21 March, 2013 4:22PM ACDT

Spreading Aboriginal wellbeing to close the gap

As Close the Gap events are held across regional South Australia, Tarpari Wellbeing Day brought attention to Aboriginal health issues in Port Pirie and the Mid North.

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"It's an opportunity to invite the community as well as other service providers to come down and recognise the fact we need to be concerned about the differences in health status within the Aboriginal community," said Community Health regional director Melissa Koch.

This is the seventh year the national Close the Gap Day has been held, aiming to raise awareness about the lower life expectancy of Aboriginal people, and inequality in health issues compared to the rest of the population.

"For a lot of people Closing the Gap Day is about identifying where the gaps are," said Port Pirie resident Elaine Crombie.

The former education worker said it appears the Aboriginal population is growing in the regional centre, so the social and health services will need to accommodate for this.

"I've only recently come back and I've noticed there are different people, there are different faces, so if the community is growing here then so are the general needs.

"Any issues that were faced before the community started to grow, those needs will increase and they'll be other different things that need to be identified."

Elaine was optimistic 'the Gap' could be closed, having noticed a change in attitudes towards Aboriginal issues during her time recently living in Sydney.

"Over on the east side of Australia there's a big movement that's starting, people's treatment and general attitudes towards Aboriginal issues are changing in everything from health to education, housing, the whole lot."

Aboriginal woman Tahli from Port Pirie attended Tarpari Wellbeing Day with her son and said she gets regular health checks.

But she has been shocked to find out about the lower life expectancy of Aboriginal people.

"I always thought that blackfellas lived longer, I've got a grandmother who is nearly 100 years old, she's pretty old and she's still kicking so I didn't really think that stuff was much of an issue.

"I know back in the days the elderly Nunga fellahs were living for ages, I've got ancestors that have lived on for a long long time before the supermarkets were around."

Tahli said while she's obviously got good genetics, the Westernised lifestyle of Indigenous people is proving problematic for their health.

"Back in the days they never had problems with teeth or had any medical problems due to their lifestyle, what they ate and how they lived."

The State's Aboriginal Health Council told ABC News there's still a long way to go in improving the health and life expectancy of Aboriginal people.

The council's David Scrimgeour said there have been some improvements, but Aboriginal South Australians are still dying about 11 years earlier than the rest of the population.

"Every week there are funerals of people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, people who are dying prematurely, from usually complications of chronic diseases."

He said increased government funding was needed for community-based organisations.

"Some of the very effective programs that we've been able to implement using some of that funding that's been available, it's unclear whether that will continue beyond June this year. If it doesn't continue it will certainly have an adverse impact."