Chronic Respiratory Disease in Indigenous Peoples: a Framework to Address Inequity and Strengthen Respiratory Health and Health Care Globally

Indigenous peoples around the world bear a disproportionate burden of chronic respiratory diseases, which are associated with increased risks of morbidity and mortality. Despite the imperative to address global inequity, research focused on strengthening respiratory health in Indigenous peoples is lacking, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. Drivers of the increased rates and severity of chronic respiratory diseases in Indigenous peoples include a high prevalence of risk factors (eg, prematurity, low birthweight, poor nutrition, air pollution, high burden of infections, and poverty) and poor access to appropriate diagnosis and care, which might be linked to colonisation and historical and current systemic racism. Efforts to tackle this disproportionate burden of chronic respiratory diseases must include both global approaches to address contributing factors, including decolonisation of health care and research, and local approaches, co-designed with Indigenous people, to ensure the provision of culturally strengthened care with more equitable prioritisation of resources. Here, we review evidence on the burden of chronic respiratory diseases in Indigenous peoples globally, summarise factors that underlie health disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, propose a framework of approaches to improve the respiratory health of Indigenous peoples, and outline future directions for clinical care and research.