Culturally appropriate flipcharts improve the knowledge of common respiratory conditions among Northern Territory Indigenous families

Clare C. Mckay, Anne B. Chang, Lesley A. Versteegh, Gabrielle B. McCallum

Issue addressed Flipcharts are widely used as education tools in Indigenous health but there is no published quantitative data on their use. As respiratory illness is the most frequent reason for hospitalisation of young children, we developed culturally sensitive flipcharts to educate carers of children on the 3 most common serious respiratory illness (bronchiolitis, pneumonia and bronchiectasis) affecting Indigenous children in the Northern Territory. In this study, we aimed to determine if use of these flipcharts improved the knowledge of these respiratory conditions among carers of Indigenous children admitted to the Royal Darwin Hospital. Methods We assessed the knowledge of 60 carers pre- and post-flipchart education using a questionnaire. Pre- and post- flipchart education scores for the three illnesses were combined and were compared using non-parametric analyses. Results Most carers were mothers (n=43, 72%) aged between 20-40 years (n=54, 90%) and lived in a remote community (n=53, 88%). Knowledge of all respiratory conditions improved post education: median scores pre=8 (Interquartile range 6, 10); post=12 (10, 14), P=<0.0001. Conclusions The use of culturally appropriate educational flipcharts improves the knowledge of respiratory conditions among carers of Indigenous children hospitalised with common serious respiratory illness. So what? In the first paediatric quantitative study on the use of flipcharts as a means of providing health education to Indigenous Australians, we have shown that the use of culturally-appropriate flipcharts is an effective method of providing health education.