Walk Strong, Walk Tall

SA Aboriginal Diabetes Related Foot Disease Program
Walk Strong, Walk Tall
Project Status: In progress
Project administered by: SAHMRI

Diabetes is the leading cause of preventable amputation in Australia, with one person every 2 hours having an amputation [1].

Unfortunately, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are approximately three times more likely to have diabetes, 10 times more likely to be admitted for diabetes-related foot complications and approximately 30 times more likely to have diabetes-related lower limb amputations than non-Indigenous people [2]. In South Australia, the rates of lower limb amputation for Aboriginal people is 3.4 times greater than the non-Aboriginal population and accounts for 4.9% of all amputations [3].

Under the governance of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diabetes-related foot complications program, Walk Strong, Walk Tall - the SA Aboriginal diabetes-related foot disease program aims to improve the prevention and management of diabetes-related foot disease and amputation for Aboriginal people in rural and remote South Australia.

The program’s name, Walk Strong, Walk Tall, reflects community input and is visually represented through deadly artwork created by Eldine Likouresis, an Aboriginal artist from the Adnyamathanha and Antakinja people. Featuring two colourful feet representing coastal (blue) and inland people (orange), Eldine has used different Aboriginal styles and details to depict the arteries, veins and nerve endings that keep our feet healthy, alongside the varied landscapes of South Australia.

Throughout 2021-2022 (phase 1), seven interconnected projects ran to address elements of the SA Aboriginal diabetes-related foot disease strategy 2020-2025. Significant progress was made against the strategy with more information about individual projects available to download here.

    Additional funding was obtained and Walk Strong, Walk Tall will run from 2022-2025. The next stage builds on the outcomes, insights and collaborative networks of the program to date, and pivots from individual projects to a collaborative state-wide approach. Efforts will centre on system improvements along with a targeted effort to meet the needs of Aboriginal community members, improving the prevention and management of diabetes-related foot disease and amputation for Aboriginal people living in rural and remote South Australia.

    For further information on the national Foot Complications Program, please click here.

    References:

    1. Diabetes Feet Australia For Patients - Diabetes Feet Australia 2023.
    2. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (2017) The Second Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation.
    3. Prevention and Population Health Branch, W. S. Lower Limb Amputations in South Australia. 1-15 (Government of South Australia, Adelaide, 2019).

    Project Leader

    • Kim Morey

      Kim Morey

    This project is funded by the Indigenous Australians' Health Programme (IAHP), Commonwealth Government