All Australians should soon become accustomed to being asked
'Are you of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin?' when they
visit a health service, following today's release of new Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare data collection guidelines.
The National best practice guidelines for collecting
Indigenous status in health data sets stress that the
question, 'Are you of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin?'
should be asked of all clients irrespective of appearance, country
of birth or whether the staff know of the client or their family
background.
According to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG)
National Indigenous Reform Agreement, all states and territories
will adopt the guidelines and have them in systematic use by
December 2012.
'We know that the question on Aboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander origin is not always asked of every client, because staff
may not realise the question is important, or they are concerned
that this question is sensitive or even discriminatory', said
Kerryn Pholi of the AIHW's National Indigenous Data Improvement
Support Centre.
'Asking the question helps the design, delivery and evaluation
of services to Indigenous Australians.
'It also assists researchers, policy makers and community
organisations who rely on the data to understand and improve the
health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people', Ms Pholi
said.
'Far from being discriminatory, the reverse may be true. It may
be discriminatory if service providers choose not to ask some
people, because everyone should have the right to answer the
question for themselves', she said.
The report includes recommendations for putting the guidelines
into practice, providing useful advice for dealing with common
scenarios such as when the client is too ill to be asked, does not
speak English, or when Indigenous status has to be established for
a deceased person.
Also included are practical and easy guidelines for staff who
might be reluctant to ask the question, and examples of clear
concise responses if the client wants to know why they are being
asked.
To download the guidelines for free, visit www.aihw.gov.au. For
more information for on how to use and implement the guidelines,
contact the National Indigenous Data Improvement Support Centre on
1800 223 919 or email
.
Canberra, 6 April 2010
Further information: Kerryn Pholi, AIHW, tel.
(02) 6249 5194, or mob. 0418 271 395
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. (02) 6244 1032.
National best practice guidelines for collecting Indigenous
status in health data sets
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