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Implementing evidence into practice to improve chronic lung disease management in Indigenous Australians: the "Breathe Easy, Walk Easy-Lungs for Life" (BE WELL) project

Australia

The BE WELL project strengthened chronic lung disease care for Indigenous Australians by supporting culturally appropriate COPD assessment, pulmonary rehabilitation, and workforce capacity building.

Background

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects approximately 20% of adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) people and the prevalence is even higher in remote regions of Australia. The death rate from COPD is three times higher for Indigenous Australians compared to non-Indigenous Australians and hospitalisation rates are five times higher.

Aims

To reduce the gap in access to best-practice management for chronic lung disease and improve health outcomes in Indigenous communities.

Project plan

  • Evaluate the ability of the BE WELL program to enhance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker knowledge, skills and confidence in the assessment and management of COPD, particularly the delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation.

  • Identify the local structural, systems and other contextual factors that will influence successful implementation and sustainability of pulmonary rehabilitation by ascertaining local solutions.

  • Determine the uptake of respiratory assessment and pulmonary rehabilitation in Aboriginal Medical Services.

  • Determine the impact of the BE WELL program on health outcomes and health care utilization and costs (particularly hospitalisations) of Indigenous people with COPD.

  • Evaluate the ability of networks, established through teleHealth technologies, to support Indigenous health workers in the management of people with COPD.

Impact

The BE WELL project showed that online education co-designed with Aboriginal health workers was helpful in supporting the cultural adaptation of standard COPD resources for Aboriginal people with COPD. The project team noted that respect for cultural knowledge and lived experiences and deeply valuing Aboriginal ways of learning and communicating was key for the success of this project. Evidence from the project was used to support the development of Lung Foundation Australia’s National Strategy document for pulmonary rehabilitation, highlighting the need for culturally appropriate strategies.

Publications and output

To access publications and other outputs relating to this project, see our publications webpage.

Funding organisations

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