Co-design the key to better First Nations heart health

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are nine times more likely to have a cardiac event before they’re 45. Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital emergency physician Professor Louise Cullen is working to change that.

Professor Cullen is working to improve detection and management of coronary artery diseases in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who present to emergency departments with chest pain and suspected heart attacks.

Louise is conducting the research as part of a collaborative approach. She is the recipient of a Queensland Health Clinical Research Fellowship, as well as the Chief investigator of a Medical Research Future Fund supported study undertaken by the QUT Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation, an interdisciplinary collaboration of universities, health facilities and researchers.

With almost 20 years of experience researching acute cardiac conditions, Louise is interested in how research can best be put into practical actions and serve the communities it involves.

“As we’ve begun collaborating with more people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers around Australia and stakeholders based in Far North Queensland, it’s opened layer after layer of things that we need to work on in order to try and get the best healthcare outcomes for our patients,” Louise said.

The research project, ‘Picture this: A new model of care for tackling heart attacks with First Nations Australians (The Powerful Pictures Study)’, takes a new approach to detecting heart disease. By co-designing the research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the project aims to use CT coronary angiogram images to inform treatment that is culturally appropriate so it can improve outcomes.

“The key element of this research is not only getting the images, but the collaboration with First Nations people,” Louise said.

“We’re trying to work out how we communicate our findings. We’re asking, ‘What’s the best way to support people in their health journey for better health outcomes?’ It’s not just about scans.”

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are nine times more likely than non-indigenous Australians to have a cardiac event under the age of 45.

“We want to look for the precursors to heart attacks because there are treatments which can prevent coronary artery disease getting worse,” Louise said.

However, treatment and management are only effective if people feel confident in understanding their health and why treatments may be needed.

“We need to make healthcare accessible for people to embrace and support them where they’re at. It is important that people can make their own healthcare decisions, because it allows them to take ownership of their healthcare,” Louise said.

The first 12 months of research will be focused on working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to develop the new model of care.