A First Nations child born in Australia today can expect to live eight to nine years less than a non-Indigenous child born on the same day. During their life, they are more likely to have a heart attack, and would be on average 20 years younger than the non-Indigenous patient in the hospital bed next to them when they do. Acute rheumatic fever, a disease virtually non-existent among non-Indigenous Australians, may damage their heart valves.
They are more likely to develop and die from cancer, diabetes, kidney failure and lung disease. A First Nations Australian is also more likely to have a low household income, live in overcrowded housing, and is 14 times more likely to be imprisoned. We know socioeconomic inequalities like these create health inequalities.
There’s also evidence that cultural factors and experiences of racism compound the problem. Closing the health gap between First Nations peoples and non-Indigenous Australians is a national priority . One of the ways to reduce health disparities is by improving the care Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people receive when they’re admitted to hospital.
Staff at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane could see first-hand that our health system wasn’t delivering the care First Nations patients needed. So they sought to develop a culturally informed model of care for First Nations patients with heart disease. We have all worked with this model and were part of a study to trial it.
Our results, published recent.
