A Heart Research Centre First!  

Funding to improve secondary prevention programs for Aboriginal people with cardiovascular disease.

The Centre was recently awarded a grant from the ANZ Trustees to work with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) in Victoria to improve community participation in cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention services. 

Cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke, is recognised as the leading cause of death and disability for all Australians.  Aboriginal people are almost three times more likely to die from CHD than non-Aboriginal people.  Cardiac rehabilitation is a well known treatment that enables people to live an active and fulfilling life and prevent further cardiac events (heart attack or heart surgery).  While the World Health Organisation recommends that all patients with CHD should participate in cardiac rehabilitation, only 2% of eligible Aboriginal people attend a cardiac rehabilitation program. Typically cardiac rehabilitation is delivered in mainstream hospitals and centres.  Numerous barriers have been identified by Aboriginal people for accessing cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention in mainstream services.

Three successful interstate models have improved participation rates for their local Aboriginal communities.  The first phase of this project will investigate and document these successful models and explore ways of introducing them in Victoria.

The second phase will provide support for two ACCHOs to plan and implement a locally adapted secondary prevention model of care that will best meet the needs of the Aboriginal community.  This project will be run over 12 months.