The Burden and Determinants of Diabetes in Indigenous Australians

The Burden and Determinants of Diabetes in Indigenous Australians

The Burden and Determinants of Diabetes in Indigenous Australians (#208)

Alex Brown ¹

SAHMRI, Adelaide, SA, Australia

The life-expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians remains one of contemporary Australia's most enduring health divides. Reducing health disparity between population groups based on measures of socioeconomic status, geography, or ethnicity stands as a key target of coordinated societal and health system reform.

Diabetes has become one of the leading causes of disease burden among all Australians, is imposing an enormous cost on society, and is occurring at elevated rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. In particular, it is the premature onset, rapid progression and propensity for development of severe complications that defines the disease among Indigenous Australians.

This presentation will discusses the burden and contributors to diabetes in disadvantaged communities, the inherent challenges diabetes and its mitigation poses to mainstream and Aboriginal community controlled health services and outlines opportunities for change into the future.

Authors contributing to this presentation.

Brown, A

Professor Alex Brown is a Deputy Director and Theme Leader of Aboriginal Health Research in the newly established South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. His previous research positions include Executive Director of BakerIDI Central Australia (2007-2012), and Menzies School of Health Research (2003-2007). He completed his PhD in 2010, and has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the RACP; Fellowship of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, a Masters in Public Health in 1999 and Bachelor of Medicine in 1996. Most recently Alex was awarded a Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellowship to continue his unique work on psychosocial factors and cardiovascular disease in Aboriginal communities. Professor Brown has established a growing profile in cardiometabolic research in Aboriginal people, alongside significant national policy work. He has been a CI on grants worth over $30 million in the last 10 years. All of these grants are related to the principal multi-disciplinary research program addressing chronic disease disparities in Aboriginal Australians. Prof Brown has extensive experience in working in rural/remote communities, primary care and hospital settings, and has led detailed and extremely challenging fieldwork in Aboriginal community research. Professor Brown has a growing national and international profile in Indigenous health, particularly in relation to CVD, diabetes, chronic disease co-morbidity and psychosocial determinants of health.

The Burden and Determinants of Diabetes in Indigenous Australians (#208)

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