Recognising National Close the Gap Day 2021 at Monash Health

Close the Gap Day is an annual event that raises awareness of the gap in health and life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the non-indigenous community, with the ultimate goal of achieving health equality. Since 2007, Close the Gap Day has taken place on the third Thursday in March.  

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience poorer health outcomes and life expectancy than that of non-Indigenous Australians. Data shows that: 

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have a life expectancy of 10-17 years lower than non-Indigenous Australians
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders experienced a burden of disease that was 2.3 times the rate of non-Indigenous Australians
• 46% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had one or more selected chronic conditions, up from 2012–13 (40%)
• Heart disease was the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, followed by diabetes, in 2018
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders experience higher rates of psychological distress and are hospitalised for mental health and behavioural disorders at much higher rates than other Australians.

For the 2019/20 financial year, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inpatient registrations represented 0.83% of all Monash Health patients. Considering that poorer health rates are much higher than for non-Indigenous Australians, it is expected that this number would be also higher.

Monash Health is uniquely positioned to make a difference due to its extensive geographical reach and high number of patients seen yearly. As such, Monash Health has a significant role to play in creating health equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Some of Monash Health’s current initiatives to address this include:

• Running a fortnightly, multi-disciplinary clinic for out of home Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
• Organisation-wide cultural safety training to help create culturally aware employees so that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people feel safe in attending our sites
• Community engagement for new hospital builds to create a safe and meaningful environment to promote
• Referring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients to an Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officer to provide cultural support, make appropriate referrals and assist with discharge planning.

For more information about the steps Monash Health is taking to close the gap, view our Reconciliation Action Plan.

You can also visit the ANTaR website to learn more about National Close the Gap Day.