A public health campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of chronic wet cough in Aboriginal children is helping to improve detection, diagnosis and management of the condition.
Co-designed with the Aboriginal community and supported by actor Ernie Dingo and former West Coast Eagle Francis Watson, the campaign included the development of culturally sensitive materials including flip charts, posters, talking posters, banners, flyers, stickers and badges. It also raised awareness about chronic wet cough through in-person ‘yarning’.
A wet cough experienced by a child for more than four weeks can be a sign of underlying infection known as protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB). If left untreated it can lead to permanent life-shortening lung damage known as bronchiectasis.
PBB is prevalent in Aboriginal children with recent studies identifying the condition in 10 per cent of Aboriginal preschool children in communities in WA’s West Kimberley.
To raise awareness of the dangers of PBB the BREATH team and The Kids Research Institute Australia’s Kulunga Aboriginal Unit partnered with Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services, Yura Yungi Aboriginal Medical Services, Aboriginal families, and clinicians to develop and implement an intensive health promotion campaign.
The partnership aimed to raise awareness and develop solutions for timely detection, accurate diagnosis and optimal management of chronic wet cough in Aboriginal children – with the ultimate aim being to improve the lung health of Aboriginal kids.
The health promotion campaign, which built on a successful wet cough prevention health campaign in Broome, was implemented in Halls Creek and the Balgo, Mulan and Billiluna communities in the Kutjungka region.
It also included health messages played on the region’s radio station and targeted social media advertisements.
The BREATH team aims 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 under way in Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service in Perth and sites in the Northern Territory and Queensland.
It is hoped 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 right across Australia.