INTRODUCTION Social and Emotional wellbeing is an intricate and complex concept that has a certain importance and significance for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. The Australian National Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research defines the term Social and Emotional Wellbeing as the “Social, emotional, spiritual and cultural wellbeing of a person” (The Lowitja Institute, 2016). Furthermore the term recognizes that the connection to land, culture, spiritualty, family and community are important to people and can impact on their wellbeing, It also recognizes that a person’s social and emotional wellbeing is influenced by policies and past events (Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing., …show more content…
In particular groups of Aboriginal People will have different slants on the meaning of what ‘Health’ is for them, in 1982 an attempt was made to define ‘Health’ from an Aboriginals perspective, The National Aboriginal Health Strategy (1989, pg. 10) states that Health is: ‘Not just the physical well-being of the individual but the social, emotional and cultural well-being of the whole community’. We must always remember that although this definition takes into consideration the view of the Aboriginal People, that the term ‘Health’ means different things to different people including the Aboriginal Community, for example some groups may place a heavy emphasis on family and spiritual needs whist others will concentrate on the physical things such as land rights. When we link the World Health Organizations Primary Health Care Principles and the Aboriginal Medical Service we can see Evidence of reductions in avoidable mortality for conditions susceptible to primary, secondary and tertiary intervention in Australia since the 1980s. This evidence suggests that primary health care has made a significant contribution to improved population health in this country. Unfortunately the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have yet to reap the full benefits of Primary Health Care compared to the Indigenous counterparts from overseas. …show more content…
The Aboriginal Medical Services in Australia have a vitally important role to play within Health, additionally it is clear that the use of appropriate evidence in designing Primary Health Care Services is important and that key interventions listed above are delivered and met (Australian Bureau of Statistics,
Indigenous Australian’s health has been a focal point and topic of interest for many members of the government and policy markers. The reasoning for why this topic has been of popular interest for the government and policy makers is due to the startling and atrocious lack of health that Indigenous Australian’s suffer. Indigenous Australian’s are disadvantaged in the Australian healthcare system and have the poorest health out of all Australians. “Between 2004 and 2008, 66% of Indigenous deaths occurred before the age of 65 compared with 20% of non-Indigenous deaths.” (Red Dust, p.1) Indigenous Australian’s experience this major disadvantage and neglect in the Australian society due to the poor health care system and policies that haven’t been able to solve the issue. This essay will explore the significant and negative impact on the Indigenous communities and how policy decisions have impacted and continue to impact the Indigenous communities. This essay will also outline why there have been significant policy shifts over time, the current issues in delivering services to Indigenous Australian’s and why these issues have emerged.
Aboriginal health is majorly determined by several social factors that are related to their cultural beliefs. Health professionals regularly find it difficult to provide health care to aboriginal people due to the cultural disparity that exists between the conventional and aboriginal cultures, predominantly with regard to systems of health belief (Carson, Dunbar, & Chenhall, 2007). The discrepancy between the aboriginal culture and typical Western customs seems to amplify the difficulties experienced in every cross-cultural setting of health service delivery (Selin & Shapiro, 2003). Most of the social determinants of the aboriginal health are due to their strict belief in superstition and divine intervention.
There are significant health disparities that exist between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians. Being an Indigenous Australian means the person is and identifies as an Indigenous Australian, acknowledges their Indigenous heritage and is accepted as such in the community they live in (Daly, Speedy, & Jackson, 2010). Compared with Non-Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people die at much younger ages, have more disability and experience a reduced quality of life because of ill health. This difference in health status is why Indigenous Australians health is often described as “Third World health in a First World nation” (Carson, Dunbar, Chenhall, & Bailie, 2007, p.xxi). Aboriginal health care in the present and future should encompass a holistic approach which includes social, emotional, spiritual and cultural wellbeing in order to be culturally suitable to improve Indigenous Health. There are three dimensions of health- physical, social and mental- that all interrelate to determine an individual’s overall health. If one of these dimensions is compromised, it affects how the other two dimensions function, and overall affects an individual’s health status. The social determinants of health are conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age which includes education, economics, social gradient, stress, early life, social inclusion, employment, transport, food, and social supports (Gruis, 2014). The social determinants that are specifically negatively impacting on Indigenous Australians health include poverty, social class, racism, education, employment, country/land and housing (Isaacs, 2014). If these social determinants inequalities are remedied, Indigenous Australians will have the same opportunities as Non-Ind...
In 1968 the Commonwealth Office of Aboriginal Affairs was established and acknowledged health as a major area for development and therefore started providing grants for health programs (NACCHO, History in health from 1967, online, 29/8/15). The office was later named the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in 1972, and it began making direct grants to the new aboriginal medical services opening around the nation (NACCHO, History in health from 1967, online, 29/8/15). In 1973 the Commonwealth Department of Health established an Aboriginal Health Branch in order to provide professional advice to the government (NACCHO, History in health from 1967, online, 29/8/15). Throughout the next several years indigenous health was on the radar of importance in the Government, in 1981 the Commonwealth Government initiated a $50 million five year Aboriginal Public Health Improvement plan (NACCHO, History in health from 1967, online, 29/8/15). Clearly more progress was achieved in the issue of health in the years after the referendum than those between colonisations and
0.8% of the overall Federal health expenditure in 2009 which was spent on Aboriginal health. The overall wellbeing of an individual is more than just being free from disease. It is about their social, emotional, spiritual, physiological as well as the physical prosperity. Indigenous health issues are all around us, but we don’t recognise because it doesn’t affect us, but this issue is a concern to Indigenous Australia and also to modern day Catholics in Australia The statistics relating to Indigenous health is inexcusable, life expectancy is at an all time low, higher hospilatisation for avoidable diseases, alerting rates of deaths from diabetes and kidney disease. This issue is bigger than we all think, for example 13% of Indigenous homes
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have some of the worst health outcomes in comparison to any other indigenous community in the world (AIHW, 2011). According to United Nations official Anand Grover, Aboriginal health conditions are even worse than some Third World countries (Arup & Sharp, 2009), which is astonishing, considering Australia is one of the worlds wealthiest countries. Thoroughly identifying the causes and analysing every aspect behind poor health of indigenous Australians, and Australian health in general, is near impossible due to the complexity and abundant layers of this issue. Even within the category of social determinants, it is hard to distinguish just one factor, due to so many which interrelate and correspond with each other. The aim of this essay is to firstly identify and analyse components of the social determinants of health that impact the wellbeing of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, and demonstrate how they overlap with each other. By analysing the inequalities in health of Aboriginal and non-indigenous Australians, positive health interventions will then be addressed. Racism and the consequences it has on Indigenous health and wellbeing will be discussed, followed by an analysis of how and why social class and status is considered a determining factor when studying the health of the Aboriginal population. The issue relating ...
... To provide Indigenous people with adequate health care, emphasis needs to be placed on understanding indigenous beliefs and the social detriments Indigenous communities are faced with. Applying a suitable model of health to each individual situation will provide the best outcome. This was evident in the case study discussed in the essay. Rodney’s experiences within the medical world ended with a positive and desirable result, but if the appropriate transcultural care was not given, that positive result would have created a negative outcome, which could have been detrimental to Rodney’s future health.
Advanced knowledge of Aboriginal Health policy and issues at the level and national level including understanding successful measures around Closing the Gap in Aboriginal Health inequality. My desire to work in the aboriginal field begins since I was very young. That is why at 16 years of my age I started to be even more interested in understanding all the issues related to the aborigines of this country. Over time, I looked that all my knowledge be trained at health level basis to help to improve the Aboriginal quality of life standards.
Poor living conditions are a major health determinant throughout the indigenous population. Most Indigenous Australians are known to live in rural parts of Australia which are commonly not close to major cities and services. People living in these areas generally have poorer health than others living in the cities and other parts of Australia. These individuals do not have as much access to health services and good quality housing. In 2006 roughly 14% of indigenous households in Australia were overcrowded unlike 5% of other households (AIHW, 2009a). Overcrowded and poor quality houses are commonly associated with poor physical and mental health between the people living in them. The indigenous are n...
The authors describe Indigenous perspectives on health and well-being based on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s historical and cultural backgrounds. In the Indigenous culture, health comprises not just physical and mental health, but emotional well-being, social and environmental factors as well. Moreover, this holistic approach to health is most associated with their cultural and spiritual dimension. For instance, it is important to maintain their physical and cultural connection to traditional lands as well
Thank you for taking time to read my letter. As a nursing student of University of Technology Sydney, I studied contemporary indigenous subject this semester. In this letter I want to illustrate 3 main social determinants of health that impact indigenous Australian health which I found and analysed during my recently study. And also offer some suggestion that could help the government improve aboriginal Australian mental health conditions in the future.
Likewise, poverty is associated with increased substance use (Loppie & Wien 8). In relation to the health factor, colonialism, discrimination, isolation and social exclusion are some of the determinants to the mental and physical health of Aboriginal peoples. All of these determinants relating to health may put a strain on the lives of some Aboriginal peoples as there is correlation between ill health, poverty and low socioeconomic status (Reading 10). Poverty is an issue that transcends age and time. With low income and societal isolation, some Aboriginal peoples are being marginalized into homelessness.
Department of Health South Australia. (2004). Cultural Respect Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health. Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council. Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Working Party
Her study demonstrated that Aboriginal communities will utilise ‘wellbeing values’ to determine whether they can see the connection between what governments (or others) are offering, and how that might enhance their own sense of wellbeing. Programs will therefore only effectively engage the Aboriginal community, when outcomes directly relate to Aboriginal wellbeing values (Kennedy: 3013). Negotiation should begin at the earliest stage of a project, to ensure that it is based on Indigenous aspirations and priorities, within an Indigenous framework, process, context and time frame. Respect therefore involves active listening to what community has to say and appropriate reaction to community based aspirations based upon local protocols. The process then emerges as Aboriginal community driven, with organisers as facilitators of a program exercising community self-determination.
The Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders constitute the indigenous groups of people living in Australia. They have a culture that is distinct from others and they are administered by a system based on traditional pre-Chirstian local government with elected council. According to Rachel and Relly (2013), the ATSI have a distinct culture with deep religious value. These cultural differences of the islanders helps in coordinating the relationships among the community. Their culture discourages individualistic and hence they seek social support from others with hope of getting help as they have same cultural assumptions of assisting each other (Thompson, Chenhall and Brimblecombe, 2013).