Author Identifier (ORCID)
Abstract
In Australia, despite overall declines in cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women develop heart disease earlier and experience more than twice the rate of related morbidity and mortality compared with non-Indigenous women. This study explores Aboriginal women’s understandings of the factors that shape their heart health and lived experiences of CVD. We spoke with 28 Aboriginal women aged ≥18 years—15 semistructured interviews and two yarning circles with an additional 13 Aboriginal women—with/without pre-existing CVD, and 10 healthcare professionals (HCPs) working with Aboriginal communities in the Perth metropolitan region, between May 2024 and April 2025. Data were analysed thematically using a combination of inductive and deductive strategies. Five major themes emerged from the data: (i) understanding heart health and CVD, (i) experiences of living with and seeking care for CVD, (iii) caregiving responsibilities and cardiovascular health, (iv) achieving a healthy heart, and (v) culturally grounded approach to ways moving forward. Participants’ accounts revealed how caregiving dynamics, together with systemic constraints and life circumstances, influenced efforts to build and sustain Aboriginal women’s heart health. Aboriginal women emphasized the importance of holistic, community- and Aboriginal-led approaches to strengthen heart health-related care and their overall wellbeing. Incorporating the perspectives of Aboriginal women and HCPs is essential to addressing the disproportionate burden of CVD among Aboriginal women. Limited access to heart health-related information and the structural issues impacting Aboriginal women’s lives on a daily basis underscore the urgent need for tailored, targeted, and community-driven strategies to improve their cardiovascular health.
Keywords
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, cardiovascular disease, qualitative research, women’s health
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
8-1-2026
Article Number
daag088
ISSN
09574824
Volume
41
Issue
4
Publication Title
Health Promotion International
Publisher
Oxford Academic
School
School of Nursing and Midwifery
Funding Information
This study was funded in whole by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) (MRF2026248). Em.B. receives support from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Investigator Fellowship reference number 2017742). M.J.C. receives an endowed fellowship from the Filippo and Maria Casella Cardiology Centre of Excellence.
Funding received from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
2017742
Funding received from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF)
MRF2026248
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Bidgood, E., Garlett, C., Chenhall, R., Bingham, A., Eades, F., Banks, E., Carrington, M. J., Joshy, G., Eades, S., & Rahman, T. (2026). Yorga Moorditj Koort: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s perspectives about heart health on Noongar Boodjar. Health Promotion International, 41(4). https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daag088