...Page 1 The World Health Organisation (World Health Organisation, 2008) states that the indigenous peoples of Australia are one of the most disadvantaged indigenous groups in the developed world. The health of the Indigenous population of Australia is an increasingly pressing issue. Current research and statistics reveals great inequality in many areas of health care and health status between the Aboriginal people and the general population of Australia. Couzos and Murray (2008, p. 29) report that the Indigenous population has “the worst health status of any identifiable group in Australia, and the poorest access to health systems.” This paper will examine the underlying historical contexts and contributing factors that have lead to the current disparity between the health of the Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians. Furthermore, the high prevalence of chronic health issues such as diabetes will be analysed and community health initiatives that are needed or currently being enacted will be identified. Many reasons for the current appalling state of health and wellbeing of the Australian Aboriginal people can be explained by examining their recent history to the devastating impacts of colonisation, genocidal policy, loss of land and years of oppression. These several hundred years of cultural destruction, dispossession and social and political upheaval have resulted in generations of trauma and grief (Burke, 2006, para. 4). As reported by Forsyth (2007, p. 35-36)...
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...Closing the Gap Initiative are two Federal Government policies that are designed to end the disparity between the health of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. There are limited similarities between these two policies, however many differences, including the involvement of the Indigenous community in the creation and management of the policies and the aims of the policies; the effectiveness of these policies has been attributed to the level of involvement within the Indigenous community. The Northern Territory Emergency Response The Northern Territory Intervention was implemented in June 2007 in order to protect Aboriginal children from sexual abuse; this involved heavy regulation of the community member’s lives, and many people did not approve. The Intervention program was initiated in response to allegations of sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities during August 2006; this prompted an enquiry into methods to protect children, and on the 15th of June 2007, the “Little Children are Sacred” report was released (Calma, 2008). Following this, the federal government created a policy in the Northern Territory on the 23rd June 2007 called the Northern Territory Emergency Response, also labelled as “The Intervention” (Calma, 2008). The changes that were implemented in this Intervention policy include the removal of the permit system for access to Indigenous land, 50% of welfare payments were confined, the abolishment of government-funded Community Development Employment...
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...2nd Assignment Explain the importance of education and training and health to the indigenous community of Australia. What is the evidence on closing the gap in these areas with the non indigenous community? Assess the implications of your results for employment, income and hence the standard of living? Introduction It is very important to provide better education training and health facilities to the indigenous community of Australia for the prosperous economy of the country. These are the fundamental elements to get higher productivity, to create more employment opportunity following by the higher income level with higher HDI of the country. It is important to share in the prosperity of the nation. Providing Indigenous Australians with...
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...Health of Indigenous Australians Name University Details Date of Submission Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders in Australia suffers from poor health. The poor health is associated with poverty, malnutrition, overcrowding, poor hygiene, environmental contamination, and prevalent infections. Inadequate clinical care and health promotion, and poor disease prevention services aggravate this situation (Gracey & King, 2009). Indigenous Australian women have poor maternal health; higher rates of chronic diseases, poor nutrition and high level of urinary tract infection that contribute to pregnancy complications. Moreover, Mellor, et al., (2015) felt that, these people are facing a challenge to access primary health care because of distance and most of them live in remote areas. They also have a problem of chronic health conditions that require a range of services but not affordable. Lastly, culture contributes to poor access of healthcare services through language barrier; gender based cultural practices and ideals. The health burden among Indigenous people arises in non-remote areas since majority of them reside in non-remote areas (Vos, et al., 2009). Social and emotional wellbeing among indigenous Australians is demonstrated by a number of ways. They are traumatized by abuse, domestic violence family breakdown, cultural dislocation, racism and discrimination, rejection by family social disadvantages and drug and substance abuse. They also have psychological distress, a problem...
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...outbreak. Unfortunately the Indigenous Australians were not able to quarantine the European colonists arriving on the first fleet in 1788 and there was no immunisation injections available to protect them from the colds, flus and other infectious disease that arrived with the colonist. In 2015 there are vaccines available to assist people develop a stronger immune system to help prevent some disease and medical technology has progress and people can now live longer than they ever had before. Unfortunately there is still a gap between the life expectancy of an Aboriginal Australian and a non-Aboriginal Australian. In 2010-2012 the average life expectancy for Indigenous Australian male and females were 69.1 and 73.7 while for non-indigenous Australians it was higher, 79.7 for males and 83.1 for females (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013). This is similar in other indigenous cultures across the world, the United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples makes mention of the health of Indigenous Peoples right to health care “Indigenous individuals have an equal right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. States shall take the necessary steps with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of this right” (United Nations, 2007). What is the Australian government doing to assist the Indigenous Australian population to achieve and attain a longer life expectancy like the non-indigenous population? In 2008 the Council...
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...populations in Australia, Indigenous Australians are at disadvantage in many areas. Areas ranging from employment, housing, justice and education among many more. There have been innumerable efforts at overcoming the disadvantages Aboriginal people have to face. For the purposes of this Essay, literature will be discussed in addressing the social inequality and disadvantage of indigenous people in relation to refining the gap in life expectancy (as a social-economic indicator) and what essential elements need to be considered for the process to work successfully. There are contending ideas in relevant literature as to what is the cause for the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, which also gives dissimilar arguments as to how to address the issue, with one side taking a view of longevity and the other a holistic method. It is argued that Indigenous Australians health inequalities could be narrowed with the improvement of the differences in health service access, provision and use. As the inabilities gain adequate health care due to, distance, cultural and availability barriers, thus leading to indigenous health problems being constant and prolonged (Healey 2002). However Eades of the of the Indigenous health research unit (2000, p.468) argues ‘that a complete tactic to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders involves understanding the close relationships between their social and economic status and their health’. This holistic...
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...will fail to meet five out of six closing the gap targets’ (Brennan 2015) and identifies the different social determinants of health in the article provided. The article examines holistic implications on the Australian Indigenous community in comparison to non-indigenous communities. The world health organisation defines social health of determinants as factors that affect the individual social, economic, mental and political aspects of their lives among many other factors (World Health Organisation 2015). A large percentage of the social determinants listed by the World Health Organisation affect the indigenous community in Australia in many of their current circumstances. This...
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...2012, p.274). Identify and discuss one or two of the historical events that have impacted on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and how the effects can be seen today. This paper aims to discuss how the assimilation policy and forced separation of Indigenous children from their families and culture has affected the mental health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A significant undertone of the assimilation policy is racial discrimination (Haebich 2001), which is an additional theme explored in this discussion. Racial discrimination is built on a belief of superiority that one race is better than the other (Khalafzai 2009, p.10), which is relevant to the actions of the assimilation policy; the Aboriginal culture was devalued and considered barbaric and inappropriate to the modern colonist nation (Haebich 2001). Victims of the forced separation suffered severe psychological consequences (Petchkovsky et al. 2004), which to this day, haunt and affect the lives of many Indigenous Australians (Koolmatrie & Williams 2000). Furthermore, remnants of the past are still seen present time, through the discriminating treatment of Indigenous Australians, adversely impacting on their health, mentally and physically (Khalafzai 2009, pp.10-11). The forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families derived from an underlying racist judgment that Aboriginal culture was ‘inappropriate’ to the colonial attitude (Haebich 2001, pp.75-76). Aboriginal...
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...influences an individual’s perception of illness and health.” 1000 wrds There are many definitions for 'culture' with the anthropologist Sir Edward Tylor (1871) cited by Ravalico (2006) defining it to mean 'that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by a member of society.' Culture also influences how one perceives their health and the idea of what it means to have ‘good health.’ One community group whose culture strongly impacts on individual’s perception of illness and health is the Australian Aboriginal community. Aboriginal Australians have a shorter life expectancy than others (ABS 2008, Shaouli et al 2011) which threatens Aboriginal culture as ‘elders’are the transmitters of Aboriginal culture. Aboriginal people experience worse health and more disease with the latter being three times more than that for the total Australian population (NATSIS 2008 cited by ABS 2008). Culture is one of the many social determinants of health and affects health (Carson, Dunbar, Chenhall and Bailie, 2007). Some indigenous people are fatalistic about their health (Thackrah and Scott 2011) although most can access medical help when needed providing they trusted their medical practitioners (ABS 2008, DATSIPD 2009). Other obstacles include language, lack of public transport and telecommunications (Shaouli et al 2011). Therefore, the impact of culture on individuals’ health is crucial to investigate as Aboriginal culture...
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...lower life expectancy than the general Australian population. Indigenous Australians born in the period 1996-2001 are estimated to have a life expectancy at birth of 59.4 years for males, and 64.8 years for females. This is approximately 16-17 years less than the overall Australian population born over the same period. (AIWH, 2011) The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2011) has identified narrowing this differential in life expectancy as a priority in health policy. Primary health care is based on the central premise that prevention is better than cure. The primary health care sector is the most vital in early detection of disease and its risk factors, and preventing disease complications, thus minimizing the cost of health care provisions downstream. (Couzos & Murray, 2008, p29) Sutherland and St George Hospitals are working hard with the local Aboriginal community to promote and improve the health of Indigenous people. The Aboriginal Early Childhood Service – operating out of Menai – is available to mothers (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) of Aboriginal children from birth to five years of age. The service announced, by Maxine Brennan (2011) is called Narrangy-Booris, meaning ‘Little Children’ in the local Dharawal language. Since the commencement of the service 12 months ago, Narrangy-Booris has made exceptional inroads in ‘closing the gap’ to health services by helping connect Aboriginal families to local health services. As told by Maxine Brennan...
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...Name Course Instructor Date of Submission The Great Divide Indigenous Health and Federal Government Policy Closing the Gap The ‘closing the gap’ is a strategy whose aims are to give a boost to the indigenous people life expectancy rates. This policy was made in reference to the sensitive areas of child mortality, life expectancy, early childhood education, achievements in education and the employment opportunities of the indigenous communities of Australia. It was endorsed by the Australian government in 2008 to close the formal gap between the indigenous communities of Australia and the ‘white’ communities and bring a sense of social justice to all communities in Australia; most especially boost the health system of the indigenous. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG), in the Closing the Gap initiative has set certain targets that seek to improve the healthcare system of the indigenous population. The targets of the ‘Closing the Gap’ initiative include: education, economic participation, early childhood, housing, health and remote service delivery. The subsequent achievement of this particular set system to cope with the problems facing the indigenous will hugely depend on an effective implementation of the set policy targets. This is because the set targets are as of today some of the common disadvantages that the indigenous people face (Ryan 2009). The government clearly understands the enormous task that faces...
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...This assessment focuses on the issue of Hotel Laeta’s corporate social responsibility and its duty of care towards the Indigenous Australian people. Background Aboriginals Australians are technically the first people who lived in Australia. Australian Aboriginals were basically the hunters who used to eat the animals they caught and were also considered as gatherers of plants which could be eaten. Some of these groups then settled on the islands and are now called as Torres Strait Islander People. 1. Foundational Aspects of Indigenous Australian Cultures (the dreaming and economic organisation) The term dreaming is a spiritual or a regional perception which not only goes back to the creation of the events but it also grasps the present...
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...social-health inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous people. The gap between the two ethnic groups remains increasingly worrying, as the imbalance here in Australia is among of the worst health gaps between the indigenous and non-indigenous people in a any country. It has even gone as far to be raised as a human rights concern by the United Nations committee, which has since been acknowledged by Australian Government. The Australian Bureau of Statistics found there was seventeen year gap in life expectancy between non-indigenous and indigenous people living in Australia in 2011 census. This statistic alone should be enough to see the urgence in the matter of social health in our country....
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...Belonging This essay discusses defines belonging. It identifies some elements of belonging, and focuses on selected few. It discussed concept of belonging from my perspective and looks at the significant of that from Aboriginals perspective based on research. It gives a brief history of the cruel nature of colonisation, its impact on Aboriginals and how this colonial mentality is perpetuated through discrimination to the Indigenous Australian disadvantage. It states why the policy introduced by the government does not sound promising, what the Aboriginals wants and human rights implications in the issues facing the Aboriginals. Definition of belonging Belonging is the connection and relationship of individual with the world around him/her. (Jacques Dufresne….) Even though belonging has physical components, it can be felt individually, and develops to diverse stages with time and circumstances. This means that human state of belonging is not permanent. The status of belonging can be explicated by the choices that people make. The concept of belonging Analysing and reviewing sense of belonging I approached it by applying to my own being-that I belong to a family, my mother and fatherland, an ethnic/cultural group, a religious, professional and community groups. Within these groups I have forged good relations. The thrives that keep this profound affiliation going for me is the values we share, that include honesty, caring, sharing, participation, inclusion and respect...
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...& Milroy, 2013). Their life has been changed suddenly and has devastating effect on their mental and health well-being. This essay will elaborate the reasons including social and cultural factors contributing significantly higher rate of mental illness and suicidal behaviour and mental health plans that the government has adopted to prevent self-harm and increase mental awareness. There have been a few researches conducted about Aboriginal people’s suicidal behaviour and self-harm. The definition of mental illness has been updated and a few times for the last 50 years on a regular basis (Parker &Milroy, 2014). Mental illness is also known as mental health disorder and it is very common in Australia. Mental disorders as defined by WHO (2016) is “comprise a broad range of problems, with different symptoms. However they are generally characterized by some combination of abnormal thoughts, emotions, behaviour and relationship with others. Examples are schizophrenia, depression, intellectual disabilities and disorders due to drug abuse.” Almost relatively half of the population in Australia suffered affective or substance use disorder and anxiety between the age from 16 to 85 in some stage of their life (The Department of Health, 2014). According to Australian government (2013), 7% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people hospitalised due to mental health condition. The leading cause of hospitalisation was schizophrenia, alcohol addiction and severe stress reaction...
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