Culturally appropriate flipcharts improve the knowledge of common respiratory conditions among Northern Territory Indigenous families

Issue addressed: Flipcharts are widely used as education tools in Indigenous health but there is no published quantitative data on their use. As respiratory illness is the most frequent reason for hospitalisation of young children, we developed culturally sensitive flipcharts to educate carers of children on the 3 most common serious respiratory illness (bronchiolitis, pneumonia and bronchiectasis) affecting Indigenous children in the Northern Territory. In this study, we aimed to determine if use of these flipcharts improved the knowledge of these respiratory conditions among carers of Indigenous children admitted to the Royal Darwin Hospital. Methods: We assessed the knowledge of 60 carers pre- and post-flipchart education using a questionnaire. Pre- and post-flipchart education scores for the three illnesses were combined and were compared using non-parametric analyses. Results: Most carers were mothers (n = 43, 72%) aged between 20-40 years (n = 54, 90%) and lived in a remote community (n = 53, 88%). Knowledge of all respiratory conditions improved post education: median scores pre = 8 (Interquartile range 6, 10); post = 12 (10, 14), P = Conclusions: The use of culturally appropriate educational flipcharts improves the knowledge of respiratory conditions among carers of Indigenous children hospitalised with common serious respiratory illness.