Aboriginal people’s experience of stroke
services
The
services I couldn’t fault and even they (the services) say that they don’t
get enough Aboriginal people wanting to stay or using the services but… we
had a couple of run ins with them, just to put them on track on how to talk
to… When mum first had her
stroke, she was seeing things… you know, she was seeing some of her old
people and they were going to put her on medication for hallucinating and all
that sort of stuff. So I had to
go down to X (in Perth) and explain to them that… her people were coming
back to help her, like her old mother and sisters that had passed away and
they thought that she was telling lies and all this sort of stuff.
(Stroke Carer – Interview no. 7)
Indigenous Australians die from stroke at a rate eight times greater than other Australians, but there is little information about the appropriateness of the range of services that may help to prevent or better manage the impacts of stroke. The National Stroke Foundation approached CUCRH to form a partnership to learn first hand about the experiences of rural Western Australian Aboriginal stroke survivors, family members, community leaders and service providers about their experiences with stroke services.
The study took place in one regional centre and one remote area of Western Australia. Local Aboriginal medical services were actively involved in designing the methodology, recruiting people for interviews and, often, conducting the interviews. Staff in two state health services also generously gave their time, and of course we are especially grateful to the 26 Aboriginal people who so freely shared their experiences.
Five themes emerged from the study. The first
concerned communication and knowledge. Despite most stroke survivors
having symptoms prior to their stroke, most knew nothing about their risks of a
stroke. A second theme related to the cultural needs of Aboriginal
patients and families which were so often violated, however unintentionally.
As a study in rural and remote areas the themes of isolation and access also
emerged with the dislocation between services (sometimes over 2000 kms away) and
family. The fifth theme was the impact of stroke on individuals, families
and communities. Among community leaders the high prevalence of stroke is a
matter of great concern. They see it as robbing their communities of
elders.
CUCRH and National Stroke Foundation are using the results at two levels. First is at the community level, fostering stronger links between health care providers in mainstream and Aboriginal health services to overcome so many of the problems identified. The second is at a state and national level to influence policy.
The final report can be downloaded Here
(pdf format) - ( 164KB ).
