Making Health Care everyone’s business

Dear Colleague,

I invite you to join us at Improving Social Determinants of Indigenous Health Conference 2010.

Addressing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander definition of health, the conference examines factors such as housing, education, family, community and self esteem to improve health:

“Health to Aboriginal peoples is a matter of determining all aspects of their life, including control over their physical environment, of dignity, of community self esteem, and of justice.” National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Party (1989), A National Aboriginal Health Strategy (NAHSWP)

To ensure generational change and to create an improved and sustainable future for our children, programs that address the social determinants need to work in conjunction with health care services.

This conference will bring together case studies from successful programs, which go some way to close the gap in their community. It will bring policy from federal and state government to address how policy can be effectively delivered to the community.

It also gives me great pleasure to introduce the Inaugural Excellence in Indigenous Health Awards. To recognise the success and steps made by service providers, communities and individuals working to make a difference in health disadvantage, I to invite you to submit examples of inspiration to the panel of judges. The winners will be announced at the Awards Gala Dinner on the 30th March 2010. The Gala Dinner will celebrate innovation, success and resilience in Indigenous service delivery and provide entertainment which celebrates Indigenous culture throughout the generations.

I look forward to working together to help Close the Gap and sharing stories at the conference. Hope to see you there.

Best Regards