Working in partnership with communities at risk: the potential of integrated public health action during an outbreak of APSGN in remote Australia

Working in partnership with communities at risk: the potential of integrated public health action during an outbreak of APSGN in remote Australia Journal Article

Australian Indigenous Health Bulletin

  • Author(s): Custodio, Juliana, Kelly, G, Haenga, M, Bell, C, Bond, T, Prouse, I, Eastwood, A
  • Published: 2016
  • Volume: 16

Abstract: Objective: To share the findings of a service-based ‘healthy skin initiative’ implemented during an outbreak of Acute Post-Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis (APSGN) in the Kimberley. Methods: There were four consecutive visits to a remote Aboriginal community in the Kimberley over six months combining environmental health (EH), health promotion (HP) and public health (PH) alongside on-site primary health care (PHC). Activities and key findings were documented. Clinic data were independently retrieved from a de-identified administrative database to compare skin presentations to the PHC clinic before and after this initiative. Results: PH team achieved high rates of assessment of children aged 1-17 years, seeing 176 children (median age, 11 years) in total and completing 371 assessments. Forty-four comprehensive home health hardware assessments identified 242 repairs for referral (range per home assessment 1-15; median 5). Of these, all but one was completed within six months (<1%). Clinic data showed significant decrease before and after this initiative in presentations to the local clinic for scabies (9.5% v 2.2%) (p<0.0001). Conclusions: This service-based initiative adopted a partnership approach, respected community empowerment and demonstrated positive yields that the community has endorsed as a ‘good news story’. Implications: Achieving skin integrity for Aboriginal children requires genuine partnership between community leaders, PHC clinic staff, EH, HP and PH. This initiative, galvanised in an APSGN outbreak, required considerable planning and resource reallocation. These achievements invite consideration of long-term investment in community-based environmental health, health promotion and primary health care services beyond the outbreak itself.

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Suggested Citation
Custodio, Juliana, Kelly, G, Haenga, M, Bell, C, Bond, T, Prouse, I, Eastwood, A, 2016, Working in partnership with communities at risk: the potential of integrated public health action during an outbreak of APSGN in remote Australia, Volume:16, Journal Article, viewed 16 February 2025, https://www.nintione.com.au/?p=39810.

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