...The World Health Organisation, (2012) defines health to be ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’, (WHO, 2015). However, it is instrumental that future Australian health professionals understand the culturally constructed notions of health within contemporary society. Although going beyond the general medical remedies is almost crucial in comprehending all of the complex interpretations of Indigenous Australian’s health. Improving the health of Indigenous Australians is a longstanding challenge for Australian governments. The gap in health status remains unacceptably wide (Calma, 2007). The lack of equal access to health services and the lower standards of health infrastructure...
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...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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...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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...death was preventable, but not homicide. It is now January, 2015. Michelle Labrecque, an Indigenous woman, seeks treatment at Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital. She is having severe stomach pain. At the hospital, she discusses her pain with a doctor, as well as other health concerns, including her struggles with alcohol and problems finding adequate housing. Upon returning home, she discovers that the “prescription” she had been written was a crudely drawn picture of a beer bottle, circled, with a slash put...
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...between Western and indigenous models of health and healing? Discuss with reference to at least two ethnographic examples. Matriculation number: 1002122 1 Introduction Different varieties of models of health and healing have come into an increasing degree of contact over the last 120 years, facilitated by broad economic and socio-cultural trends such as globalization and the construction of world views of healthcare standards and organization (Keane, 2010: 235-236. Whyte & Geest, 1988: 9-11). That is to say, that through the growth of the mass media and global markets in pharmaceuticals as well as the establishment of world health organizations and projects, such as WHO, models of health and healing (especially the Western model based in the clinical institutions of biomedicine) have been transmitted around the world. Localized concepts of health, and consequently, the cultures, societies and bodies of which those concepts are a vital part, are increasingly understood and shaped through their relationship with foreign models of health and healing. Indeed, Whyte & Geest (1988: 8) argue that Western and indigenous medicines ‘contextualise’ one another. The critical point, however, is that medical anthropologists have found that this relationship is not symmetrical. The interaction of Western and indigenous models of health and healing is structured by power relations of various sorts which usually result in the enforcement of Western health imperatives on an...
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...Helpful or Harmful? People are always looking for a better way to do things, a new and improved product, and exciting, unusual, and beneficial additions to their lives. The source of such finds often times come from outside the native culture in the form of a nonnative species, such as exotic animals, insects to control pests, or plants to improve health or diet. Looking outside one’s country for such answers brings forth new challenges for businesses and government agencies. In order to keep the environment safe and prospering, a government agency or business must consider how the invasive or non-indigenous species will react, adapt, or change in its new environment, what harm it can bring to humans such as health risks or destruction to an industry, and finally, if there will be any added benefits to introducing a new indigenous species to their country. These questions need to be researched before introducing such nonnative species into a new environment. Both accidental and intentional importation of nonnative species can have a negative effect on the environment especially if not properly researched. When nonnative species are unintentionally imported, great damage can be caused to the environment. For example, the balsam woolly adelgids were accidentally imported to the United States from Europe. The result can be seen in Source A. The Balsam Fir trees are completely stripped of needles and have the sickly appearance of a dead forest. When species are unintentionally...
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...A long standing issue in Australia is the 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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...Across Australia, the health Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are at a poor level and require the attention of both state and national government (Odette, 2018). Discharge against medical advice (DAMA), is significantly higher for Indigenous in the general healthcare system than that of other non-Indigenous, even with the ongoing strategy set up by the government to reduce health enquiries and social disadvantage for Indigenous and other Australians. This report aims to investigate the meaning behind this statistics through evidence-based literature together with journal reports and shed light on factors on why Indigenous self-discharge and how the healthcare system could further improve and decreasing DAMA on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’. DISCUSSION OVERVIEW OF DISCHARGE AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE IN HEALTHCARE (DAMA) Discharge against medical advice ‘DAMA’, is when an in-patient chooses to leave the hospital setting without the discharge approval of a health practitioner and has continued to become a common problem. Leaving without the advice of a physician can have a potential risk to the continuity of care of the patient and may result...
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...It is indeed an important date for the entire nation, yet behind the debate underlies more pressing issues that could be done for the indigenous Australians. Despite some of the recent improvements for indigenous populations, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average life expectancy of indigenous people was still approximately 10 years less than that of non-indigenous Australians. Furthermore, the NWMR Koolin Balit PCP Consortium Project had found that the gap had widened for cancer mortality and there has been no improvement for diabetes, suicide or transport accidents in recent years. Incidents of mental health and incarceration continues to be an area of particular concern for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. And among all, a culture that is built to be welcoming and inclusive of all cultures is yet to...
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...Life Insurance Price Discrimination on Indigenous Australians The ethical conflict For many years, the average life expectancy for Indigenous Australians has been lower than the non-indigenous population. Although the life expectancy gap has been gradually decreasing from 2005 to 2012, the remaining differences of 10.6 for males and 9.5 for females are still problematic for the future welfare of the Aboriginal community (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2014). Also, it persists a big challenge to the society as a whole. From the life insurance company’s perspective, the existence of statistical evidence means that insured who belongs to Indigenous population is highly likely to bring more risk to the pool. Correspondingly, a higher premium should be charged to cover the higher death risk this particular group is entitled to. However, discriminating based on Aboriginal status has been increasingly questioned and many people believe that such practice violates the social equality and is simply unfair to the Aboriginal community. The ethical dilemma faced by insurance companies is whether they should sacrifice the benefit of the minority in order to achieve the best possible outcome for the majority. The moral principle of utilitarianism may provide justification for why insurer chooses to charge different premiums for Aboriginal people. However, those who believe more in deontology will argue that the maximum benefit achieved for everyone under the utilitarianism ethical...
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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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...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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...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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...sources reveal the ways in which government policies in different eras influenced nurse’s attitudes and clinical practice in relation to Aboriginal people, and helped institutionalise racism in health care. Up until the 1970s, most nurses in this study unquestioningly accepted firstly segregation, then assimilation policies and their underlying paternalistic ideologies, and incorporated them into their practice. The quite marked politicisation of Aboriginal issues in the 1970s in Australia and the move towards selfdetermination for Aboriginal people politicised many – but not all – nurses. For the first time, many nurses engaged in a robust critique of government policies and what this meant for their practice and for Aboriginal health. Other nurses, however, continued as they had before – neither questioning prevailing policy nor its effects on their practice. It is argued that only by understanding and confronting the historical roots of institutional racism, and by speaking out against such practices, can discrimination and racism be abolished from nursing practice and health care. This is essential for nursing’s current and future professional development and for better health for Aboriginal Australians. Received 14 March 2006 Accepted 12 September 2006 Key Words Aboriginal health; institutional...
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