Funder: Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia
Australians who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, as well as those living in rural and remote communities, continue to face barriers to accessing digital health services. Currently, 9 in 10 rural patients have never experienced digital health care or telehealth, and over 40% of clinicians express concerns about their capability to deliver such services.
There is significant value in providing nutrition care within community health settings, where it can be delivered in a familiar environment by local health workers. This approach allows for more holistic and culturally appropriate care. However, it is essential that these services are culturally safe, evidence-based, and developed in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dietitians, Aboriginal Health Workers, and people living with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).
Project leaders, Sophus Nutrition, and their research partners aim to co-design and implement a culturally appropriate digital health model of care, delivered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals in primary care settings, as an adjunct to routine care in northern Australia.
Specifically, this project aims to:
- Optimise existing culturally appropriate, evidence-based programs to deliver and communicate nutrition care advice in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dietitians, Aboriginal Health Workers, and people with CKD.
- Determine the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a culturally sensitive digital health mode of care – delivered by Aboriginal Health Workers in primary care settings – to improve nutrition care delivery and quality of life in people with CKD.
Expected outcomes
- Development, delivery and implementation of a culturally appropriate digital health solution that is acceptable to stakeholders – including First Nations Health Workers, dietitians, renal physicians, and renal nurses – as well as end-users (patients at risk of, or living with Chronic Kidney Disease).
Workforce development for First Nation Health Workers, enabling them to work within their scope while providing expert support through a digital health solution. This will be supported by technology and informed by input from some of the world’s leading experts in Chronic Kidney Disease and mobile health.
Transferability of the model to other health modalities, including diabetes education, physiotherapy, cardiac rehabilitation, exercise physiology, and mental health – leading to improved health access and equity across regional and remote Australia.
Establishment of an evidence base demonstrating the value, efficacy, and efficiency of mobile health applications in First Nations communities, to inform future funding decisions and health service planning.
