The Medical journal of Australia
-
Australia's efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer are not as successful for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as they are for other Australians. There is a need for a nationally coordinated, collaborative, priority-driven research effort to better understand what works, and we need to implement that knowledge. All aspects of the process must involve genuine Indigenous leadership and participation.
-
Health is dependent on conditions that enable people to live lives they would choose to live.
-
To describe the clinical and epidemiological features of sepsis and severe sepsis in the population of the tropical Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia and compare these with published estimates for temperate Australia, the United States and Europe. ⋯ The incidence of sepsis in the tropical NT is substantially higher than that for temperate Australia, the United States and Europe, and these differences are mainly accounted for by the high rates of sepsis in Indigenous people. The findings support strategies to improve housing and access to health services, and reduce comorbidities, alcohol and tobacco use in Indigenous Australians. The burden of sepsis in indigenous populations worldwide requires further study to guide appropriate resourcing of health care and preventive strategies.