AMA 15th National Conference 2003 - Top award for Aboriginal health research
The winner of the 2003 Wyeth/Medical Journal of Australia Award is the research team from the Co-operative Research Centre for Aboriginal and Tropical Health in the Northern Territory.
They have won the award for their qualitative research project into factors limiting the effectiveness of health communication with Aboriginal patients - a problem that is still a widespread impediment to indigenous health.
The award is made for the best original research published in the Journal.
Dr Alan Cass and his team, in setting out to determine the barriers that could impede communication, found that in Aboriginal health care, full clinical understanding rarely was achieved.
Barriers included lack of control over language by Aboriginal patients, timing, content and circumstances of the predominantly biomedical interactions, cultural and linguistic divides and the limited use of interpreters or training opportunities in cross-cultural communications.
Other team members include Drs Anne Lowell, Michael Christie, Paul Snelling, Associate Professor Isaac Brown, Ms Melinda Flack and Ms Betty Marrnganyin.
CONTACT: John Flannery (0419) 494 761
Judith Tokley (0408) 824 306