Friends of COORDINARE

Hi there Friends of COORDINARE,

For those of you who have recently completed the NAIDOC Week and Aboriginal issues survey, we have listed the correct answers below:

1. What does NAIDOC Week stand for? National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. (Please note that 'Aborigines' and 'Islanders' are historical / colonial terms and 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people' is now preferred.)
2. What is the 2021 NAIDOC theme? Heal Country. Learn about the theme here.
3. Who is regarded as the Mother of Reconciliation? Evelyn Scott. Learn about her here.
4. Where and when was the first Aboriginal Medical Service established? Redfern in 1971. Learn about the history here.
5. Who was the first Aboriginal woman elected to Federal Parliament? Nova Peris. Read her biography here.
6. What is the name of the Aboriginal person depicted on the $2 coin? Gwoya Jungarai. Learn about him here.
7. Why is this man depicted on the $2 coin? He survived the Coniston Massacre in the then Territory of Central Australia in 1928.
8. Who famously planted the flag on the Cliffs of Dover and claimed Britain on behalf of Aboriginal Australia? Burnum Burnum. Learn more about him here.
9. What are the four Aboriginal Nations we live and work on in South Eastern NSW? Dharawal, Yuin, Ngunnawal, and Ngarigo.
10. Which Nation are you on? You can find out if you guessed the Nation you're on correctly by consulting the AIATSIS map.

You can learn more about NAIDOC Week and find local events here: naidoc.org.au

We recently surveyed a range of community members in South Eastern NSW about their thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, and whether people intend to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Who responded?

Of the people who responded, more than 60% of people identified as female, 38% male, and 1% as another gender.

Almost 70% of respondents were aged 45 and above, with 30% in the 45–55 age range, 13% in the 55–65 age range, and 26% in the 65+ age range. Just under one quarter of people (23%) were in the 25–35 age range.

In addition, 47% of respondents identified as Aboriginal, with no-one identifying as Torres Strait Islander and one person preferring not to say.

A further 5% of people were from a multicultural background and just over 3% of respondents identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and / or queer (LGBTIQ+).

More than one-quarter of respondents (27%) indicated that they live with disability. Just over half of all respondents (53%) live with chronic illness.

Finally, there was an approximately even split between community members from the Northern part of the region (Helensburgh to Ulladulla) and the Southern part of the region (Ulladulla to Eden).

[Image description: Colourful cartoon illustration of happy diverse people from different cultural backgrounds and with mixed genders and abilities.]

Survey results

When we asked people if they knew someone who had contracted COVID-19 – including themselves or a family member – 95% said no. However, 46% of people had been tested as a precaution.

It was great to see that 92% of respondents had spoken to their friends and family about the COVID-19 vaccine. The main reason people wanted to talk about the vaccine was to discuss keeping relatives and elderly people with underlying health issues safe, as well as contributing to ‘herd immunity’ for Australia.

A huge majority of people – 94% in total – indicated that they will encourage their loved ones to get the COVID-19 vaccine. A further 62% of people intend to get the COVID-19 vaccine themselves when it becomes available to them.

For those people who DO intend to get the vaccine, the top three reasons were as follows:

1. To protect my loved ones
2. To protect myself
3. To protect vulnerable people

[Image description: Cartoon illustration of an elderly Aboriginal man with white hair receiving the COVID-19 vaccine from a young female Aboriginal nurse.]

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Thank you to the survey respondents for sharing your thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccination rollout!

Vaccinating the local community will take time, but everyone who would like to be vaccinated will be able to. To find out if you are currently eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, please refer to the Vaccine Eligibility Tracker on the Department of Health’s website.

Learn more about keeping yourself and others safe in this short video about ‘herd immunity’.

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If you would like to stay in touch and hear from us about future health-related surveys and consultations, we encourage you to sign up as a Friend of COORDINARE, and together we can help to improve local health outcomes!

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a rise in telehealth consultations between community members and health professionals.

In July, we launched a telehealth survey to understand people’s experiences of accessing telehealth via phone and / or video, and whether you would like to see telehealth continue beyond COVID-19.

It is great to see that 97% of our survey participants had previously heard of telehealth. A further 82% of people were recently offered a telehealth option by a health professional.

Of those who had experienced telehealth, 3 in 4 people consulted with their health professional over the phone, while 1 in 4 consulted via video.

When asked to provide feedback on their telehealth experience, 42% of people rated it as ‘Excellent’. A further 30% of people rated the experience as ‘Good’.

Above: We asked our Friends what they thought of their recent telehealth experience.

Most people felt that telehealth was a convenient alternative to a face-to-face consultation. One person said, “It was the most thorough consult I’ve ever had.”

Some other key comments included:

• “I feel the benefits of telehealth: convenience and comfort. I will choose it every time!”
• “Saved a lot of time [and] money … all consultations were bulk billed.”
• “This service is fine for everything except when you actually need a doctor to examine you … it certainly worked well for me when in lockdown.”
• “I live life with disabilities. Telehealth allows me greater choice in my health journey [and] how I can assess health and wellbeing services.”

Some survey respondents still prefer face-to-face consultations due to communication issues over the phone and a need for human connection. We remain concerned about the experience for those who described it as ‘Terrible’ or ‘Poor’ and will seek to better understand this. Overall, it seems the pros outweigh the cons for most people, as demonstrated in the word cloud below:

Above: We asked our Friends how telehealth compares with face-to-face consultations. In this word cloud – the bigger the word, the more people used it to describe their experience.

The top three benefits of telehealth our survey respondents identified were:

1. Reduced need to travel (28% of respondents)
2. Time saving (23% of respondents)
3. More convenient (21% of respondents)

When asked about the barriers of telehealth, 37% of people did not identify any barriers. A further 14% of people said that unreliable internet access can be an issue for them; particularly in rural areas.

Finally, survey respondents had some interesting and insightful suggestions for improving the telehealth experience. One person said, “Ensure it's equitable and accessible across all geographies (i.e. not only to people in metropolitan areas).”

Some other great suggestions included:

• “If GPs and other health professionals are going to recommend [it] to everyone then have some simple education around telehealth for seniors or others who haven’t used it.”
• “I would like to see medical practices offer a variety of telehealth options; and be able to offer a virtual platform [with] a lip-reading option and closed captions.”
• “As a minimum it should require a video component – rather than just telephone. It should be an option – not mandatory.”
• “I don't want to install any app or create accounts. I want to connect to [an] online clinic area and start the video consultation in a click.”

Thank you for sharing your views on telehealth! We appreciate your feedback.

We encourage you to sign up for Friends of COORDINARE: an opportunity for you to take part in further surveys, consultations, groups, and more. Some of these opportunities will be paid, others will be voluntary. Help us make a difference in improving local health services!

Please note: COORDINARE is not a clinical health service and cannot advise individuals about their health care. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider regarding any questions or concerns you may have about a particular medical condition.