Improving Anaphylaxis Management by Health Care Professional Education and Practical Skills Training in a Regional Centre

Professor David Brewster’s article on John Boulton’s new book highlights the attention the book has received from paediatricians interested in the health of Indigenous children. Written from the shared perspectives of paediatrician and anthropologist, the book allows for greater acknowledgement of the cultural and historical factors influencing the health of Aboriginal children and young people today. Brewster notes that mainstream Australia cannot address ‘historical injustices’, and presumably also reduce the health gap for Aboriginal children and young people, such as the highest rates of youth suicide in the world in the Kimberleys, without ‘Aboriginal partnership’. However, he also notes in his conclusion that ‘ultimately it is Aboriginal communities and language groups which need to institute change, which preserves the key aspects of their culture while encouraging improvements in child health outcomes’. The Paediatric Policy and Advocacy Committee (RACP) wholly agrees that partnerships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians are fundamental to addressing child health inequities. It is also vital for non-Indigenous groups to advocate that there are Indigenous-led solutions to these issues; to actively listen and learn and support our partners. Readers may be interested to know that the RACP has commenced work on a policy on Indigenous child health that seeks to understand the health and well-being of Indigenous children and young people in Australia and New Zealand, their relationship to culture, country and community and how we as paediatricians can contribute to improved health outcomes. Most importantly, the development of this policy is being led by an Indigenous paediatrician, Dr Danny De Lore from Rotorua, with strong representation from Indigenous Fellows and community members from Australia and New Zealand. Partnerships such as these are fundamental to improving the health and well-being of our Indigenous children and young people.