3.6 Social and Indigenous Group

Group head

Dr Fadwa Al-Yaman

What we do

The Social and Indigenous Group provides leadership, both internally and externally to the AIHW, in the areas of children, youth and families, and Indigenous health and welfare information and statistics. It develops, maintains and analyses national data to support monitoring and reporting on the health and welfare of key population groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and families, children and young people. The group carries the primary responsibility for producing reports for the online Indigenous Observatory and an overview report on the health and welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It also manages the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Major achievements

During 2011–12, major achievements of the group were:

• providing analysis of Indigenous health and welfare through the production of reports under the Health Performance Framework and for the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse, and through modelling life expectancy work
• holding public seminars with authors of Closing the Gap Clearinghouse products, policy makers and the public to promote Clearinghouse research and products
• providing data and data quality statements for AIHW data supplied for the COAG performance indicators in the National Healthcare Agreement and National Indigenous Reform Agreement
• providing data and technical advice on several COAG National Partnership Agreements Performance Indicators
• developing national key performance indicators for Indigenous-specific primary health care services
• developing jointly with the ABS, National best practice guidelines for data linkage activities relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: 2012, for release in July 2012.

Units in this group

• Child Development
• Children, Youth and Families
• Indigenous Analyses and Reporting
• Indigenous Community and Health Service Reporting
• Indigenous Data Gaps
• Indigenous Research and Evaluation

During the year, a number of structural changes were made to the Social and Indigenous Group:

• the SIG Coordination and Support Unit was created in July 2011 and ceased in May 2012
• the Child Development Unit was created in May 2012.

Child Development Unit

Unit head

Ms Cathy McNickle (acting from May 2012)

What we do

The Child Development Unit is a new unit established in May 2012 to undertake work on a number of projects funded by DEEWR in the area of child development. The unit is responsible for carrying out a scoping study into an online evidence-based resource of effective attendance strategies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. This study will provide practical assistance to school communities and governments.

The unit is working on a new linked national early childhood development researchable data set to foster research in early childhood development across health, human services
and early childhood education and care.

The unit is also responsible for a number of internally and externally funded projects relating to childhood development, including data standards work for the Early Childhood Education and Care National Minimum Data Set in co-operation with the Children, Youth and Families Unit.

Objectives

• Build national leadership in statistics and information related to early childhood development
• Develop collaborative relationships with stakeholders involved in data linkage projects and early childhood development data collections
• Improve reporting on early childhood development through the establishment of a national researchable early childhood development data set

Performance in planned statistical and reporting deliverables
Publish a report on the quality of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identification in community services data collections	Work in progress To be published in 2012–13
Produce a report on the development of the National Researchable Early Childhood Dataset	Work in progress To be published in 2012–13
Produce a report including a literature review and findings from consultations with schools on effective school attendance strategies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students	Work in progress To be finalised in 2012–13

Performance in planned data development activities

• Maintained national data standards and protocols for the Early Childhood Education and Care National Minimum Data Set
• Continued work on developing a national researchable early childhood development linked data set—a national de-identified linked data set on children from birth to the early years of schooling

Committees

• Early Childhood Data Sub Group: Support to the AIHW member of this subgroup of the Early Childhood Development Working Group; the subgroup is chaired by Ms Kellie Hippit (DEEWR)
• Australian Early Childhood Development Index National Committee: Support to the AIHW member of this DEEWR committee chaired by Mr Matthew Hardy (DEEWR)

Children, Youth and Families Unit

Unit head

Ms Melinda Petrie (acting)

What we do

The Children, Youth and Families Unit monitors, investigates and reports on the health, development and wellbeing of Australia's children and young people. It does this by developing, analysing and disseminating relevant high-quality national information and statistics. The unit undertakes work in areas encompassing health status, risk and protective factors, education and employment, family and community environments, and safety and security.

Objectives

• Develop data and expand reporting to further strengthen the policy relevance of the unit's work
• Provide national leadership in statistics and information related to the health and wellbeing of children and youth

Performance in planned statistical and reporting deliverables
Finalise a contribution to Australia's welfare 2011 and contribute to Australia's health 2012	Achieved
Publish Social and emotional wellbeing: development of a Children's Headline Indicator	Achieved
Produce children's headline indicators for 2012 for electronic release	Achieved
Publish a biennial technical working paper on operational definitions and data issues for key national indicators of children's health, development and wellbeing	Not achieved Not required by the funder
Publish a biennial indicator framework of children's health, development and wellbeing	Work in progress To be published in a broader report in 2012–13
Publish a substantive biennial report on indicators of children's health, development and wellbeing current to 2013	Work in progress To be published in 2012–13
Develop indicators for reporting on the health and wellbeing of children	Not achieved Not required by the funder

 

Performance in planned data development activities

• Maintained national data standards and protocols for the Early Childhood Education and Care National Minimum Data Set
• Worked on consultation and communication strategies for the development of a nationally consistent and comprehensive maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity data collection project, together with the National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit (NPESU), an AIHW collaborating unit
• Reviewed national information needs in relation to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality
• Worked jointly with the NPESU in assessing existing data collections to support national information needs in relation to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, and identifying options for reducing data inconsistency and gaps

Additional projects

• Investigated the affordability of preschool services and provided a report to the Early Childhood Data Sub Group
• Improved national data standards and reporting for children in the early childhood education and care sector
• Improved the quality and availability of data on maternal morbidity and mortality, together with the NPESU
• Managed the relationship between the AIHW and the NPESU

Committees

• National Child Information Advisory Group: Secretariat for this AIHW advisory group chaired by Professor George Patton (The University of Melbourne)
• National Youth Information Advisory Group: Secretariat for this AIHW advisory group chaired by Professor George Patton (The University of Melbourne)
• National Perinatal Data Development Committee: Secretariat for this AIHW advisory committee chaired by Ms Sue Cornes (Queensland Health)
• National Maternity Data Development Project Advisory Group: Member of and secretariat for this AIHW advisory committee chaired by the AIHW
• Expert Commentary Group: National Core Maternity Indicators Project: Member of and secretariat for this AIHW advisory committee chaired by the AIHW

Data collections managed

The unit does not collate data provided by multiple sources into national collections, but maintains, documents and analyses national ABS and AIHW data related to child and youth health, development and wellbeing.

Indigenous Analyses and Reporting Unit

Unit heads

Dr Indrani Pieris-Caldwell (to May 2012)
Ms Michelle Gourley (acting from May 2012)

What we do

The Indigenous Analyses and Reporting Unit provides statistics and information on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians through a range of reports. They include Child Health Checks and follow-up dental, audiology, and ear, nose and throat services data collections funded under the Closing the Gap—Northern Territory—Indigenous Health and Related Services (formerly the Northern Territory Emergency Response Child Health Check Initiative). The unit is responsible for reporting against the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework, which is published every 2 years. New work of the unit includes the development of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health statistical workforce plan.

Objectives

• Provide timely and high-quality information needed to respond to policy questions related to Indigenous people
• Identify emerging information needs, information gaps and information required by stakeholders to support the development of public policy in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and welfare
• Develop better ways of presenting statistics and information on Indigenous Australians, which clearly identify key findings
• Build relationships with stakeholders in government and non-government sectors to increase appreciation of the policy and service issues that can be informed by statistical reporting

 

Performance in planned statistical and reporting deliverables
Publish Dental health of Indigenous children in the Northern Territory: progress of the Closing the Gap Child Oral Health Program	Achieved
Publish Ear and hearing health of Indigenous children in the Northern Territory	Achieved
Prepare a scoping paper and a draft analytical paper on health needs of children based on the Child Health Check Initiative data	Not achieved Changed priorities of funder
Publish Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2010: detailed analyses and associated reports for five states and one territory	Achieved

Performance in planned data development activities

• Produced a draft plan for increasing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health statistical and information workforce

Additional projects

• Worked to assess a number of national data sources to estimate the Indigenous preschool-age population, which is of relevance to an early childhood target in the National Indigenous Reform Agreement
• Captured data for a joint project with The Australian National University on Indigenous Australians and the National Disability Insurance Scheme: data capture and service delivery models, which is to examine the extent and nature of disability in the Indigenous population using existing data

Committees

• Health Performance Framework Steering Committee: Member of this DoHA committee chaired by Ms Tarja Saastamoinen (DoHA)
• Health Performance Framework Technical Reference Group: Member of this DoHA committee chaired by Ms Kirrily Harrison (DoHA)

Data collections managed

• Closing the Gap—Northern Territory—Indigenous Health and Related Services Data Collections: follow-up data sets on dental health, audiology, and ear, nose and throat

Indigenous Community and Health Service Reporting Unit

Unit heads

Dr Norbert Zmijewski (to May 2012)
Dr Indrani Pieris-Caldwell (from May 2012)

What we do

The Indigenous Community and Health Service Reporting Unit collects data for OATSIH (Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health) Services Reporting and national key performance indicators (KPIs) from Indigenous-specific health care services. The health service-level national KPI data on service operations and clients' health outcomes are reported back to health services bi-annually, and aggregated data at jurisdictional and national level are published annually for both the OATSIH Services Reporting and national KPI collections. Together with OATSIH and with the support of the Technical Working Group, the unit continues to develop national KPIs and works on the development of a new online reporting system, OCHREStreams.

Objectives

• Work with OATSIH and the Improvement Foundation to develop a new web-based reporting system, making it easier for Indigenous health services to report and use their data for continuous quality improvement
• Provide expert advice on the development of national KPIs for primary health to provide a better picture of the health of Indigenous people
• Improve the quality of data collections for national KPIs, OATSIH Services Reporting and reporting to health services and the public
• Work with health services to improve the quality and usefulness of their data

Performance in planned statistical and reporting deliverables
Contribute to Australia's health 2012	Achieved
Provide data for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2010 as required	Achieved
Publish the 'Healthy for life' national reports for 2009–10 and 2010–11	Work in progress To be published in 2012–13
Produce reports for 'Healthy for life' services bi-annually	Achieved
Finalise and publish Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services report 2009–10: OATSIH Services Reporting—key results	Achieved
Publish Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services report 2010–11: OATSIH Services Reporting—key results	Work in progress To be published in 2012–13
Produce reports on national primary health care key performance indicators for individual services	Achieved

Additional projects

• Undertook a trial collection of data for national KPIs using OCHREStreams
• Reviewed and tested online data collection on OCHREStreams for the OATSIH Services Reporting collection
• Contributed to the evaluation of OCHREStreams conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers consultants

Committees

• Technical Working Group (for the development of national KPIs): Member of this OATSIH and AIHW advisory group co-chaired by Mr John Shevlin (OATSIH) and the AIHW
• OCHREStreams Project Management Group: Member of this OATSIH group chaired by Mr Stephen Hall (SMS Management & Technology)
• OATSIH Data Advisory Group: Member of this OATSIH advisory group chaired by Mr John Shevlin (OATSIH)
• Web-Based Systems Advisory Group: Member of this OATSIH advisory group chaired by Mr Rod Schreiber (OATSIH)

Data collections managed

• Healthy for Life Data Collection
• OATSIH Service Reporting Data Collection
• National Indigenous-specific primary health care key performance indicators collections

Indigenous Data Gaps Unit

Unit head

Mr Anthony Cowley

What we do

The Indigenous Data Gaps Unit manages a range of data activities to improve Indigenous identification in key health data sets in order to better monitor COAG Indigenous Closing the Gap targets. Main projects include an assessment of the level of Indigenous identification in key health data sets, the development of best practice guidelines for linking data relating to Indigenous Australians, and the enhancement of mortality data through data linkage. The unit is also involved in coordinating AIHW reporting against the National Indigenous Reform Agreement.

Objectives

• Engage with policy agendas by ensuring that projects are relevant to the policy, planning and service delivery relating to closing the gap in outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians
• Improve reporting on outcomes and service delivery for Indigenous Australians through coordinating analysis for indicators in the National Indigenous Reform Agreement and Indigenous indicators in the National Health Agreement
• Improve reporting and analysis relevant to Closing the Gap by the development and implementation of methodologies to assess Indigenous identification in key data sets
• Improve the quality of data, in particular on life expectancy, for Indigenous Australians through the development of data linkage and data linkage guidelines

Performance in planned statistical and reporting deliverables
Provide analyses and data quality statements for third-cycle reporting against the COAG performance indicators for the National Indigenous Reform Agreement and for Indigenous-specific reporting in other COAG agreements	Work in progress Awaiting finalisation of technical specifications in 2012–13
Finalise a report on appropriate methodologies for assessing the quality of Indigenous data in seven key health data sets and assess the effects on the measurement of COAG targets	Work in progress To be published in 2012–13
Publish An enhanced mortality database for estimating Indigenous life expectancy: a feasibility study	Achieved To be released in July 2012
Finalise and publish National best practice guidelines for data linkage activities relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: 2012	Achieved To be released, jointly with the ABS, in July 2012
Publish a report on the quality of Indigenous identification in hospital separation data	Work in progress To be published in 2012–13
Prepare a paper on measuring need and access to services by Indigenous people	Work in progress Report on general practice services to be published in 2012–13

Performance in planned data development activities

• Undertook a baseline evaluation of current practices to collect Indigenous status information in health data sets
• Finalised a data collection instrument for Child and Family Centres to complete as part of reporting requirements under the Indigenous Early Childhood Development National Partnership Agreement
• Published Principles on the use of direct age-standardisation in administrative data collections: for measuring the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

Committees

• National Indigenous Reform Agreement Performance Information Management Group: Member of this group, chaired by Mr Matthew James (FaHCSIA), which reports to the Working Group on Indigenous Reform
• Data Quality Improvement Subcommittee: Member of this subcommittee of the Tasmanian Over-arching Bilateral Indigenous Planning group; the subcommittee is chaired by Ms Laurette Thorp (Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet)
• Data Reform Group: Member of this Victorian Over-arching Bilateral Indigenous Planning group, which is chaired by Mr Lane Masterton (ABS)
• Victorian Cancer Screening Data Linkage Working Group: Member of this working group, which advises the Victorian Department of Health and is chaired by Dr Dorota Gertig (Victorian Cytology Service)

Indigenous Research and Evaluation Unit

Unit head

Ms Helen Johnstone (acting)

What we do

The Indigenous Research and Evaluation Unit manages the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse, which is a collaboration between the AIHW and the Australian Institute of Family Studies. This involves producing publications that synthesise the evidence on overcoming Indigenous disadvantage, and managing collections of research and evaluations relevant to the Closing the Gap targets.

The unit works with external stakeholders and other areas in the AIHW to improve Indigenous identification in existing health data sets through the dissemination of the Best practice guidelines for collecting Indigenous status in health data sets, released in April 2010, as well as being responsible for evaluating the implementation of the guidelines. The unit also provides advice and support on the guidelines through the National Indigenous Data Improvement Support Centre (NIDISC).

Objectives

• Further develop and promote the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse as a key source of evidence for policy makers by providing high-quality publications that synthesise the evidence, and through greater engagement with policy makers
• Improve the quality of Indigenous health and welfare data by promoting the use of the best practice guidelines and evaluating their impact, and through providing advice and support through the NIDISC
• Assess the effects of the COAG initiatives on closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

Performance in planned statistical and reporting deliverables
Publish What works to overcome Indigenous disadvantage: key learnings and gaps in the evidence 2010–11 in the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse	Achieved
Produce issues papers, resource sheets and fact sheets for the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse	Achieved 1 issues paper and 7 resource sheets produced
Report on the evaluation of the demonstration projects to improve sexual health among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth	Work in progress To be published in 2012–13
Prepare papers on the health and welfare of Indigenous people on the online Indigenous Observatory	Not achieved No new data to report in 2011–12
Prepare a baseline report on the implementation of best practice guidelines for collecting Indigenous status in health data sets	Work in progress To be published in 2012–13
Develop a communication and dissemination strategy for best practice guidelines for collecting Indigenous status information	Not achieved Overtaken by other projects

Additional projects

• Undertook modelling work on life expectancy for OATSIH
• Managed the NIDISC helpline and provided related information resources

Committees

• Closing the Gap Clearinghouse Board: Secretariat for this board, which advises the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and is chaired by Dr Meredith Edwards (University of Canberra)
• Closing the Gap Clearinghouse Scientific Reference Group: Secretariat for this AIHW advisory group chaired by the AIHW

Data collections managed

• Closing the Gap Clearinghouse Research and Evaluation Register