Lessons from east Arnhem land. Improving adherence to chronic disease treatments

It is generally accepted that adherence or compliance to medical therapy can be poor in indigenous Australian communities.

This paper describes approaches and techniques to improve adherence that have been gleaned from four and a half years of clinical experience in the remote district of East Arnhem Land.

First, the importance of gaining trust and credibility with a community is discussed. Approaches to gain that trust are then described. It is critical to overcome the considerable language and world view barriers that exist to good communication. The use of anatomical models and high quality illustrations combined with the development of 'key language concept' in the indigenous language have achieved some success in this area.