Good Medicines Better Health Project December 2007 update

December 2007 update

This photo of the trial participants is supplied courtesy of NACCHO (for media purposes)

Project overview

In 2005 the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia (AHCSA) and the National Prescribing Service (NPS) embarked on a Good Medicines Better Health (GMBH) pilot project funded by NPS.

The project is designed to assist Aboriginal Health Workers improve their knowledge and skills about medicines based on the principals of Quality Use of Medicines (QUM). Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders live with chronic conditions, such as asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure. However, on average, they use fewer medicines than other Australians, because they face many difficulties obtaining and using medicines.

The Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia, in partnership with NACCHO and the Aboriginal Health Workers from the participating communities, developed a training package that includes content on QUM issues associated with three common chronic conditions within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations ? asthma, hypertension and type 2 diabetes.

The training package is aligned to units of competency within the recently endorsed National Health Training Package. This alignment ensures formal recognition of the achievements of Aboriginal Health Workers who have participated in the program.

The project is initially being trialed with a pilot program which commenced July this year. The pilot includes the delivery of a minimum of four training sessions, ongoing support of local trainers and a comprehensive evaluation of the training outcomes.

The outcomes of this pilot program will inform the development of a model for a national roll out of the project.

For further background information:

• MedicinesTalk Summer 2005 Aboriginal Health Workers build skills
• Media release July 2007: Training for Aboriginal Health Workers on medicines use in asthma, hypertension and diabetes
• Media Release: Medicines project to help group with worst health status in Australia

Progress to date

It was decided that the course be piloted first, with attention given to evaluating the effectiveness of this model of training. In order to pilot this project, NACCHO selected three sites:

1. Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (Urban)
2. Port Lincoln Aboriginal Health Service (Regional)
3. Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services Council (Remote)

Nine Senior Aboriginal Health Workers (SAHW) enrolled in the train the trainer 'Master Trainer Team' pilot program. The program was delivered in 'blocks' whereby all the participants came together at one location for a week to complete each training module.

The SAHW completed the 'Master Trainer Team' pilot program and are currently delivering components of the pilot program to other AHW's in their community health services. The training model below outlines the training process.

To date the SAHW have completed three out of four modules:

• Module One delivered during July 2007 in Adelaide South Australia: The first module focused on the Training and Assessment.
• Module Two delivered during August 2007 in Port Lincoln, South Australia: The second module focused on Quality Use of Medicines, including an initial review of resources.
• Module Three delivered during November 2007 in Melbourne, Victoria: The third module featured presentations and sessions on Asthma and Hypertension delivered by the Senior Aboriginal Health Worker /Trainers trial participants, and a review of related resources. (See further below for more details of the medicines resources review).
• Modules Four and Five will be delivered in 2008. Module Four will focus on QUM and diabetes.

Review of consumer medicines resources

In the Module Two August training session, staff from NACCHO and AHCSA sought feedback from Aboriginal Health Workers on the cultural appropriateness of NPS consumer resources. The Aboriginal Health Workers favoured the NPS Medicines List resource most because they felt it was practical and they thought it would be especially useful for Aboriginals with a chronic disease or for parents of children.

In the Module Three November training sessions, the Aboriginal Health Workers reviewed asthma, diabetes and hypertension consumer resources utilising the developed assessment tool. This assisted with their training in Asthma and Hypertension.

A few useable resources appropriate for Aboriginal trainers and consumers were identified, and it was a good opportunity for the Aboriginal Health Workers to provide feedback on current resources and provide suggestions for the development of new and more appropriate resources

Once an assessment has been made of a resource's appropriateness, NPS shall seek permission from the organisation that produced the resource to use the resource or part thereof, or develop new resources if required.

Assessment tools

Two tools were developed by the NPS CQUM Team, in collaboration with NACCHO and AHCSA, to screen consumer resources for inclusion in the GMBH program. The first tool administered by NPS staff assesses the format and clinical, QUM and plain English content of the consumer resources. A second tool administered by Aboriginal health workers assesses the cultural appropriateness of the resources.

The cultural tool's criteria addresses appropriateness for an Aboriginal audience, covering age, gender and geographic region, appropriateness of language and format, and intended use of the resource.

Using the tool to assess the cultural appropriateness of resources fits well with the Good Medicine Better Health Train the Trainer Program, as senior Aboriginal health workers are expected to select and deliver appropriate consumer resources as part of meeting their National Training Competencies.

Resources approved by the NPS assessment and the cultural assessment tool will be incorporated in the package of materials for Aboriginal primary health care workers to use with their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.

For more articles about the resource review see

• Medicines Talk 2007 Summer issue
• Community e-news December 2007

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