Workforce Innovation and Reform
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Project
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Project
The aim of Health Workforce Australia’s (HWA) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker project is to identify how the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker (or ‘Health Worker’) workforce can be strengthened to deliver care in response to the known burden and distribution of disease in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.
Project Summary
To view the Project Summary, which provides full details of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Project, follow the link.
Key findings to date
Phase 1 of the project is nearing completion after an extensive information gathering process.
This phase involved:
- An environmental Scan based report of the relevant literature.
To download the Environmental Scan, please visit the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Project Environmental Scan page. - Community site visits in urban, regional and remote locations across Australia. A total of 64 health facilities were visited in 39 locations from October to December 2010. In total 389 people were interviewed, including 264 Health Workers, 100 Managers and 25 other health professionals.
- Surveys of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and their managers. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers completed 351 surveys and managers completed 100.
Phase 1 Interim Report
Findings from the Interim Report are now available to download in pdf format.
The Interim Report seeks to consolidate the information gathered through the consultation and survey processes, identify key issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and provide a national picture of the locations, roles, skills and qualifications of this workforce.
Phase 2 of the project has commenced and 13 national consultation workshops have been held, from May to July 2011, to engage with key stakeholders.
The workshops aimed to stimulate thinking on the future directions required to strengthen the Health Worker workforce. They were solutions-focused and will directly inform recommendations in the Project’s Final Report to guide the growth of this important workforce.
Where to from here?
The findings from the national consultation workshops were considered by participants of a Combined Reference Group (CRG) meeting held over two days on 19-20 July 2011 in Sydney.
The CRG aimed to consider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker workforce development strategies and actions (up to 2020, with a focus on the next five years) to strengthen the response to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health needs.
The outputs from this important workshop will provide a foundation for the report that will go from HWA to the Health Ministers later this year.
Online forum
- Join the Project forum and have your say!
Other Project Resources
Further information
- Program Manager
- Freecall: 1800 707 351
You can also follow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Project on Facebook.
