Addressing the care gap
Cancer outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians remain significantly worse than for non-Indigenous Australians, with a mortality rate 1.4 times higher and a survival gap of nearly 10 years.
Senior Lead of Icon’s Indigenous ELIG, Amber Summers shares the importance of creating cultural safe environments.
“A cancer diagnosis can be particularly impactful for First Nations Australians because of ongoing challenges in navigating care,” said Amber.
“Communication barriers, institutional racism and inequitable community experiences all contribute to this disparity.
“This partnership is a commitment to collaborative action – to help close the gap and deliver meaningful, culturally safe change led by Indigenous knowledge.”
Measuring success through community voices
The project will run until May 2028 and will be shaped by continuous consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Importantly, success will be measured not only by clinical outcomes, but also through community feedback, cultural safety monitoring and ongoing evaluation.
“Cultural safety can only be defined by the communities we serve, and this project is built with that principle at its heart,” Amber said.
Long-term impact and sustainability
To ensure sustainability beyond the life of the grant, will continue to work with Carbal Medical Services on shared funding opportunities to help maintain the Indigenous Nurse Navigator role beyond the life of the grant.
This initiative also aligns with Icon’s commitment to sustainability, operating in a manner that ensures the well-being of our patients, people and planet. Icon has set a goal to achieve 50,000 cancer care connections in at-risk communities by 2027; this grant will directly help introduce culturally safe care tailored to First Nations people.
About Carbal Medical Services
Carbal Medical Services is a trusted Aboriginal Medical Service based in Queensland’s Darling Downs region. For many years, Carbal has partnered with Icon to support shared patients through transport, medical support and cultural guidance. Together, Carbal and Icon aim to deliver care that is both clinically excellent and culturally appropriate and inclusive.
Learn more about our Sustainability goals.
