{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T14:42:37Z","timestamp":1787928157403,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"CSIRO Publishing","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,5]],"date-time":"2025-09-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757030400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":602,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,16]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Self-determination informed policies are key to improved outcomes for Aboriginal health. Aboriginal leadership must be reflected throughout any public health reform process that affects Aboriginal communities. This paper presents a body of oral health policy work, undertaken under Loddon Mallee Aboriginal Reference Group\u2019s (LMARG\u2019s) leadership, as an exemplar of a self-determination informed change, that led to an amendment of an Australian state (Victoria) regulation \u2013 The Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners [AHPs]) Regulations 2022. A summary of activities undertaken by LMARG, from advocacy to leading the submission, to amend the regulation, is provided. The amendment, now in place, authorises registered AHPs to obtain, possess, and administer fluoride varnish (FV) as a part of health services they provide. FV is a concentrated form of fluoride applied to tooth surfaces to prevent tooth decay. The practical implication of this amendment is delivery of a culturally appropriate integrated oral health promotion FV model that addresses mainstream dental access barriers commonly experienced by Aboriginal people. The model aims at upskilling an Aboriginal workforce to facilitate timely FV application to Aboriginal children.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1071\/py23201","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,11]],"date-time":"2024-01-11T19:25:55Z","timestamp":1705001155000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Aboriginal Health Practitioners obtaining, possessing and administering fluoride varnish: self-determination driven regulation amendment for integrated oral health care for Aboriginal children"],"prefix":"10.1071","volume":"30","author":[{"given":"Rahila","family":"Ummer-Christian","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"ALoddon Mallee Aboriginal Reference Group Strategic\/Bendigo and District Aboriginal Cooperative, North Bendigo, Vic. 3550, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dallas","family":"Widdicombe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ALoddon Mallee Aboriginal Reference Group Strategic\/Bendigo and District Aboriginal Cooperative, North Bendigo, Vic. 3550, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anil","family":"Raichur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BVictoria State Department of Health, 50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Vic. 3000, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Danielle","family":"Couch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CMonash Rural Health, Monash University, 26 Mercy Street, Bendigo, Vic. 3550, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"67","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025110222264016600_R1","unstructured":"Australian Human Rights Commission (n.d.) Self-determination and Indigenous peoples. Available at https:\/\/humanrights.gov.au\/our-work\/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-justice\/self-determination-and-indigenous [Accessed 9 October 2023]"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R2"},{"issue":"1","key":"2025110222264016600_R3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.1111\/1753-6405.12949","article-title":"A public health advocacy approach for preventing and reducing gambling related harm.","volume":"44","author":"David","year":"2020","journal-title":"Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R4","unstructured":"Department of Health & Human Services (2011) Health professions drug access committee. Available at https:\/\/www.health.vic.gov.au\/publications\/health-professions-drug-access-committee [Accessed 9 November 2022]"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R5"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R6","unstructured":"Department of Health and Human Services (2020) Action plan to prevent oral disease 2020\u201330. Melbourne. Available at https:\/\/www.health.vic.gov.au\/sites\/default\/files\/migrated\/files\/collections\/research-and-reports\/o\/victorian-action-plan-to-prevent-oral-disease-2020.pdf [Accessed 18 September 2022]"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R21","unstructured":"Department of Health, Victoria (n.d.) Medicines and poisons \u2013 secretary approvals. Available at https:\/\/www.health.vic.gov.au\/drugs-and-poisons\/medicines-and-poisons-secretary-approvals [Accessed 9 November 2022]"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s40814-019-0399-4","article-title":"Enabling Aboriginal dental assistants to apply fluoride varnish for school children in communities with a high Aboriginal population in New South Wales, Australia: a study protocol for a feasibility study.","volume":"5","author":"Dimitropoulos","year":"2019","journal-title":"Pilot and Feasibility Studies"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"30","DOI":"10.1111\/adj.12742","article-title":"Guidelines for use of fluorides in Australia: update 2019.","volume":"65","author":"Do","year":"2020","journal-title":"Australian Dental Journal"},{"issue":"2","key":"2025110222264016600_R9","first-page":"161","article-title":"The mouth as a site of structural inequalities; the experience of Aboriginal Australians.","volume":"33","author":"Durey","year":"2016","journal-title":"Community Dent Health"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12939-016-0299-7","article-title":"Aboriginal Health Worker perceptions of oral health: a qualitative study in Perth, Western Australia.","volume":"15","author":"Durey","year":"2016","journal-title":"International Journal for Equity in Health"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-016-1497-0","article-title":"Improving healthcare for Aboriginal Australians through effective engagement between community and health services.","volume":"16","author":"Durey","year":"2016","journal-title":"BMC Health Services Research"},{"issue":"1","key":"2025110222264016600_R12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1177\/2380084416667244","article-title":"Oral health in young Australian Aboriginal children: qualitative research on parents\u2019 perspectives.","volume":"2","author":"Durey","year":"2017","journal-title":"JDR Clinical & Translational Research"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R13","unstructured":"Government of Western Australia Department of Health (n.d.) Fluoride varnish CEO approval. Available at https:\/\/ww2.health.wa.gov.au\/Articles\/F_I\/Fluoride-varnish-CEO-Approval [Accessed 9 November 2022]"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R14"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R15","unstructured":"National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (n.d.) What A&TSI health worker and health practitioners do. Available at https:\/\/www.naatsihwp.org.au\/what-atsi-health-workers-and-health-practitioners-do [Accessed 9 November 2022]"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R16"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"255","DOI":"10.1002\/hpja.640","article-title":"Oral health promotion and programming provided by Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations in South Australia.","volume":"33","author":"Poirier","year":"2022","journal-title":"Health Promotion Journal of Australia"},{"issue":"23","key":"2025110222264016600_R18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17238774","article-title":"Costing the scale-up of a national primary school-based fluoride varnish program for Aboriginal children using dental assistants in Australia.","volume":"17","author":"Skinner","year":"2020","journal-title":"International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/healthcare9081029","article-title":"Child fluoride varnish programs implementation: a consensus workshop and actions to increase scale-up in Australia.","volume":"9","author":"Skinner","year":"2021","journal-title":"Healthcare"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-020-08673-x","article-title":"Factors influencing the perceived importance of oral health within a rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in Australia.","volume":"20","author":"Tynan","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R22"},{"key":"2025110222264016600_R23"}],"container-title":["Australian Journal of Primary Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/connectsci.au\/py\/article-pdf\/doi\/10.1071\/PY23201\/1326028\/py23201.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/connectsci.au\/py\/article-pdf\/doi\/10.1071\/PY23201\/1326028\/py23201.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,3]],"date-time":"2025-11-03T03:26:49Z","timestamp":1762140409000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/connectsci.au\/py\/article\/30\/1\/PY23201\/194363\/Aboriginal-Health-Practitioners-obtaining"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,12]]},"references-count":23,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,16]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1071\/py23201","relation":{},"ISSN":["1448-7527","1836-7399"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1448-7527","type":"print"},{"value":"1836-7399","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,12]]},"article-number":"PY23201"}}