Culturally appropriate resources aim to close ‘eye-health gap’

Last week, the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) and the Vision Initiative introduced a set of culturally appropriate eye-health promotion materials at the Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative, located in Mooroopna, Victoria.The suite included posters, appointment cards and information brochures that covered significant eye-health conditions and issues – including refractive error, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, smoking, and vision loss – as well as how to access the Victorian Aboriginal Spectacles Subsidy Sche (VASSS).VACCHO CEO Ms Jill Gallagher said vision impairment and blindness among indigenous Australians was still three times that of non-indigenous Australians. The launch of these new materials will be an important step towards closing the eye-health gap for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in Victoria, she stated.Vision Initiative manager Ms Dee Tumino explained that ensuring culturally appropriate resources were developed for these communities was key to ensuring the state’s indigenous people drive eye-health initiatives through self-determination . Through an extensive consultation process conducted by VACCHO, these new resources were developed with community, for community to ensure that culture, imagery and language resonates with Victoria’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, she said.The material features artwork by Wiradjuri/Yorta Yorta artist Ms Lyn Briggs, who is said to be respected and widely recognised by the Victorian eye-health sector, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community, and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation staff.The Indigenous Health Unit at the University of Melbourne and the Australian College of Optometry (ACO) provided clinical expertise on the resources. Aboriginal community mbers and health workers, including those at Rumbalara, were also said to have been involved in making the project a reality.While the resources were developed primarily to support Aboriginal health workers, Ms Tumino said they could also be used by other health services across Victoria. She added that resources had been provided to the ACO for use during visiting optometry services and across the network of VASSS providers.Victorian health providers can request printed resources from the Vision Initiative team or VACCHO, or download the material from the Vision Initiative website.