Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Opportunistic screening to detect atrial fibrillation in Aboriginal adults in Australia

Gwynne, Kylie; Flaskas, Yvonne; O'Brien, Ciaran; Jeffries, Thomas Lee; McCowen, Debbie; Finlayson, Heather; Martin, Tanya; Neubeck, Lis; Freedman, Ben

Authors

Kylie Gwynne

Yvonne Flaskas

Ciaran O'Brien

Thomas Lee Jeffries

Debbie McCowen

Heather Finlayson

Tanya Martin

Ben Freedman



Abstract

Introduction There is a 10-year gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. The leading cause of death for Aboriginal Australians is cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction and stroke. Although atrial fibrillation (AF) is a known precursor to stroke there are no published studies about the prevalence of AF for Aboriginal people and limited evidence about AF in indigenous populations globally.

Methods and analysis This mixed methods study will recruit and train Aboriginal health workers to use an iECG device attached to a smartphone to consecutively screen 1500 Aboriginal people aged 45 years and older. The study will quantify the proportion of people who presented for follow-up assessment and/or treatment following a non-normal screening and then estimate the prevalence and age distribution of AF of the Australian Aboriginal population. The study includes semistructured interviews with the Aboriginal health workers about the effectiveness of the iECG device in their practice as well as their perceptions of the acceptability of the device for their patients. Thematic analysis will be undertaken on the qualitative data collected in the study. If the device and approach are acceptable to the Aboriginal people and widely adopted, it may help prevent the effects of untreated AF including ischaemic stroke and early deaths or impairment in Aboriginal people.

Ethics and dissemination This mixed methods study received ethics approval from the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (1135/15) and the Australian Health Council of Western Australia (HREC706). Ethics approval is being sought in the Northern Territory. The findings of this study will be shared with Aboriginal communities, in peer reviewed publications and at conferences. There are Aboriginal investigators in each state/territory where the study is being conducted who have been actively involved in the study. They will also be involved in data analysis, dissemination and research translation.

Citation

Gwynne, K., Flaskas, Y., O'Brien, C., Jeffries, T. L., McCowen, D., Finlayson, H., …Freedman, B. (2016). Opportunistic screening to detect atrial fibrillation in Aboriginal adults in Australia. BMJ Open, 6(11), Article e013576. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013576

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 26, 2016
Online Publication Date Nov 15, 2016
Publication Date 2016-11
Deposit Date Jul 4, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal BMJ Open
Print ISSN 2044-6055
Electronic ISSN 2044-6055
Publisher BMJ Publishing Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 6
Issue 11
Article Number e013576
DOI https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013576
Keywords Atrial Fibrillation, Aboriginal, Adults,Australia, Screening,
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/858148

Files

Opportunistic screening to detect atrial fibrillation in Aboriginal adults in Australia (894 Kb)
PDF

Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Copyright Statement
This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/







You might also like



Downloadable Citations