Stroke Foundation determined to close the gap
March 21, 2019
By Stroke Foundation Chief Executive Officer Sharon McGowan
Equal access to healthcare is a basic human right, but sadly, this is not the reality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
Today is Close the Gap Day – an important initiative which aims to achieve health equality within a decade.
Here at the Stroke Foundation, we believe this is a goal well worth fighting for. All Australians need and deserve to have access to best practice health care.
Currently, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are overrepresented in stroke statistics. This is harrowing and it must change.
Indigenous Australians are twice as likely to be hospitalised with stroke and 1.5 times as likely to die from stroke than non-indigenous Australians.
A 2018 Australian National University study found one-third to a half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in their 40s, 50s and 60s were at high risk of future heart attack or stroke. Alarmingly, high levels of risk were also found in people under the age of 35.
Our vision is for a world free from disability and suffering caused by stroke, but there is so much to do in our own backyard.
Stroke Foundation is committed to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organisations to improve the health outcomes of Indigenous communities. This includes access to health checks and increasing stroke awareness by delivering targeted education on what a stroke is, how to prevent it and how to spot the F.A.S.T signs of stroke.
Our commitment to establishing a national telestroke network is also a big step towards transforming emergency stroke treatment for regional and rural Australia.
Stroke can be prevented, it can be treated and it can be beaten. We must act now to stem the tide of this devastating disease by closing the gap and delivering health equality.
The facts
The burden of disease for stroke in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is 2.3 times that of non-Indigenous Australians.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are 1.5 times more likely to die from stroke as non-Indigenous Australians.
Equal access to healthcare is a basic human right, but sadly, this is not the reality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
Today is Close the Gap Day – an important initiative which aims to achieve health equality within a decade.
Here at the Stroke Foundation, we believe this is a goal well worth fighting for. All Australians need and deserve to have access to best practice health care.
Currently, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are overrepresented in stroke statistics. This is harrowing and it must change.
Indigenous Australians are twice as likely to be hospitalised with stroke and 1.5 times as likely to die from stroke than non-indigenous Australians.
A 2018 Australian National University study found one-third to a half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in their 40s, 50s and 60s were at high risk of future heart attack or stroke. Alarmingly, high levels of risk were also found in people under the age of 35.
Our vision is for a world free from disability and suffering caused by stroke, but there is so much to do in our own backyard.
Stroke Foundation is committed to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organisations to improve the health outcomes of Indigenous communities. This includes access to health checks and increasing stroke awareness by delivering targeted education on what a stroke is, how to prevent it and how to spot the F.A.S.T signs of stroke.
Our commitment to establishing a national telestroke network is also a big step towards transforming emergency stroke treatment for regional and rural Australia.
Stroke can be prevented, it can be treated and it can be beaten. We must act now to stem the tide of this devastating disease by closing the gap and delivering health equality.
The facts
The burden of disease for stroke in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is 2.3 times that of non-Indigenous Australians.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are 1.5 times more likely to die from stroke as non-Indigenous Australians.