Grant: Intl Collaborative Indigenous Health Res Partnership Chronic Dis-full appl'n

Indigenous people in Canada, Australia and New Zealand experience a greater burden of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and mental illness than non-Indigenous people. This is partly due to differences in access to health care and in the standard of care received. Indigenous patients tend to receive poorer quality health care than non-Indigenous people, which is partly due to health professionals¿ clinical decision making, communication and engagement with patients and families. One way to address these factors is through education of current and future health professionals, yet there is currently little known about how educational approaches influence these ¿health professional factors¿ or what approaches work best. This project is about comparing, building and sharing experiences and approaches to Indigenous health teaching and learning in the area of chronic disease. It begins by describing existing educational approaches and the contexts in which the study is being undertaken. Indigenous health curriculum developers will be interviewed to identify the specific approaches used and the reasons underlying their use. We will conduct focus groups with learners, educators, patients and other stakeholders (e.g. non-Indigenous colleagues) to study the impact of different educational approaches. This will result in development of an Indigenous chronic disease education ¿toolkit¿ and methods to evaluate the effectiveness of educational approaches. A major focus of the project will be on ensuring that the lessons from the project are translated into practice. The research will make a substantial and enduring contribution to improving the quality of health care for Indigenous people with chronic disease and thus health outcomes.