$5M for indigenous health research

$5M for tri-nation research to help close the gap in indigenous health

The Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) has announced funding for three exciting projects through the International Collaborative Indigenous Health Research Partnership (ICIHRP) scheme.

The projects range from improving oral health in a research trial, to exploring how enhancing education for health professionals can reduce chronic disease and improve outcomes for indigenous populations.

The ICIHRP is a joint initiative between the HRC, the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia, and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.

“It has been a tremendous journey working together for all three countries funding agencies to get to this point in the process. The calibre of applications was impressive and we are pleased to support such high quality indigenous-led research projects aimed at improving the health of indigenous peoples across New Zealand, Australia and Canada, “says HRC Chief Executive, Dr Robin Olds.

Details of the grant recipients’ projects are outlined below.

International Collaborative Indigenous Health Research Partnership

Lead Investigator: Dr Sue Crengle (New Zealand)
Department of Maori & Pacific Health, The University of Auckland
Title: Strengthening health literacy among Indigenous people living with cardiovascular disease, their families, and health care providers
Total: $1,475,884 over three years

Cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks and strokes are major causes of illness and death among Indigenous people in New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Patients and families play a major role in managing heart disease and stroke. To do this well people must be able to access, understand and act on information for health. This is called health literacy.

Dr Crengle’s team will work with indigenous primary care services to develop and implement a programme with patients and families that will increase knowledge of medications, increase confidence and ability to self-manage cardiovascular disease, and increase empowerment in interactions with health workers. The programme will also increase health workers’ knowledge of health literacy and their skills for working with people with high health literacy needs. Five health provider sites in New Zealand, Australia and Canada will participate with 100 patients and families at each site.

Lead Investigator: Dr Rhys Jones (New Zealand)
Te Kupenga Hauora Maori, School of Population Health, The University of Auckland
Title: Educating for equity: Exploring how health professional education can reduce disparities in chronic disease care and improve outcomes for Indigenous populations.
Total: $1,977,857 over five years

Indigenous people in New Zealand, Australia and Canada experience a greater burden of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and mental illness than non-indigenous people. This is partly due to differences in access to health care and in the standard of care received between indigenous and non-indigenous people.

One way to address health professionals’ clinical decision making, communication and engagement with patients and families is through education of current and future health professionals, yet there is currently little known about how education can influence these ‘health professional factors’ or what approaches work best.

This project is about comparing, building and sharing experiences and approaches to indigenous health teaching and learning in the area of chronic disease.

Lead Investigator: Associate Professor John Broughton (New Zealand)
Ngai Tahu Maori Health Research Unit, the University of Otago
Title: Reducing disease burden and health inequalities arising from chronic dental disease among Indigenous children: an early childhood caries intervention
Total: $2,352,328 over five years

Child dental disease experience (Early Childhood Caries; ECC) causes profound suffering, frequently requiring expensive treatment under a general anaesthetic. It is associated with other chronic childhood conditions such as otitis media and nutritional disorders, and is the strongest predictor of poor oral health in adulthood. Despite ECC being entirely preventable, marked ECC disparities exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

If the burden of ECC and associated oral health inequalities experienced by indigenous children in these nations are to be reduced, more needs to be done to ensure that appropriate preventive measures, together with support for maintaining optimal oral health, are provided to carers of such children in the early life stages.

ENDS

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