Picture this: A new model of care for tackling heart attacks with First Nations Australians (The Powerful Pictures Study)
Synopsis
Why the research project is important
First Nations Australians are disproportionately affected by heart disease compared with non-Indigenous people and a high proportion live without easy access to specialist services. It may be possible to improve the current models of care used to detect underlying heart disease in First Nations Peoples.
What the research seeks to do
The Powerful Pictures study is an ambitious project which seeks to partner with First Nations Australians to co-design a new, improved model of care to identify and manage heart disease in patients at risk of future heart attacks. This model of care includes increasing access to a high-quality imaging test, Computed Tomography Coronary Angiography (CTCA) for the detection of early heart disease. The Powerful Pictures model of care will be co-designed with local communities, patients with lived experience of a possible heart attack, local clinicians, health workers, and health services managers and leadership. The model will then be implemented in regional (Cairns), outer regional (Atherton and Mareeba) and remote (Weipa) hospitals across Far North Queensland.
What are the research outcomes/ impact
The project aims are to improve diagnosis of heart disease, increase uptake of preventive therapies, and determine acceptability of the strategy for patients, clinicians and health services. The clinical and implementation effectiveness will be evaluated, and the feasibility of extending the model of care at other sites throughout Australia will be explored.
Funding Body
This study has been funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Medical Research Futures Fund (MRFF) Cardiovascular Mission grant (MRF2022811)
Further Details
For further information, please contact Powerful-Pictures@qut.edu.au.
IMAGE (L-R): Laura Stephensen, Andrew Goodman, Dr Andrea McKivett, Jeremy Rigney, Professor Louise Cullen, Dr Gregory Starmer, Dr Sean Nguyen, Professor Ray Mahoney, Dr Katrina Starmer, Professor William Parsonage, Virginia Campbell.
