An Aboriginal health organisation in far-west New South Wales is helping reduce the risks of chronic health conditions in the Indigenous community.
Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation has released its 10-year evaluation of its chronic disease strategy from 2005 to 2015.
Results have shown far-west clients with diabetes or coronary heart disease have improved their blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol control and were better than the national average.
There was also a slight decrease in hospitalisations for chronic conditions and reductions in the number of women who smoked and drank alcohol during pregnancy.
The Federal Minister for Indigenous Health, Ken Wyatt, said the results were impressive.
"[Maari Ma] is closing a gap and achieving great outcomes," Mr Wyatt said.
"I see Broken Hill and the far west as one of the jewels in the crown for improving Aboriginal health because they are doing things that work."
Former Maari Ma CEO Richard Weston said the strategy should be used as a model for other parts of Australia.
"We all know about the life expectancy gap between Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people and there's a living, breathing example out here that is making a real difference," Mr Weston said.
"It's a [regionally-based] organisation that … works under difficult circumstances, with a population that has probably had the poorest health outcomes in NSW.
"To be achieving what they're doing is phenomenal and it should be talked about a lot more."
Tools for success
Mr Weston said the strategy was developed in the early 2000s.
"They wanted their people, Aboriginal people in this region, to stop dying from things that they shouldn't die from, which really amounted from complications from chronic diseases like diabetes," Mr Weston said.
There are separate programs for families and children, and for adults who want to prevent or maintain chronic diseases.
Mr Wyatt said Maari Ma targeted individuals through a variety of outreach and specific health-related services.
"They wrap services around an individual [and] they do that by doing all the health checks and health tests," Mr Wyatt said.
"They develop a care plan and then they track people and make sure they are improving."
'A transgenerational issue'
The evaluation also showed there was more work needed to reduce alcohol consumption, smoking and obesity.
Rates of smoking during pregnancy were much higher in the far west compared to the state, despite the improvements.
The report also said the increased number of babies with a low birthweight probably related to the high rates of smoking during pregnancy.
Maari Ma public health physician Hugh Burke said the organisation had worked hard over the past decade but there was more work to do.
"This is a transgenerational issue. Delivering healthcare here is much harder than it is in the city. Engaging our community is tough at times," Dr Burke said.
"Recruiting and retention of staff and sustaining programs is a challenge every day, so just maintaining what we've done is first and foremost, [then] extending the programs we've already got."
