An education intervention for childhood asthma by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers: a randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To assess the outcomes of an education intervention for childhood asthma conducted by Australian Indigenous health care workers (IHCWs).

Design And Setting: Randomised controlled trial in a primary health care setting on Thursday Island and Horn Island, and in Bamaga, Torres Strait region of northern Australia, April 2005 to March 2007.

Participants: 88 children, aged 1-17 years, with asthma diagnosed by a respiratory physician (intervention group, 35; control group, 53; 98% Indigenous children).

Indigenous healthcare worker involvement for Indigenous adults and children with asthma.

Background: Asthma education is regarded as an important step in the management of asthma in national guidelines. Racial, ethnicity and socio-economic factors are associated with markers of asthma severity, including recurrent acute presentations to emergency health facilities. Worldwide, indigenous groups are disproportionately represented in the severe end of the asthma spectrum.

Stable prevalence of asthma symptoms in school-aged children in the Torres Strait region.

Background And Objective: To (i) determine if the prevalence of asthma has altered in two previously studied communities and (ii) obtain baseline measures in two further communities in the Torres Strait region, Australia.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study of school-aged children was conducted. Five schools in four communities were selected: 361 children aged 5-17 years participated.