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G4EBT > HEALTH 26.06.07 23:13l 172 Lines 5722 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 3E5772G4EBT
Read: GUEST
Subj: Re: Bob - AMA Report bias (not)
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Sent: 070626/2057Z @:GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU #:35846 [Blackpool] FBB-7.03a $:3E5772G4
From: G4EBT@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
To : HEALTH@WW
I've been off packet for a few weeks and I'm just catching up with
some of the dross. Hence this will be very dated, but I wanted to
set the record straight.
Bob, VK6BE wrote:-
>The AMA Report, as you styled it
I'm not sure what Bob's point is, except to be obtuse for the sake
of it. I didn't "style" the document the "AMA Report" - the AMA did.
I quoted the forward by the Australian Medical Association president:
Quote:
The AMA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health *Report Card Series*
has carried a consistent theme throughout its existence the tragic state
of health and lack of health services endured by Aboriginal peoples and
Torres Strait Islanders.
We have called it a national tragedy and a national shame, and I think we
are being kind in that assessment. It is the 21st century and we are still
seeing health conditions and health outcomes from a bygone era.
End quote.
The AMA report wasn't a whinge - it was a positive "good news story".
All the statistical info in the report was well-sourced, verifiable
and referenced.
>It was written by ONE doctor, the President and not by the Association
>itself.
Not so - it's the *AMA's* May 2007 Report.
Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, AMA President, wrote the forward.
He speaks for the AMA as a body.
Note the title:
"The AMA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Report Card Series"
(The *AMA's* Report Card - not the president's).
The president refers throughout to "we", and "our" - not to "I".
Hence, the AMA has ownership of the report.
Quote:
>We have called it a national tragedy and a national shame,
>We are still seeing health conditions and outcomes from a bygone era,
>We continue in our efforts to educate and inform and hopefully reform.
>Each year *our* Report Card paints a picture
>Our story this year is all about access barriers.
>We, the people who work in the health system...
>We have to study the successful programs in this Report Card
>We must also fund and support these programs...
The AMA report is the distillation of 24 papers by health-care
professionals and academics who've investigated the issues in depth.
I wrote:
For anyone concerned about this issue the six-page report "Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islanders Health Outcomes is excellent, and can be found at:
http://www.ama.com.au/web.nsf/doc/WEEN-73EVX9/$file/Reportcard_2007.pdf
Anyone who *is* concerned about the issue would have read the report
rather than rushing into print to pour scorn on the efforts Australian
health-care professionals.
It wasn't me talking - it was the AMA. Bob should surely afford the AMA
the respect to which it's entitled. It isn't me he's denigrating - it's
the AMA.
It seems an odd thing to do.
The AMA represents more than 27,000 doctors across Australia, both
salaried and in private practice, GPs, specialists, teachers and
researchers, doctors in training.
It would hardly allow its elected president to present an Annual Report
on its behalf on such a sensitive matter if it didn't reflect the members
views.
>He could be challenged on a number of points by other groups who do not
>agree with him.
I guess so.
I'm not sure if Bob's challenging him.
If so, can he provide any well-structured criticism from alternative
respected sources? Is he better informed than the AMA?
If not, why behave like this?
>If you happened to see Australian TV and heard the news services you may
>have got a more correct view of the subject
I can't believe I'm reading that.
I've lost count of how often Bob's told me not to believe what I read in
Oz papers or on ABC. Has he seen anything in the Oz media which detracts
from the AMA report?
I've had a good look - I can't find anything. Quite the contrary.
Independently of the AMA's report the University of NSW has carried out
research for the World Health Organisation, on which the ABC has reported.
I won't quote from ABC News but the transcript and podcast podcast of the
PM Prog - Monday, 30 April, 2007 18:32:47 at:
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s1910466.htm
It's entitled "Aboriginal Health - 100 years behind".
It referred to the WHO's report by researchers at the University of New
South Wales. It found that Aboriginal health lags a full century behind
that of other Australians and reinforces the AMA Report.
The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body for WHO, under the
auspicies of the UN. It meets each year in May in Geneva, and is attended
by delegations from all 193 Member States.
The Executive Board is composed of 34 members technically qualified
in the field of health. I assume they know what they're doing.
Good luck to them in their endeavours.
>but, as usual you rely on third parties for your information.
Not so.
Bob is the third party here, with no expertise in this field.
I quoted a newsworthy report first-hand which stands up to close scrutiny,
from a professional body with laudable aims - the AMA. They're not my
views.
I'd have thought that most Australians would like to see their taxes more
effectively directed at better health outcomes for Indigenous people, and
would welcome the initiatives outlined in the report.
That is what the report seeks to address.
I do wish Bob would either look into things with more objectivity or stop
straying into areas outside his sphere of competence for no other reason
than to try to start an argument.
I'm not sure what his point is.
I'll list the sources which underpin the AMA report in another bull.
Best wishes
David, G4EBT @ GB7FCR
Cottingham, East Yorkshire.
Message timed: 17:00 on 2007-Jun-26
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