Equity and Access Projects
The NIKTT’s Equity & Access Sponsorships were awarded to eight projects, totaling $1,040,381. Funded initiatives are in located Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia, and Queensland. The projects include activities such as: delivery of outreach kidney transplant education and assessment in rural and remote areas; establishment of transplant-focused patient mentor projects and Indigenous Reference Groups; and strengthening the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce in kidney transplant settings.
1. Port Augusta Hospital and Regional Health Service
The Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network Incorporated, through the Port Augusta Hospital and Regional Health Service on Banggarla Country, was awarded $84,667 to pilot a patient navigator role that would assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients to understand and navigate the transplant workup process. The Port Augusta Hospital Renal Unit partnered with ACCHS Pika Wiya to develop and initiate education sessions for the Port Augusta community.
4. Fiona Stanley Hospital
Fiona Stanley Hospital, located on Whadjuk Country in Western Australia, was awarded $109,224 to provide an outreach kidney transplant assessment service to the Pilbara and Goldfields regions of WA, in collaboration with Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS): Wirraka Maya Health Service in South Hedland, Pilbara; Mawarnkarra Health Service in Roebourne, Pilbara; and Bega Garnbirringu Health Service in Kalgoorlie, Goldfields.
7. Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service
The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service, located on the traditional lands of the Gimuy Walaburra Yidinji and Yirrangangi peoples, were awarded $107,940 to deliver a patient mentor project that involved the identification of Indigenous kidney transplant recipients who can mentor transplant candidates throughout the pre-transplant journey.
2. Pika Wiya Health Service Aboriginal Corporation
Pika Wiya Health Service Aboriginal Corporation was awarded $148,000 to employ an Aboriginal Health Practitioner (AHP) to bridge service delivery gaps and educate patients with kidney disease about transplantation as a treatment option. This initiative worked to capture all dialysis patients in the Port Augusta community, with the AHP helping to overcome language, knowledge, and cultural barriers that currently prevent Indigenous patients from pursuing a kidney transplant.
5. Top End Health Service
The Top End Health Service, located on Larrakia Country in the Northern Territory, was awarded $200,000 to employ two Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health professionals to bridge cultural gaps between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kidney patients and the mainstream health system. These health professionals were hired to service the populations of both Darwin and Katherine.
3. Royal Perth Hospital
The Royal Perth Hospital (RPH), located on Whadjuk Country in Western Australia, was awarded $165,330 to provide an outreach kidney transplant assessment service to the northern Kimberley region. This project, through RPH, worked in collaboration with Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service (KAMS) and the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH).
6. Purple House
Purple House, an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service, was awarded $200,000 to support an existing team of Aboriginal well-patient mentors working for Purple House to create a program targeted at supporting people hunting for kidney transplant in a culturally safe and respectful approach.