Question 1 Using the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data answer the following questions:

Using current statistical information, discuss the inequality between
Indigenous and non-Indigenous mortality rates in Australia

Whilst the overall health of Australians is amongst the top third of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2010) here is a clear disparity between Indigenous and non-indigenous health when one considers that even in this day and age of modern medicine, Indigenous Australians are expected to live twelve years less than their non-indigenous counterparts for males, and ten years less for females (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2010)
Despite significant improvements over the past decade Aboriginal infant mortality is still approximately three times that of non-Aborigines.
For ATSI, the reduced overall impact of the communicable diseases has been balanced by a worsening of the "lifestyle" diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease and diabetes which are the biggest single killers of Indigenous peoples and an area where the Indigenous and non-Indigenous health equality gap is most apparent. (Australian Bureau of Statistics,2013) Where in 2012, death in coronary heart disease was number one; Indigenous:non-Indigenous rate ratios was 2:1,and second leading disease was diabetes was 7:0. The third leading cause of death was suicide for Indigenous males and chronic lower respiratory diseases for Indigenous females.(AGDHA,2013) These ratio’s are evident of huge inequality between indigenous and non-indigenous mortality rates in Australia. Also between 2001 and 2012, while there was an decrease in mortality from cancer in the non-Indigenous population, there was no improvement within the Indigenous population, leading to a larger gap in mortality.