Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander mental health

In his editorial in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia, Robert Parker suggests that before European contact, Australian Aboriginal culture inherently supported strong mental health.  "Sense of self was seen as being intimately connected to all aspects of life, community, spirituality, culture and country. Material needs were provided for through sharing rules, and relationships and kinship defined social roles."

Two articles in the same issue discuss the current issues in indigenous mental health.  Mental health of Indigenous Australians: a review of findings from community surveys pulls together the results of 11 different surveys and concludes that there is an inequality in mental health between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians that starts from an early age.  Psychosis in Indigenous populations of Cape York and the Torres Strait analyses 171 Indigenous patients in Cape York and Torres Strait with psychosis diagnoses, intellectual disability, and/or substance use comorbidities.  The study corroborates clinical impressions of a high burden of psychosis in the this group, particularly male Aboriginal Australians.  "The findings indicate an urgent need for further research in this region, to extend this research to other Indigenous populations, to identify causal and perpetuating factors, and to develop effective social and clinical measures to alleviate this burden."

Please use CIAP or contact your library if you need the full text of the articles. MJA 6 February, 2012.