Koori Men’s Health Day is a community based, collaborative, culturally accepted service model for early identification of mental and physical illness among Koori men in rural Australia
Health conditions such as depression, anxiety and diabetes are common among Aboriginal people in Australia. However, very few seek help from health professionals.
Aboriginal men in particular face several barriers to seeking help when they have a mental or psychological problem. These include difficulty in recognising that their symptoms are related to a mental or psychological illness rather than a physical illness, talking about their difficulties, barriers to accessing services and gender and language barriers in interactions with mental health professionals.
The Koori Men’s Health Day is a community based, collaborative, culturally accepted, feasible and transferable service model for the early identification of mental and physical illness among Koorie men in rural Australia. [source: Koori Men’s Health Day]
Presentation at the Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Care Conference
Dr. Anton Isaacs was a presenter at the 17th Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Care Conference, held in Kelowna BC June 17 and 18, 2016. His presentation on the Koori Men’s Health Day described the design and implementation of the Health Day – a community based, collaborative, culturally accepted, service model for the early identification of mental and physical illness among Koori men in rural Victoria, Australia.
People First Radio’s Kevin Midbo was at the conference and spoke with Dr. Anton Isaacs shortly after his presentation.
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audio | #mentalhealth #aboriginal #australia #koori #menshealth #health #innovative | https://t.co/pccek8UK5q pic.twitter.com/vcybodpru1
— People First Radio (@peoplefirstrad) June 25, 2016
About Dr. Anton Isaacs
Dr. Anton Isaacs is a public health physician with an interest in the mental health of rural and medically underserved communities. In India, Anton set up a rural mental health service outside Bangalore which has been successfully integrated into general medical services. His PhD from Monash University focussed on help seeking of Aboriginal men with mental health problems and the response of mental health services to their needs.
With the help of local Aboriginal Elders and mental health professionals, Anton developed an innovative primary health service model for early detection of mental illness among rural Aboriginal men called the Koorie Men’s Health Day which is run regularly in Gippsland. Most recently, Anton has been involved in mental health program evaluations such as the Aboriginal Youth Suicide prevention program of the Victorian Government and the Partners in Recovery program of Gippsland Medicare Local.
