Conference presentations, workshops and key note addresses provide an opportunity to share research findings, lessons learned and stories collected during the Missing Voices project so far:
- During Stroke Week 2017, Professor Beth Armstrong was interviewed on ABC Broome about Missing Voices and the new project Enhancing Rehabilitation Services for Aboriginal Australians After Brain Injury.
- In July 2017, Professor Beth Armstrong was interviewed for an article in Scitech Particle online magazine. http://particle.scitech.org.au/people/revitalising-rehab-for-aboriginal-brain-injury/
- In July 2016 Professor Beth Armstrong presented a webinar for the Australasian Society for Brain Impairment discussing Aboriginal Australians’ experiences of brain injury and ways to move forward in providing culturally secure rehabilitation services.
- In May 2016 the team presented a paper and workshop titled ‘Two ears to listen: Lessons learned from research in Indigenous contexts’ at the National Speech Pathology Conference held in Perth.
- In April 2016, Professor Beth Armstrong, Associate Professor Deborah Hersh, and Associate Professor Juli Coffin held a workshop in Adelaide titled ‘Finding the ‘missing voices’ of Aboriginal Australians with acquired communication disorders following stroke or traumatic brain injury: Lessons learned on effective working practices’.
- In February 2016 there was a presentation with colleagues of the South Metro Public Health Unit and project participants at the WA Stroke Services Study Day held at Fremantle Hospital. The presentation was titled: Missing Voices: communication difficulties after stroke and traumatic brain injury in Indigenous Australians.
- In September 2015, a poster presentation titled ‘Quantitative data on acquired communication disorder (ACD) in Aboriginal Western Australian hospitalised stroke survivors: the Missing Voices Project’ was given at the SMART STOKES and Stroke Society of Australasia conference in Melbourne.
- In May 2015, the work of Professor Beth Armstrong and Professor Claire Penn titled "Toward cultural apahsiology: New models of cultural aphasiology: new models of understanding" was presented at the 45th Clinical Aphasiology Conference in Monterey Bay, California.
- In May 2015, Dr Natalie Ciccone presented at the Speech Pathology Australia National Conference in Canberra. Dr Ciccone's presentation was titled "Missing Voices: Aboriginal people's stories of stroke and traumatic brain injury."
- In November 2014, Associate Professor Deborah Hersh presented at the Language as a Social Justice Issue Conference held at Edith Cowan University, Joondalup. Her presentation was titled "General Practitioners' perceptions of barriers to servicing Aboriginal people with acquired communication disorders in WA."
- In September 2014, Associate Professor Deborah Hersh presented at the Aphasia Symposium of Australia held at Edith Cowan University's Mount Lawley Campus. Associate Professor Hersh's presentation was titled "Cultural confidence and ideal practice: Speech Pathologists' views on working with Aboriginal adults with acquired communication disorders."
- In May 2014, Professor Beth Armstrong and Associate Professor Juli Coffin led a workshop titled ‘Missing Voices: working with Indigenous communities to explore communication difficulties after stroke and traumatic brain injury in Indigenous Australians’ at the 37th Annual Brain Impairment Conference of the Australians Society for the Study of Brain Impairment, held in Fremantle, WA. The topic of cultural security was prominent during this workshop which was well attended by clinicians and researchers from a variety of disciplines. Professor Armstrong was also invited to give a keynote address at the conference where the work of the Missing Voices project was shared.
- In May 2014, Professor Beth Armstrong presented at the Speech Pathology Australia Conference in Melbourne. Professor Armstrong’s presentation was titled ‘The development of a screening tool for use with Aboriginal people after stroke or traumatic brain injury’
- In November 2013, Associate Professor Deborah Hersh presented at the 2nd National Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA) conference. The theme of the conference was ‘Healthy Footprints Leading Generational Change’ and Associate Professor Hersh’s presentation was titled ‘Spreading the word about communication difficulties after stroke and traumatic brain injury in Indigenous Australians: an introduction to the Missing Voices research.’
- In September 2013, Professor Beth Armstrong co-presented at the British Aphasiology Society Biennial Conference in Manchester, UK with Professor Claire Penn. Their presentation, titled ‘Towards Cultural Aphasiology: Some lessons from Indigenous contexts’ brought together experiences from Australia and South Africa.
- In March 2013, Professor Armstrong was invited to deliver the 2013 Edith Cowan Memorial Lecture where she spoke about aphasia and in particular one lady’s journey with aphasia after a stroke at a young age. Delivered on International Women’s Day, Professor Armstrong’s lecture was titled ‘Missing Voices: a journey into language, brain and culture’.
Missing Voices project in the news:
- Professor Beth Armstrong was interviewed about the Missing Voices project by Dianne Gray from Radio Mama (Midwest Aboriginal Media Association) during her morning show on 26 March 2015.
- Professor Beth Armstrong and Meaghan McAllister were interviewed about the Missing Voices project for the Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper. In February 2014 an article titled “World First Study into Strokes and Trauma” was featured with a follow up article being published in July 2014.
- Professor Beth Armstrong delivered a sound bite for ABC Radio Broome on 4 February 2014 and gave a follow up interview with reporter Natalie Jones in July 2014. This interview went to air on ABC Radio Broome on 14 August 2014.
- Professor Beth Armstrong was interviewed by the Science Network Western Australia about the Missing Voices project with particular focus on the screening tool being developed. The article featured on the Science Network of WA’s website on 17 May 2014 and was titled “Project tackles communication disorders in rural settings”
- Associate Professor Juli Coffin was interviewed about the Missing Voices project for the Geraldton Guardian with an article featuring in the newspaper in February 2014
- Professor Beth Armstrong joined Nerida Currey of the Strong Voices program on Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association Radio in November 2012 to discuss the new research into Indigenous stroke and brain injury. A follow up interview was given on 4 February 2014.
Activity with other organisations and affiliates:
- In February 2014, the Missing Voices team contributed to the Indigenous Allied Health Association’s submission to Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee into the prevalence of speech, language and communication disorders and speech pathology services in Australia. On 9 December 2013 the Senate referred this matter to the Community Affairs Reference Committee for inquiry and report. One item in the terms of reference for submissions to the Committee was the incidence of these disorders by demographic group (paediatric, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disabilities and people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities).
- In October 2013, the Missing Voices team contributed to the Australian Aphasia Rehabilitation Pathway for the Clinical Centre of Research Excellence, highlighting the particular considerations required in the pathway for Aboriginal people experiencing aphasia.
Beneficial outcomes of the Missing Voices project to date:
- The first documentation of individual journeys of Aboriginal people with acquired communication disorder post stroke and traumatic brain injury, with participants informally reporting healing aspects of sharing their stories of their experiences.
- The first documentation of the extent and profile of acquired communication disorder in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal adult stroke and traumatic brain injury survivors using hospital linked data.
- Documentation of the type and extent of rehabilitation services (Speech Pathology) across all the sites involved, as well as the first documented experiences and insights of Speech Pathologists working with Aboriginal clients with acquired communication disorder.
- The first documented experiences and insights of Aboriginal Health Workers and General Practitioners working with Aboriginal clients with acquired communication disorder.
- Production of the first communication disorder screening tool for Aboriginal populations – the Aboriginal Communication Assessment After Brain Injury (ACAABI).
- The first translation and back-translation of a communication disorders screening tool for Aboriginal populations - the Aboriginal Communication Assessment After Brain Injury was translated and back translated into Nyangumarta language to explore the feasibility and appropriateness of translating an assessment tool into an Aboriginal language.
- The first published best practice statements on speech pathologists working with clients with acquire communication disorders from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.
- Increased Aboriginal workforce capacity via recruitment of 14 Aboriginal Research Assistants and increasing the skill base of Aboriginal Health Workers through project related training.
- A significant contribution to the area of Indigenous research methods and methodologies through the exploration and employment of multiple modalities to ensure that the research is completed in a culturally safe and culturally informed way (including the Indigenous Reference Group, Aboriginal Research Assistants and the Aboriginal Chief and Associate Investigators). .
- A greater understanding of how health data relating to stroke, acquired brain injury and acquired communication disorder is recorded and extracted in the electronic databases of Aboriginal Medical Services. This may lead to clinical pathways being developed at local sites.
- Education and dissemination of findings from the project to the wider Speech Pathology, brain impairment research and allied health communities leading to greater awareness of the issues unique to Aboriginal Australians.
- New collaborations made between Universities, Aboriginal Medical Services, service providers, advocacy groups and community members leading to an increased awareness of stroke and acquired communication disorder and dissemination of information to inform and educate service providers and community members about stroke and traumatic brain injury risk factors, the FAST message, patterns of recovery and rehabilitation services.
- Translation of results into new NHMRC funded clinical trial providing new models of service delivery for Aboriginal stroke and traumatic brain injury survivors.
