The Australian Lung Foundation aims to reduce the burden of chronic lung disease of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in rural and remote regions by increasing the local health providers’ capacity to deliver effective point of care chronic lung disease management to their patients.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and bronchiectasis are significant contributors to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health disadvantage. The death rate from COPD among indigenous Australians is five times that for non-indigenous Australians¹.  Nationally, COPD affects approximately 20% of indigenous adults but the prevalence exceeds this in remote regions².

In addition to the considerable under diagnosis of COPD in Australia³ there are many identified issues that can form barriers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People accessing effective health care in their local area. Some identified barriers are; lack of transport to and from services, fear and distrust of services and a lack of available, culturally safe services⁴.

Breathe Easy, Walk Easy is a locally delivered lung health training program that provides ongoing support to rural and remote health professionals to deliver evidenced based culturally appropriate pulmonary rehabilitation programs to their patients.

The program focuses on building links and collaborative partnerships across disciplines and sectors to enable a more flexible and responsive approach to meeting healthcare needs of rural and remote communities

Initial development of the training material commenced in 2006 with support from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing “Rural Health Support Education and Training (RHSET) program.  Initial piloting was conducted in 2006-2007 in Darwin and Katherine (NT) and Fitzroy Crossing and Broome (Western Australia).

Community based evaluation of training impact was conducted in 2009-2010 in Dharah Gibinj Casino NSW, Griffith NSW and Alice Springs NT. This evaluation stage was supported by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing Rural Primary Health, Rural Health Branch Rural and the Chronic Disease Lifestyle and Risk Modification (CDSM) Grant respectively. Inital evaluation outcomes show a significant impact in participants’ confidence to deliver pulmonary rehabilitation program in their area.

The program is ready to be rolled out nationally within an evaluation framework of training impact (health provider) and patient outcomes (six minute walk test and Quality of Life Scores)

For further information on the Breathe Easy, Walk Easy program click here

References

1.  McKenzie DK, Abramson M, Crockett AJ, at al. The COPDX Plan: Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for the Management of COPD. 2007. Available from www.COPDX.com.au

2.  Rob Pierce (Convenor), Ral Antic, Anne Chang, Mark Howard, Alan James, Graeme Maguire, et al. RESPIRATORY AND SLEEP HEALTH IN INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS 2009.

3.  McKenzie DK, Frith PA, Burdon JGW, Town GI. The COPDX plan: Australian and New Zealand guidelines for the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Med J Aust. 2003; 178(6 Suppl):S1-S40.

4.  O’Grady KF, Revell A, Maguire G, Millonig R, Newman M, Reid D, et al.  In: Lung Health Services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Queensland. 2010. Brisbane: Queensland Health.