Impacts

Outcomes

Since its inception, the I-CAN program has done 1,162 health assessments and physical fitness screenings across 16 schools in remote communities such as Ammonguna, Maningrida, Ntaria (NT), Timber Creek (NT), Canteen Creek (NT) and Mornington Island (QLD). Bamaga and Aurukun (QLD) are scheduled for participation in 2023.

For 2023 IMF has received dedicated support from the Torres Strait Shire Council to deliver the I-CAN program in several communities across the Torres Strait. This is an exciting opportunity for IMF to capture almost every school across 15 communities in the Torres Strait.

Background

In a national study of Australian young people’s perspectives, health ranked as the second most important domain for having a good life (Redmond et al. 2016). In addition to their own health, young people also reported that the health of family members (for example, a parent or grandparent) was important for their wellbeing (Redmond et al. 2016).

Health is influenced by factors such as individual and psychological make-up, lifestyle, environmental and cultural influences, socioeconomic conditions and access to quality health care programs and services (AIHW 2018a). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a multidimensional construct that incorporates physical, mental, and social wellbeing and so is more than just the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO 1946).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples represent a disproportionately high percentage of people with chronic disease in comparison to non-Indigenous Australians. In recent years, many strength-based approaches to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have produced positive results.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people take a broader perspective of health and view it not just as the physical wellbeing of the individual, but the social, emotional, and cultural wellbeing of the whole community (AIHW 2016).

As a health promotion agency, IMF seeks to increase the wellbeing of students in Indigenous communities by implementing a holistic program which covers off on physical wellbeing as well as implementing strategies to break the cycle of educational disadvantage.

According to the Australian Medical Journal (https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2017/207/1/improving-indigenous-health-through-education) improved educational attainment can increase life expectancy by up to 10 years. In view of the Indigenous life expectancy gap, which is, at birth, 10.6 years lower for Indigenous Australians males than for non-Indigenous males, and 9.5 years lower for Indigenous females than for non-Indigenous females, there is a great need for programs such as I-CAN that address health and school attendance at the same time.

Education attainment is a potent, practical, and achievable force for health improvement in Indigenous communities.