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Health promotion resources for Aboriginal people: lessons learned from consultation and evaluation of diabetes foot care resources
Author(s) -
Schoen Deborah,
Balchin Delma,
Thompson Sandra
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
health promotion journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.515
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 2201-1617
pISSN - 1036-1073
DOI - 10.1071/he10064
Subject(s) - indigenous , foot (prosody) , medicine , health promotion , focus group , health care , promotion (chess) , community health , diabetic foot , public health , nursing , sociology , diabetes mellitus , political science , ecology , philosophy , linguistics , politics , anthropology , endocrinology , law , biology
Issues addressed Despite the startling age specific rate ratio for amputations in 25–49 year olds of, 41.25 for knee amputations and 27.5 for toe/foot amputations for Aboriginal/non‐Aboriginal people, there are no diabetes foot care education brochures or health promotion media available free of charge for Aboriginal people.1 This study consulted Aboriginal people about existing and potential resources for education on foot care. Method An Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal interviewer conducted six focus group discussions with a total of 60 Aboriginal people including Elders, community members, health workers, students and nurses. Focus groups discussed which materials, media and foot care messages worked best to communicate diabetes foot care messages. Results Participants were unequivocal in their preference for real pictures of foot problems rather than cartoons, clearly identifying a superior existing educational resource from the Indigenous Diabetic Foot Program. There was minimal support for many existing media and foot care messages. Participants preferred to develop their own messages and selected utilitarian media that would be used by all members of the Aboriginal community. Conclusions We recommend the delivery of the Indigenous Diabetic Foot Program in Western Australia. Consultation and involvement of Aboriginal people was consistent with Aboriginal peoples' preferred style of conversation and inclusion and allowed the target audience to determine the end product for use in education and health promotion. So what The process of seeking opinions engaged community members and led to unanticipated benefits with Marr Mooditj Aboriginal Health Training College in Western Australia now incorporating diabetes foot care education into student‐training programs.