World-first study into strokes and trauma

Interview subjects from the Goldfields will be part of a world-first research project looking at the effects of Acquired Communication Disorders in Aboriginal communities around WA.

The project, Missing Voices: Communication Difficulties After Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury in Indigenous Australians, led by researchers from Edith Cowan University, will examine indigenous victims of strokes or trauma to discover how their brain injury has affected their access to health services and their lives.

Communication disorders can impair not only everyday tasks like using the telephone or giving instructions, but also expressions of emotions or identity critical to connecting with family and community, with the potential to isolate sufferers from culture.

Despite indigenous Australians being more than twice as likely than non-indigenous Australians to suffer a stroke or traumatic brain injury, both of which are leading causes of ACD, they are still less likely to be diagnosed and have access to treatment and support services.

Researchers will look to interview Aboriginal people with an ACD, as well as GPs and health professionals from six sites around WA, but say they are still looking for people to interview in the Goldfields. The findings will be used to provide information on how indigenous communities respond to communication disorders and the ways health services can be improved.

To address the latter, the research team is developing a culturally sensitive communication screening tool which can be used by health professionals to identify Aboriginal people with communication disorders.

ECU foundation chairwoman for speech pathology and Missing Voices lead researcher Professor Beth Armstrong said there was still a lot to understand about ACD and its effect on indigenous Australians.

Continued here:
World-first study into strokes and trauma