Joint Submission to the National Heart Foundation of Australia - Obesity and cardiovascular disease: A clinical consensus statement

The Collaborative and AMWA welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the National Heart Foundation of Australia’s consultation on its draft clinical consensus statement on obesity and cardiovascular health.

We support the Heart Foundation’s recognition of the need for equity-focused, integrated and holistic models of care. Further, we welcome the acknowledgement of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities as a priority population within the consensus statement.

Given that more than half of Australians were born overseas or have a parent born overseas, and over 5.6 million people speak a language other than English at home, it is essential that the consensus statement reflects the demographic reality of the Australian population. This is particularly crucial given that multicultural communities experience a higher prevalence of cardiometabolic risk.

To ensure clinical guidance is effective and equitable, we recommend that the needs of multicultural communities be explicitly and consistently embedded throughout the consensus statement. Aligning practice guidance with population need is essential to achieve equitable cardiovascular outcomes.