Professor Jaquelyne T Hughes (Wagadagam)1, Ms Katie Cundale1, Philip J Mills (Kulkalgal)2, Associate Professor Karla K Canuto (Kulkalgal)1
1Flinders University, College of Medicine and Public Health, Rural and Remote Health, Darwin, Australia, 2James Cook University, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, Waibene, Australia
Biography:
Professor Jaquelyne Hughes
Jaquelyne Hughes is a Torres Strait Islander (Wagadagam) nephrologist and leading clinician-researcher, advocating for health equity and culturally safe kidney care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Based in Darwin, her work spans chronic kidney disease, dialysis, and health systems transformation to improve outcomes and equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Associate Professor Karla Canuto
Karla Canuto is a Torres Strait Islander (Kulkalgal) researcher focused on improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with expertise in chronic disease prevention, physical activity, and research capacity building.
Aim:
To describe, through narrative, a community-led initiative in the Torres Strait focused on preventing and managing kidney failure.
Background:
Torres Strait community leadership, which honours tribal lore and kastomary practice, continues to drive actions that promote kidney health, manage kidney disease, and extend survival among Torres Strait Islander people who have kidney disease across individual, collective and inter-generational levels. Since late 1880’s, Torres Strait Islander freedoms were structurally oppressed, including their legal exclusion of economic, educative and health rights. A 1960s Medical Journal of Australia report described diabetes-associated amputations at Thursday Island hospital, clustered around adult males of Mabuiag Island. In 1977, the first Torres Strait Islander person to access dialysis care was recorded. In 2015, a two-chair haemodialysis service was opened on Thursday Island.
Methods:
Throughout 2022-2024, community consultations across Maluilgau (Badu, Mabuaig and Moa Islands) confirmed local need and support for establishing regional dialysis services. Tribal leadership of Badu Island partnered with researchers to assess feasibility and apply for funding to build a dialysis unit on Badu Island.
Results:
The Australian Government awarded funding to construct a four-chair dialysis unit on Badu Island. Consultations identified the urgent need for health promotion to prevent diabetes and kidney disease, as well as the importance of Indigenous data sovereignty, Indigenous languages as a fundamental element of cultural practice, the importance of clinical-technical allyship, and the need for sustainable funding.
Conclusion:
Locally governed community-research partnerships that consolidate Tribal and technical leadership have successfully advocated for a community-prioritised, locally built health service. These partnerships continue to advance other priorities, demonstrating how health service delivery can be improved through community-led approaches that honour cultural authority and local knowledge.