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Subash S Heraganahally,1–4 Sanjiwika L Wasgewatta,1 Kelly McNamara,2,3 Carla C Eisemberg,5 Richard C Budd,1 Sumit Mehra,1,3,6,6 Dimitar Sajkov2,6,7 1Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin, NT, Australia; 2Flinders University - College of Medicine and Public Health, Adelaide, SA, Australia; 3Northern Territory Medical School, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia; 4Darwin Respiratory and Sleep Health, Darwin, NT, Australia; 5Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia; 6Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, SA, Australia; 7Australian Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Institute, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaCorrespondence: Subash S HeraganahallyDepartment of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Royal Darwin Hospital, 105, Rocklands Drive, Tiwi, Darwin, NT, AustraliaTel +61-8-89228888, Fax +61-8-89206309Email hssubhashcmc@hotmail.comBackground: The Aboriginal population of Australia has a higher burden of chronic health conditions than non-Aboriginal Australians. However, there is a paucity of data on clinical and demographic characteristics of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in this population.Method: In this retrospective study we evaluated the clinical, demographic and environmental influences in adult Aboriginal patients with COPD living in the regional and remote communities of the Northern Territory of Australia.Results: There were 380 patients (49%) with a diagnosis of COPD of the 767 patients referred to specialist respiratory outreach clinics. The mean age was 57 years (56% were female) and mean±SD BMI was 24.30±7.01 kg/m2. Smoking history was noted in 93% of the study cohort. The most common respiratory symptom was shortness of breath in 62%, and inhaled medications (salbutamol, tiotropium, salmeterol/fluticasone) were used by 79%, 44% and 58% of patients, respectively. Spirometry showed obstructive impairment (FEV1/FVC

Background: Delivery of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programs by community pharmacists appears effective and enhances health service access. However, their capacity to implement complex behavioural change processes during patient counselling remains largely unexplored. This study aims to determine intervention fidelity by pharmacists for behavioural components of a complex educational intervention for CVD prevention. After receiving training to improve lifestyle and medicines adherence, pharmacists recruited 70 patients aged 50-74 years without established CVD, and taking antihypertensive or lipid lowering therapy. Patients received five counselling sessions, each at monthly intervals. Researchers assessed biomedical and behavioural risk factors at baseline and six months. Pharmacists documented key outcomes from counselling after each session. Most patients (86%) reported suboptimal cardiovascular diets, 41% reported suboptimal medicines adherence, and 39% were physically inactive. Of those advised to complete the intervention, 85% attended all five sessions. Pharmacists achieved patient agreement with most recommended goals for behaviour change, and overwhelmingly translated goals into practical behavioural strategies. Barriers to changing behaviours were regularly documented, and pharmacists reported most behavioural strategies as having had some success. Meaningful improvements to health behaviours were observed post-intervention. Findings support further exploration of pharmacists' potential roles for delivering interventions with complex behaviour change requirements.