inadequate physical activity, low intake of fruit and vegetables, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, unsafe sex, child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence. The 11 risk factors considered together explain 37% of the total burden of disease experienced by Indigenous Australians. The remaining 63% consists of a range of known and unknown risk factors, yet to be identified or quantified. Contemporary diet Poor-quality diet among the Indigenous population is a significant risk factor for three of the major causes of premature death in Indigenous Australians – cardiovascular disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes. Much of this burden of disease is due to extremely poor nutrition throughout life. A 2013 study of Indigenous dietary patterns in Northern Territory communities found there was a high expenditure on beverages and corresponding high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages coupled with low expenditure (and low intakes) of fruit and vegetables. Similarly high per capita consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has also been reported among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children at the national level. Modern Aboriginal Australians living in rural areas tend to have nutritionally poor diets, where higher food costs drive people to consume cheaper, lower quality foods. The average diet is high in refined carbohydrates and salt, and low in fruit and vegetables. There are several challenges in improving diets for Aboriginal Australians, such as shorter shelf lives of fresh foods, resistance to changing existing consumption habits, and disagreements on how to implement changes. Some suggest the use of taxes on unhealthy foods and beverages to discourage their consumption, but this approach is questionable. Providing subsidies for healthy foods has proven effective in other countries, but has yet to be proven useful for Aboriginal Australians specifically. Cross-cultural miscommunication Among the factors that have been at least partially implicated in the inequality in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australia are cultural differences resulting in poor communication between Indigenous Australians and health workers. According to Michael Walsh and Ghil'ad Zuckermann, Western conversational interaction is typically "dyadic", between two particular people, where eye contact is important and the speaker controls the interaction; and "contained" in a relatively short, defined time frame. However, traditional Aboriginal conversational interaction is "communal", broadcast to many people, eye contact is not important, the listener controls the interaction; and "continuous", spread over a longer, indefinite time frame. Hospital partnerships with traditional healers The ngangkari are traditional healers of the Anangu Aboriginal