Overview

The OnTRACK CRE artwork is by Maar Nation-Gunditjmara artist, Sherry Johnstone. Sherry designed the logo to represent the OnTrack CRE, as follows: "I have used a tree as the main object to represent health for Aboriginal people as they need to be connected to their culture, family and Country in order to feel at their best, like a tree needs air, water and is connected to Mother Earth through its roots, to stand tall and strong. I have done the brain as the treetop which can also be looked at as just the top of the tree but inside the brain is all the connections that will be made through this program, with the circles representing the different mobs and community groups that will benefit from the information and the green connecting lines representing the connections and networking it will create through-out Australia. The pattern in the tree trunk represents water nourishing the tree for optimal health and longevity, just as it does for our people. The leaves on the outside represent Country and bush medicine as being connected to Country is Aboriginal people’s medicine. We can never underestimate the healing power of Country and the deep sense of well-being it creates, pleasing all the senses. The journey lines represent the people’s journey towards healthy choices to improve their brain health, which in turn, will affect many other areas in their lives that will also benefit. The footprints represent the people on their journey. At the bottom of the tree trunk is a pattern that represents Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people working together towards a healthier future."

On TRACK (Teaching, Research and Community Knowledges)

Promoting brain health with older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Our welcoming and collaborative team of highly experienced researchers is making a difference to the health and well-being of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Dementia has far reaching consequences: for the diagnosed person, their family and friends, the wider community, the service system and economy. With an ageing population and changing socioeconomic and societal patterns impacting the determinants of health, the numbers of people affected by dementia, the costs, disability and carer burdens are predicted to grow exponentially over the next 30 years. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples the picture is more challenging. Although more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are now living well to older ages, many continue to experience poor health outcomes and reduced quality of life, and experience dementia at 3-5 times the rate of other populations with a younger age of onset.

Our vision is the improved health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at risk of developing or living with dementia, together with their carers, families and communities.

The OnTRACK Centre for Research Excellence (CRE) brings together researchers and communities in a safe, collaborative space to generate research, knowledges, tools, workforce innovation and outcomes targeting the multi-layered challenges of dementia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

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