparation for Follow-Up.

Background: Reducing the burden of dementia in First Nations populations may be addressed through developing population specific methods to quantify future risk of dementia.

Objective: To adapt existing dementia risk models to cross-sectional dementia prevalence data from a First Nations population in the Torres Strait region of Australia in preparation for follow-up of participants. To explore the diagnostic utility of these dementia risk models at detecting dementia.

Democratising data to address health system inequities in Australia.

Understanding the health status of a population or community is crucial to equitable service planning. Among other uses, data on health status can help local and national planners and policy makers understand patterns and trends in current or emerging health and well-being, especially how disparities relating to geography, ethnicity, language and living with disability influence access to services. In this practice paper we draw attention to the nature of Australia's health data challenges and call for greater 'democratisation' of health data to address health system inequities.

Potentially preventable dementia in a First Nations population in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area of North Queensland, Australia: A cross sectional analysis using population attributable fractions.

Background: Dementia is highly prevalent among Australia's First Nations peoples, including Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal peoples in Far North Queensland (FNQ). It is likely that historically recent exposure to modifiable risk factors underlies these rates, and a large proportion of dementia may be potentially preventable.

Methods: Data from two adult community health checks (2015-2018) were analyzed to determine the prevalence of 11 modifiable dementia risk factors among the First Nations residents of the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area of FNQ.

Culturally Appropriate Assessment of Depression and Anxiety in Older Torres Strait Islanders: Limitations and Recommendations.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression in older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults.

Methods: A modified version of the PHQ-9 (KICA-dep) and the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) were administered as part of a wider dementia prevalence study conducted in the Torres Strait. Results were compared to diagnoses obtained on Geriatric review to evaluate their applicability in the region.

Using Health Check Data to Understand Risks for Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Among Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Peoples in Northern Queensland-A Data Linkage Study.

Objective: High rates of dementia are evident in First Nations populations, and modifiable risk factors may be contributing to this increased risk. This study aimed to use a longitudinal dataset to gain insights into the long-term risk and protective factors for dementia and cognitive impairment not dementia (CIND) in a Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal population in Far North Queensland, Australia.

Study Design And Setting: Probabilistic data linkage was used to combine baseline health check data obtained in 1998/2000 and 2006/2007 for 64 residents in remote communities with their results on a single dementia assessment 10-20 years later (2015-2018).

Appendicitis in Far North Queensland: a new take on an old story.

Background: Appendicitis is a leading cause of surgical hospital admission. To date, there have been no published epidemiological studies describing appendicitis in tropical and remote Australia and none specifically documenting appendicitis in Indigenous Australians. This descriptive study used available state data to investigate appendicitis across Far North Queensland (FNQ).

Using health check data to investigate cognitive function in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders living with diabetes in the Torres Strait, Australia.

Background: Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) has a subtle deleterious effect on cognition and imposes a higher lifetime risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. In populations where both T2DM and dementia are highly prevalent, understanding more about the early effects of T2DM on cognition may provide insights into the lifetime risks of this disease.

Methods: In 2016, 186 Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander residents of the Torres Strait (54% female, mean age =38.

A systematic review of disability, rehabilitation and lifestyle services in rural and remote Australia through the lens of the people-centred health care.

Purpose: The aim of this systematic review was to identify models of community disability, rehabilitation and lifestyle service delivery in non-metropolitan areas of Australia, and to describe these models through an Integrated People-Centred Health Services (IPCHS) lens.

Materials And Methods: We identified peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and June 2021 that met the following criteria: described or evaluated a community service delivery model, intervention or program in regional, rural or remote Australia; provided for people with a disability or a potentially disabling health condition. A scoring rubric was developed covering the five IPCHS strategies.

Factors associated with the increased risk of dementia found in the Torres Strait.

Objective: To identify the specific risk factors for dementia in the Torres Strait.

Methods: This research was conducted as part of a cross-sectional dementia prevalence study conducted in the Torres Strait. Participants underwent a comprehensive health assessment, where data on risk factors were collected, and a Geriatrician assessment, which was used to establish dementia diagnoses.

Impact of an integrated community-based model of care for older people with complex conditions on hospital emergency presentations and admissions: a step-wedged cluster randomized trial.

Background: Health systems must reorient towards preventative and co-ordinated care to reduce hospital demand and achieve positive and fiscally responsible outcomes for older persons with complex needs. Integrated care models can improve outcomes by aligning primary practice with the specialist health and social services required to manage complex needs. This paper describes the impact of a community-facing program that integrates care at the primary-secondary interface on the rate of Emergency Department (ED) presentation and hospital admissions among older people with complex needs.

Beyond multimorbidity: primary care and the older person with complex needs.

The aim of this study was to present the health and social characteristics of community-dwelling older people within the Cairns region who were identified by their GP as having complex care needs. This paper reports the subanalysis of baseline data from the Older Persons Enablement and Rehabilitation (OPEN ARCH) stepped wedge randomised controlled trial of an integrated model of care for community-dwelling older people. Data were analysed at the level of the participant and the level of the participant cluster (group of participants from the one GP).

Prevalence of dementia in the Torres Strait.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of dementia and problems associated with ageing in the Torres Strait.

Methods: The study was conducted across all 18 island and 5 mainland communities in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area of Far North Queensland. Participants underwent a comprehensive health assessment and a Geriatrician assessment, which were used to establish consensus diagnoses.

Intestinal microbiology shapes population health impacts of diet and lifestyle risk exposures in Torres Strait Islander communities.

Poor diet and lifestyle exposures are implicated in substantial global increases in non-communicable disease burden in low-income, remote, and Indigenous communities. This observational study investigated the contribution of the fecal microbiome to influence host physiology in two Indigenous communities in the Torres Strait Islands: Mer, a remote island where a traditional diet predominates, and Waiben a more accessible island with greater access to takeaway food and alcohol. Counterintuitively, disease markers were more pronounced in Mer residents.

Acceptability and Usability of Computerized Cognitive Assessment Among Australian Indigenous Residents of the Torres Strait Islands.

Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the acceptability and usability of the Cogstate Brief Battery (CBB) in a community-based sample of Australian Indigenous people from the Torres Strait region, based on a user experience framework of human-computer interaction.

Methods: Two-hundred community participants completed the four subtests of the CBB on an iPad platform, during a free adult health check on two islands in the region, between October and December 2016. Acceptability was defined as completing the learning trial of a task and usability as continuing a task through to completion, determined by examiner acumen and internal Cogstate completion and integrity criteria.

Corrigendum to: Preventable hospitalisations in regional Queensland: potential for primary health?

The aims of this study were to: (1) use local health data to examine potentially preventable hospitalisations (PPHs) as a proportion of total hospital separations and estimated costs to a large regional hospital in northern Queensland, including differences associated with Indigenous status; and (2) identify priority conditions and discuss issues related to strategic local primary health intervention. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using Queensland Hospital Admitted Patient Data Collection data (July 2012-June 2014) restricted to 51087 separations generated by 29485 local residents. PPHs were identified from the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) and procedure codes using National Healthcare Agreement definitions.