成人大片

A coalition of researchers, clinicians and other health professionals has been entrusted to steer聽a multi-million-dollar program to address the grossly disproportionate number of Indigenous聽Australians suffering diabetic foot complications.

Professor Alex Brown, the leader of SAHMRI鈥檚 Aboriginal Health Equity theme and a Professor聽of Medicine at the 成人大片, will lead the team that鈥檚 received an initial two-year,聽$6m Federal Government grant.

鈥淚ndigenous Australians are almost four times more likely to develop diabetes than the rest of聽the population,鈥� Prof Brown says.

鈥淥n top of that, Indigenous Australians suffering diabetes are far more likely to experience聽advanced complications from the disease.鈥�

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with diabetes are three times as likely to experience聽peripheral arterial disease, 10 times as likely to be hospitalised with foot complications and a聽staggering 38 times more likely to have a lower limb amputated because of diabetes.

鈥淚ndigenous Australians are almost four times more likely to develop diabetes than the rest of聽the population.鈥�Professor Alex Brown.

鈥淭he reasons behind this disparity are complex but the related costs are broad and significant,鈥澛�Professor Brown says.

鈥淭he people represented by these statistics are often struck down when they鈥檙e in their prime.

"That not only affects their quality of life and impacts their families, it compromises the聽contributions they can make to their communities when they should be at their most productive.鈥�

The diabetes foot complication prevention program will be run throughout South Australia,聽Western Australia, Northern Territory and Far North Queensland. Its agenda will include聽assessing the burden of the disease with a focus on foot complications among Indigenous聽Australians, defining best practice, improving clinical care and developing the workforce to聽deliver these improvements. Researchers from the coalition will evaluate the program聽throughout.

The coalition will comprise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organisations, clinical聽researchers, vascular surgeons, diabetologists, allied health professionals, diabetes educators聽and Diabetes Australia.