Western NSW Eye Health Partnership attends 2024 Koori Knockout
14th October 2024
RDN’s Senior Project Officer, Jessica Rae from Western NSW Eye Health Partnership (WEHP), recently attended the NSW Koori Rugby League Knockout carnival, one of the biggest Indigenous gatherings in Australia. The 2024 Koori Knockout was hosted by reigning champions Walgett Aboriginal Connection sports (WAC) in Bathurst.
The event was also attended by Wellington Aboriginal Community Health Service Aboriginal Health Worker Kieran Stewart, Orange Aboriginal Medical Service Aboriginal Health Worker Ebony Hay, and Monica Britt and Jason Newman from Bila Muuji Aboriginal Corporation Health Service.
Supported by The Fred Hollows Foundation and RDN for the Western NSW Eye Health Partnership, the group welcomed carnival participants to their tent promoting information about eye health and diabetic eye disease, where they could conduct portable retinal screenings for diabetic retinopathy with a portable retinal camera loaned by Brien Holden Foundation. Referrals to optometrists were facilitated for those that required further assessment or who requested it.
Indigenous Australians are three times more likely to have diabetes than non-Indigenous Australians and have a higher rate of diabetes-related vision impairment (5.5%) compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts (1.5%). The Koori Knockout allowed a space to foster constructive and honest conversations with people at risk of diabetic eye complications and provided education and general advice to improve long term eye health outcomes. The Knockout is known around New South Wales as modern-day Corroboree, creating a fantastic opportunity to have interactions with thousands of people across the weekend.
Attendees had the opportunity to be screened at the tent or as the group took the portable retinal camera out ‘roving’. On days 3 and 4 of the Knockout, the group were granted permission to enter the Elders tent where they were able to screen attendees and share knowledge on eye health.
“It was a privilege to yarn with the elders about their eye health and take the screening to them as not all of them were able to make it down to the organisation tents,” said Ms Rae about the experience.
“We can’t look at just eyes and forget about the rest of the person. Events like this provide an opportunity to create connections with people and community, developing trust and healthy dialogue about conditions like diabetic retinopathy. We have been able to have safe and constructive yarns with attendees and provide them with opportunistic care and eye health promotion. We’re proud to be able to bring this care to such a large group of First Nations people on behalf of the Western NSW Eye Health partnership.
“Popular topics were cataract, glasses-wearing and diabetic eye disease,” she said.
The event was also an opportunity for those coordinating the eye screening tent to participate in upskilling with Ms Rae, equipping them with the knowledge to successfully use the portable retinal camera. They are now able to take those skills back to their ACCHSs to screen and triage retinal camera images for their patients.
About WEHP
Western NSW Eye Health Partnership (WEHP) is a collaborative partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs), Local Health Districts, Primary Health Networks and NGOs that aims to increase access to eye health services and improve vision and eye health for Aboriginal people across the Western NSW region. Partners work together within an integrated framework drawing on local knowledge, and work with stakeholders across the region to achieve more equitable support and culturally responsive pathways to eye health for Aboriginal people. The Partnership aims to increase access and delivery of eye services to reduce the rate of avoidable vision loss in Aboriginal people in Western NSW. This program is funded by the Fred Hollows Foundation.