LUNG health clinics will set up shop in Doomadgee and Mornington Island next month in a bid to treat adults and children suffering from poor respiratory health.
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Indigenous Respiratory Outreach Care (IROC) program team member Allan Takken said the clinics wanted to see children and adults who were suffering from an ongoing cough, a worsening cough or asthma.
“The perception in some communities is that the cough is normal – the kids had it since they were born and they don’t think much of it,” he said.
“But really it’s just not normal to cough all of the time.”
Mr Takken said children and adults commonly developed lung infections from irritants in their environments such as second and first-hand cigarette smoke, dust and, in some communities, smoke from burning rubbish.
He said education was an important part of closing the gap between the rates of lung disease between non-indigenous and indigenous populations in Queensland.
Residents don’t need an appointment to visit the free clinic and can refer themselves for a check-up if they think they might have a lung health issue.
The IROC program is an initiative of the Department of Health’s Statewide Respiratory Clinical Network and is funded through Closing the Gap.
