The Many Healthy Lungs team
The Many Healthy Lungs project is looking at using breathing tests to help Aboriginal people who have sick lungs get the right medicine to feel better.
Our lungs get the good air called oxygen into our body. When your lungs are sick, you can’t get all the oxygen you need to have energy. When lungs don’t work properly it can make people cough or get short wind. Some lung sickness you might know is asthma, COPD or pneumonia.
Having sick lungs is one of the main reasons why Aboriginal people need to go to hospital. It is important for people who have sick lungs to do breathing tests. This will help doctors to give the right medicine to make kids and adults feel better.
The Many Healthy Lungs project tested the lungs of over three hundred people from the Perth and Kimberley regions. We are now working with other teams around Australia to learn as much as we can about how these tests can help doctors pick up lung sickness in Aboriginal people.
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Breathing tests - spirometry (big blow)
Big blow test (female)
Big blow test (male)
Breathing tests - DLCO
How well does oxygen go into your blood? (male)
How well does oxygen go into your blood? (female)
News and events
Broome trip
The team had the opportunity to travel up to Broome in August to support a round of Her Rules Her Game. It was fantastic to talk to the community about lung health, with kids having fun building a lung and testing how big their lungs are!
NAIDOC Week
The Many Healthy Lungs team participated in the annual NAIDOC family day this year at Ashfield Reserve as well as the NAIDOC Netball Carnival at the State Netball centre.
Spirometry training in Broome
The team had a great couple of weeks conducting spirometry training at the Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service (BRAMS). We were very impressed with the enthusiasm from BRAMS staff and KAMS students to learn spirometry. Each of the staff and students picked up the technique and understanding of the test very quickly.
Many Healthy Lungs launch event
On Monday the 8th of October, the Many Healthy Lungs project officially launched at Derbarl Yerrigan in East Perth. The event was a great success with over 50 guests joining Derbarl Yerrigan staff and Telethon Kids researchers for the occasion.
Our Investigators
Testing your lungs: spirometry
"Willy Willy Lungs" Artwork
My art is about the lungs and depicts strong healthy lungs by using colour and willy willy spirits, to show strength from our old people, moving in the wind and travelling the land with ease. As a willy willy is also like a mini tornado which is some strong wind for your lungs.
The top middle blue semi circle with the "U" symbol, is people sitting talking about strong healthy lungs and how they can get the message out to everyone on how to have healthy lungs. Its only half the people starting the message but very important beginnings.
Then it connects and branches into two large spirits of healthy lungs, growing through the lungs nicely. The orange is for earth connection, the green is for growth and the light blue for clean air.
The willy willy spirits inside the lungs swirling around, represent the strongest powerful winds. Which are all a result of the first people yarning about healthy lungs and people listening and learning.
All the concentric circles/waterholes/places surrounding the lungs are the people from many places, all talking to each other, passing the knowledge, of how to have the strongest most powerful lungs too.
The pink colour represents healthy lung cells, which is what we all want.
The small white dots represent all the tiny important connections in your lungs and connections in your body to keep you alive, healthy and very happy.
The wise spirits at the bottom are keepers of healthy lungs and have our lung health in safe hands for many years to come, encouraging our lungs to stay in the clean air. Keeping our lungs healthy (all the light blue dots surrounding the lungs throughout the whole area).
By Nerolie's Art
