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Introduction: The incidence of head injury in the Australian Indigenous population is 21 times higher than non-Indigenous population (Jamieson, et al., 2008). Indigenous people constitute 30% of the population of the Top End of the Northern Territory, many of whom speak English as a second language. It is known that education for patients with mild head injury contributes to reduced reporting of post-concussive symptoms (Ponsford, et al., 2002; Initial management of closed head injury in adults, second edition summary report, NSW Health, 2011) however current avail-able media are inappropriate for many Indigenous people.
Objectives: To address this, a culturally and linguistically appropriate post-head injury educational resource has been developed. Method: After consultation with Indigenous Interpreters and Linguists a culturally appropriate script was written then translated into seven Top End Indigenous languages, the translations were independently verified. A DVD was chosen as the medium due to its reproducibility and ease of use and distribution.
Results: The DVD is shown to Indigenous patients who present to hospitals in the Top End following a mild head injury and is given to the patient on discharge. It covers the function of the brain, mild head injury symptomatology and management, and post discharge advice.
Conclusion: Use of a DVD resource to educate Indigenous patients post head injury is novel and culturally appropriate. It will allow sharing of the information amongst Indigenous families and communities and there is scope to reproduce the resource in other Indigenous languages across Australia. |
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