New Asthma Resources For Indigenous Australians
The plan was developed by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing and is effectively Australia's first official Remote Indigenous Australian Asthma Action Plan designed for national use.
According to paediatric respiratory physician, Professor Anne Chang, whose work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children was used to guide the development of the new plan, the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring data shows that Indigenous Australians are more likely to have self-reported asthma than non-indigenous Australians, particularly those living in urban areas.
"When you are working with Indigenous Australians, the principles of managing asthma remain the same: you need to prescribe the correct medication and the correct delivery device with regular follow up - all the usual principles," Prof Chang explained.
"What is absolutely critical, however, is how you deliver the concept of asthma management and the educational process you use, such as the asthma action plan itself.
"Everyone needs an asthma action plan and how you give it to the patient and the format of the plan itself is the key to effective asthma management in Indigenous Australians, hence the development of this new Remote Indigenous Australian Asthma Action Plan," Prof Chang said.
The plan, which is pictorially based, uses illustrations of Indigenous people and photographs of common medications as well as colour coding; sun and moon graphics to indicate when to take medications; and the colloquial term for asthma - 'short wind' - to ensure it is relevant to people with asthma living in even the remotest communities.
The reverse side of the new plan features the Asthma Foundation of the Northern Territory's 'Short Wind Danger Plan', featuring step by step illustrations of Indigenous people detailing what to do in an asthma emergency.
Educational satellite broadcast program for health professionals now on-line
The National Asthma Council Australia's popular educational program: Taking a Breather: Asthma Management for Indigenous Australians, aired on the Rural Health Education Foundation satellite broadcast network, is now freely accessible to health professionals on-line (http://www.rhef.com.au). DVD or VHS copies of the broadcast can also be purchased from the Rural Health Education Foundation.
The program focuses on the cultural and medical issues surrounding effective asthma management for Indigenous Australians, including prevalence, diagnosis and risk factors. With an emphasis on culturally appropriate information, topics include differential diagnosis, access to medications and devices, smoking cessation and the role of asthma action plans in patient self-management.
This program is accredited or endorsed for CPD/CPE by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, the Royal College of Nursing Australia and the Australian Physiotherapy Association.
The original satellite broadcast was supported by National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and the Department of Health and Ageing.
National Asthma Council Australia
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