An intensive health promotion campaign which aims to raise awareness of the dangers of a chronic wet cough in Aboriginal children launched this month in Perth.
In a bid to improve the lung health of Aboriginal children, researchers from the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre have partnered with Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service, and Aboriginal families and clinicians in the Perth region.
They aim to raise awareness and to develop solutions for timely detection, accurate diagnosis, and optimal management of chronic wet cough in Aboriginal children.
A wet cough experienced by a child for more than four weeks can be a sign of underlying infection known as protracted bacterial bronchitis. If left untreated, this can lead to irreversible, life-shortening lung damage known as bronchiectasis. The good news is that chronic disease can be prevented with timely detection and management.
Protracted bacterial bronchitis is prevalent in Aboriginal children. It was recently identified in 10 per cent of Aboriginal children in some communities in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Dr Gloria Lau, a researcher with the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre – a powerhouse partnership between The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation and Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) – and a paediatric respiratory doctor at PCH, said it’s important to detect and manage chronic wet cough early to reduce lung damage in children.
“The disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients with bronchiectasis is particularly marked. In the Kimberley region, the median age at death for Indigenous adults hospitalised with bronchiectasis is 37 years,” Dr Lau said.
Children are not born with bronchiectasis, it develops over time. The longer the duration of wet cough in a child, the more extensive the lung damage can be. However, damage can be halted, limited or even reversed if chronic wet cough is detected and managed early.
“We believe that the burden of chronic lung disease in Aboriginal adults can be reduced if early lung disease is managed effectively in children.”
Dr Lau has been working together with the Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service and the local community to design and roll-out this campaign, which builds on successful wet cough campaigns implemented in Broome and the East Kimberley region, and features local community members Aunty Gail and Zachariah.
“The campaign, which is focused on empowering the local communities, includes in-person yarning, and the team are equipped with culturally secure materials including flip charts, posters, banners, flyers, stickers and badges,” Dr Lau said.
“The campaign also includes targeted social media advertisements and health messages on local radio stations.
Partnering with the local community has meant that together we have been able to design and implement a culturally meaningful and sustainable information and education campaign.
“By doing so, we are increasing the chances that the campaign will be a success, and in turn the lung health of Aboriginal children in the Perth community will be improved in the short and long term.”
In addition to the community resources, face-to-face training sessions and resources for local Aboriginal Medical Services clinicians have been developed including eLearning modules, a chronic wet cough management flowchart and podcasts.
Dr Lau and her research team aim to partner with other Aboriginal communities around Australia to roll out similar campaigns, each adjusted to be culturally meaningful and sustainable for the communities in which they are delivered.
Currently, work is underway in sites in the Northern Territory and Queensland.
If the campaigns prove to be successful, it is hoped that the campaign together with the implementation approach can serve as a guide for raising awareness and improving management of chronic wet cough in Aboriginal children across Australia.
Mineral Resources proudly supports the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre as Principal Partner of the BREATH (Building Respiratory Equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health) team. The team is led by paediatric lung health researcher, and Mineral Resources Fellow, Professor André Schultz.
For further information about wet cough visit www.telethonkids.org.au/our-research/research-topics/wet-cough/