Publications

The Australian Child Rights Taskforce considers the mistreatment and over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in youth detention to be a national crisis that requires urgent action. In 2020, the unequal positioning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australia was shown by an incarceration rate that was 17 times higher than the incarceration rates of Australian youth of all other ethnicities combined. Although Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children represent only 6% of the Australian population aged 10–17 years, each day, on average they comprised 48% of those in youth detention. From age 10 years, the most vulnerable and marginalised young people in Australia, many with complex physical and mental health needs, disability needs, and social needs, are criminalised, punished, and removed from their family and community during crucial stages of their development.

People with FASD encounter a range of health and allied health providers and require specialised support to ensure health services are provided safely and effectively. However, not all health professionals possess the knowledge or expertise required for the identification, assessment, referral and management of FASD. Accessible resources for understanding and managing FASD can help create awareness in health professionals and ensure patients receive the correct diagnosis and timely access to the necessary supports and services. This scoping review aims to identify and analyse FASD resources for health professionals.

This book chapter gives an overview of the past two decades of Australian FASD research, from fiction to fact to challenges of the future.

As part of the Yapatjarrathati project, 47 remote health providers and community members attended a two-day workshop presenting a prototype of a culturally-safe, tiered neurodevelopmental assessment that can identify FASD in primary healthcare. Narrative analysis of the workshop transcript highlighted a collective sense of compassion for those who use alcohol to cope with intergenerational trauma, but exhaustion at the cyclical nature of FASD. There was a strong desire for a shared responsibility for First Nations children and families and a more prominent role for Aboriginal Health Workers in the assessment process. This study emphasised the benefit of continued co-design to ensure health implementation strategies match the needs of the community.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a mass media campaign highlighting the potential harms associated with drinking alcohol during pregnancy and whether this altered females’ intentions to abstain during pregnancy after campaign exposure.

This study examines the effect of practice change intervention to support the implementation of guideline-recommended care for addressing alcohol use in pregnancy on self-reported alcohol use during pregnancy through a randomised, stepped-wedge controlled trial within the Hunger New England Local Health District (NSW, Australia).