FIRST NATIONS (symposium session): From community engagement to implementation: co-designed models for obstructive sleep apnoea care in First Nations communities
Tracks
Track 2
| Friday, November 13, 2026 |
| 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM |
Details
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) continues to be underdiagnosed and undertreated in many First Nations communities. The underlying challenge lies in service models that are largely specialist-driven and metropolitan-based, which do not readily translate to regional and remote contexts. Addressing these gaps requires genuine partnership among community members, health services, and researchers to design locally relevant and sustainable approaches.
This symposium presents a community-led implementation model to improve OSA care. The session will cover community roadshows that build awareness, explain the diagnostic process, and establish referral pathways. It will also outline culturally responsive workforce training and a Community Champion model that engages people with lived experience of OSA and their carers to provide peer education and support treatment navigation. Home-based diagnostic testing and local care pathways, delivered in partnership with First Nations services, will be discussed. Early implementation findings will be shared to offer practical guidance for strengthening OSA service delivery.
Speaker
Shannon Edmed
Research Fellow
University of Queensland
Chair and Introduction
10:30 AM - 10:35 AMBiography
Ms Lacoata Major
Community Research Assistant
University of Sunshine Coast / Lets Yarn About Sleep
Community roadshows to improve OSA awareness and service engagement
10:35 AM - 10:50 AMBiography
Lacoata Major is a proud Kalkadoon and Mitakoodi woman born and bred in Mount Isa. She is a research assistant within the Let’s Yarn About Sleep program at the Thompson Institute. Lacoata is based in Mount Isa, Northwest Queensland and is currently studying to be a sleep coach and sleep technician. Lacoata works within the metro, rural, regional and remote areas in Australia alongside health professionals and services to identify issues related to poor sleep. The Let’s Yarn About Sleep program aims to deliver culturally appropriate health services specifically designed for our first nations people of Australia and is Australia’s first sleep health equity program.
Ms Markesh Fanti
Community Research Assistant
University of Sunshine Coast / Lets Yarn About Sleep
Community roadshows to improve OSA awareness and service engagement
10:35 AM - 10:50 AMBiography
Markesh Fanti is a proud Kukatj, Waluwarra/Kalkadoon woman of the Gulf of Carpentaria and NW Queensland, who works as a Community Research Assistant and Sleep Coachand has been integral to the running of the Let’s Yarn About Sleep’s Young People program in Mount Isa and surrounding communities.
Dr Bushra Nasir
Senior Research Fellow
University of Queensland
Workforce support for culturally responsive OSA care
10:50 AM - 11:05 AMBiography
Dr. Bushra Nasir is an epidemiologist health researcher. She has made significant contributions to health policy and priority population research. Her impact is reflected in high-quality publications, policy influence, media recognition, and extensive peer-review and collaborative activities. A recognised research leader and mentor, she has strengthened research capacity, supported diverse healthcare stakeholders, and held key leadership roles, advancing research excellence through national and international partnerships.
Ms Roslyn Von Senden
Community Research & Engagement Manager
University of Sunshine Coast / Lets Yarn About Sleep
Workforce support for culturally responsive OSA care
10:50 AM - 11:05 AMBiography
Roslyn is a Proud Kalkatungu/Kalkadoon woman from Mount Isa in Northwest Queensland, with ancestral ties to the Gungalida people of the Gulf of Carpentaria. She has over 29 years of experience advocating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities. As a teacher, cultural mentor and advocate, her work is grounded in a deep commitment to nurturing the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander change makers through education, leadership, and culturally responsive community programs. Roslyn Von Senden formally a member of the Queensland Early Childhood Workforce Forum and previous represented on the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education and Training Advisory Committee, a Ministerial Committee established by the Minister for Education under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006. As a member of the advisory committee, Roslyn advises the Minister for Education and the Department of Education on policy, program development, and implementation relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders.
Prof Yaqoot Fatima
Prof Of Sleep Research
University of Sunshine Coast
Training First Nations peoples with lived experience as OSA champions
11:05 AM - 11:20 AMBiography
Professor Fatima is a pharmacist, epidemiologist, sleep scientist, and the director of the Let’s Yarn About Sleep program. With a strong focus on reducing the societal burden of poor sleep and its associated health outcomes, Fatima's work exemplifies integrating multidisciplinary, translational research with culturally responsive, co-designed programs and service models.
Dr Danielle Wilson
Research Fellow
University of the Sunshine Coast
Home-based diagnosis and local management of OSA in First Nations communities
11:20 AM - 11:35 AMBiography
Dr Danielle Wilson is a Research Fellow in Sleep Health at the Thompson Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast. As part of the Let's Yarn about Sleep team, she currently leads co-designed projects to implement a culturally responsive local model of care for obstructive sleep apnoea screening, diagnosis and management in rural and remote First Nations communities.
