We are seeking to transform asthma management and care for First Nations people using deep listening, yarning to understand barriers, enablers and to codesign solutions through a First Nations Asthma Care Model. We want to pilot this work with the First Nations community at Point Pearce known by the local Narungga people as Bookooyanna. We ...
Asthma Australia
Asthma management and care for First Nations people at Point Pearce – Pilot

GOAL
$15,000
Field of Interest
- Health/wellbeing and medical research
Target Population
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- People with a disability, illness or disease

Asthma is an inflammatory condition of the airways, which restricts airflow and can be fatal. Asthma affects 1 in 9 Australians, or 2.7 million people.
We are Australia's largest provider of person-centred education and support services for people with asthma, their families, health professionals, and the broader community. Our professionally staffed helpline and our Asthma Assist services assist over 48,000 people annually to manage their disease for improved quality of life. We find the best treatments and practices and provide education and training to make sure life with asthma is the best it can be.
We are a leading provider of evidence-based asthma training resources, educating thousands of healthcare professionals and school staff about best-practice asthma management every year.
We support innovative asthma research to find new ways to prevent, treat and manage asthma and so the information we provide to people is well-researched and evidence based.
We champion the needs of people with asthma through our advocacy. We work towards systemic change by working collaboratively with a range of stakeholders; including people with asthma and their carers, health professionals, non-government organisations, governments, researchers and industry, to achieve a better future for people with asthma
Project Summary
We are seeking to transform asthma management and care for First Nations people using deep listening, yarning to understand barriers, enablers and to codesign solutions through a First Nations Asthma Care Model. We want to pilot this work with the First Nations community at Point Pearce known by the local Narungga people as Bookooyanna. We will use culturally affirming practices, putting First Nations knowledges and principles at the centre of our approach.
The model of care at Bookooyanna will be translational to our future asthma programs in urban and regional First Nations communities across Australia where we can further test, listen, learn, discover, codesign and implement models of asthma care.
Bookooyanna is a former Aboriginal mission, now under the Aboriginal Lands Trust, located on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia with a varying population between 200-300. There is a local health clinic that employs only a part-time general practitioner, meaning community members must access mainstream health services in nearby towns with whom the community has long standing relationships of mistrust, and perceptions of racist treatment. A barrier to effective asthma care.
We have a relationship with Bookooyanna through our Asthma Community Connector. Our recent yarning circle, held at the Bookooyana health clinic, unearthed community concerns around their asthma health care, access to services, confusion over medications and mistrust of other health services. This pilot will also address key community priorities by consulting with stakeholders, including the clinic practice manager, the local community council, and through yarning circles led by our First Nations Engagement Lead.
Project Outcomes
Short Term outcomes:
- Continue to build the trust of Asthma Australia with the community through culturally safe and informed practices and authentic engagement.
- Identify and understand the key issues impacting the community in managing their asthma.
- Strengthen the relationship between Asthma Australia and the Health Clinic as a trusted resource for health information and support.
- Develop and introduce a codesigned model of care that benefits First Nations Peoples with asthma.
- Provide training for Aboriginal Health Workers in the clinic – This is an important sustainable strategy.
Long Term outcomes:
- Improve the health and wellbeing of First Nations Peoples with asthma in Bookooyanna.
- Reduce the hospitalisation rate of First Nations Peoples caused by asthma in Bookooyanna.
- Develop with the clinic and the community a sustainable model of asthma care.
- Test the model in other communities across Australia.
A second key issue that has been unearthed through our preliminary work is the link between trauma (particularly intergenerational), colonialism, racism, and adverse asthma outcomes as documented in literature primarily from other settler colonial nations.
In working with community to address this trauma, our First Nations Engagement Lead Aunty Wendy Edmondson, will introduce through the yarning circles the importance and impact of healing in its broadest sense and its value to improving health outcomes using a culturally informed healing approach. The We Al-li model of healing is evidence based and effective and will be introduced as an option for consideration by the community of Bookooyanna.
Budget Breakdown
TOTAL BUDGET: $65,100
FUNDING
Funding source | Amount |
---|---|
Cybec Foundation (confirmed) | $40,000 |
Asthma Australia (confirmed) | $10,100 |
Funding gap (unconfirmed) | $15,000 |
EXPENSES
Expense item | Amount |
---|---|
Asthma Australia staff | $31,000 |
First Nations cultural advisor support and guidance | $2,500 |
Travel of AA staff to communities | $3,000 |
Payments of Elders/First Nations participants | $3,600 |
Workshop costs - venue, catering, facilitators | $17,000 |
Community designed solutions | $8,000 |
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