Rheumatic heart disease in pregnancy: strategies and lessons learnt implementing a population-based study in Australia.

Background: The global burden of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is two-to-four times higher in women, with a heightened risk in pregnancy. In Australia, RHD is found predominantly among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Methods: This paper reviews processes developed to identify pregnant Australian women with RHD during a 2-year population-based study using the Australasian Maternity Outcomes Surveillance System (AMOSS).

Low uptake of Aboriginal interpreters in healthcare: exploration of current use in Australia's Northern Territory.

Background: In Australia's Northern Territory, most Aboriginal people primarily speak an Aboriginal language. Poor communication between healthcare providers and Aboriginal people results in adverse outcomes including death. This study aimed to identify remediable barriers to utilisation of Aboriginal Interpreter services at the Northern Territory's tertiary hospital, which currently manages over 25,000 Aboriginal inpatients annually.

Rheumatic heart disease in pregnancy: How can health services adapt to the needs of Indigenous women? A qualitative study.

Objectives: To study rheumatic heart disease health literacy and its impact on pregnancy, and to identify how health services could more effectively meet the needs of pregnant women with rheumatic heart disease.

Materials And Methods: Researchers observed and interviewed a small number of Aboriginal women and their families during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum as they interacted with the health system. An Aboriginal Yarning method of relationship building over time, participant observations and interviews with Aboriginal women were used in the study.