Study Guides: Indigenous Perspectives &amp; Practices: Health Resources

Indigenous Health

Indigenous health resources can be found in databases, books, journals and grey literature (e.g. government reports, statistics, policy documents).

Books

Books are useful for getting a comprehensive overview of a topic. The Library has a range of books related to Indigenous health from advice for health professionals to details on specific health conditions. To find books, we recommend these search tools:

UTS Library catalogue Browse books in the UTS Library collection on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
Trove (National Library of Australia) Browse National of Library of Australia's catalogue for books on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

Here are some recommended books:

Binan Goonj: Bridging Cultures in Aboriginal Health

Yatdjuligin: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nursing and Midwifery Care

Working together : Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice

Australia's Rural, Remote and Indigenous Health

Book cover: Aboriginal primary health care

Aboriginal Primary Health Care: An Evidence-Based Approach

Book cover: Indigenous Australians and Health

Indigenous Australians and Health: The Wombat in the Room

Book cover: Traditional healers of the Central Desert

Traditional Healers of the Central Desert: Ngangkari

Databases

Databases are recommended for finding journal articles and the latest research on your topic. These are some of the key databases for Indigenous health:

Lowijta PubMed Search Tool This search tool provides easy access to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health literature on the PubMed database. The board of Lowijta are majority Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander membership.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Bibliography (Informit) Published and unpublished materials on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Compiled by the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet.
Indigenous Collection (Informit) International Indigenous research across multiple disciplines covering Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, North America and The Pacific.

Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin

The HealthBulletin curates the latest journal articles, reports and related resources on Indigenous health.

Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin

Want more databases?

Browse all of the Library’s health databases

Reports

There is a large volume of reports covering many aspects of Indigenous health. Most of these are available freely on the web. Here are some of the key ones:

Overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health status A comprehensive annual summary produced by Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet.
Summary of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health status A shorter of the annually updated "Overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health status".
Closing the Gap Annual reports to the Australian Parliament on progress in Closing the Gap. Covers child mortality and life expectancy.
AIHW: Indigenous Australians - Reports Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) produce a range of reports on Indigenous Australian health matters.

To find reports using Google, we recommend:

trying alternative terms by putting OR between the words
e.g. Aboriginal OR Indigenous Australians OR Torres Strait OR First Australians
adding search terms like the word report OR working paper OR policy
if relevant, limit your search to specific organisations.
e.g. site:gov.au for Australian government
e.g. site:org.au for Australian organisations
e.g. edu.au for Australian educational institutions

Try out our example search below:

Statistics

Government and organisations are usually the main places to go for Indigenous health statistics. Here are some starting points:

ABS: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Health statistics and articles from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
AIHW: Indigenous Australians Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) where health information such as reports, Indigenous identification, data, indicators, and more can be found on Indigenous Australians.
NSW Healthstats; Aboriginal Health Generates health stats and visualisations on NSW Aboriginal health topics.

For more guidance, visit our guide on Finding Statistics.

Finding statistics guide Library guide on finding statistics

Organisations and Government Agencies

Government agencies and organisations produce a large volume of research, reports and policies relevant to Indigenous health. They also provide many of the health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This is not a comprehensive list, but a starting point:

Australian Indigenous Health InfoNet Comprehensive resource on all things related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Also produce the annual report 'Overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health status'.
Lowitja Institute Australia’s national institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research. The board of Lowijta are majority Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander membership.
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) Provide advice and guidance to the Australian Government on policy and budget matters.
Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council of NSW Work with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in NSW to ensure they have access to a skilled workforce to provide high-quality health care.
AIATSIS: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Australia's only national institution focused exclusively on the diverse history, cultures and heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board The board develop standards, codes and guidelines, approve accredited courses of study, register health practitioners and handle complaints.
LIME: Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education LIME network's role is to ensure the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning of Indigenous health in medical education, as well as best practice in the recruitment and retention of Indigenous medical students and trainees.
Department of Health: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders A collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health-related information from the Federal Department of Health.
NSW Health: Aboriginal Health Policies, document, program details and more from NSW Health.
Health and Community Services Agreements (ATNS) List of Australian health and community service agreements at state and federal level collated by ATNS (Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements).

Indigenous Perspectives & Practices: Health Resources