Keeping the heart strong: Testing a heart health promotion program co-designed by Aboriginal women

Dr Katharine McBride, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Limited

2022 Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Award

Years funded: 2023-2025

This heart health promotion program responds to the disparate burden of heart disease experienced by Aboriginal women by providing a program that is responsive to cultural, spiritual, social, emotional and physical health and wellbeing. We will co-design and run a 16-week heart health promotion program in partnership with Aboriginal women across three sites in South Australia (SA). Our program will be facilitated by a female Aboriginal Health Practitioner, integrated with clinical and social support services of an Aboriginal health service and embedded within community. Health promoting initiatives will be based on women’s needs and evidence-based protective and risk factors. Forty-five women will participate, regardless of their heart health. We will follow women’s heart health across the project and evaluate the co-design approach and pilot program. We expect Aboriginal women involved will have improved understanding of cardiovascular (CV) health and warning signs, biomedical and behavioural CV risk profile and social and emotional wellbeing.