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Reflective journal on aboriginal health and culture
Aboriginal Health disparity
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Health care inequities for Aboriginal women There are 1.1 million Aboriginal peoples living in Canada as of 1996 and 408,100 of them are women (Statistics Canada, 2000; Dion Stout et al, 2001). More than half live in urban centres and two thirds of those reside in Western Canada (Hanselmann, 2001). Vancouver is comprised of 28,000 Aboriginal people representing 7% of the population (Joseph, 1999). Of this total population, 70% live in Vancouver’s poorest neighbourhood which is the Downtown Eastside (DTES). Health care inequities can be elucidated by the research that identifies the social, economic and political ideologies that reflect aspects of cultural safety (Crandon, 1986; O’Neil, 1989 as cited in Browne & Fiske, 2001). There are various factors that affect the mistreatment of aboriginal peoples as they access health care in local health care facilities such as hospitals and clinics. Aboriginal women face many barriers and are discriminated against as a result based on their visible minority status such as race, gender and class (Gerber, 1990; Dion Stout, 1996; Voyageur, 1996 as cited in Browne & Fiske, 2001). A study done on Aboriginal peoples in Northern B.C. showed high rates of unemployment, underemployment and dependency on social welfare monies (Browne & Fiske, 2001). This continued political economic marginalisation of aboriginal peoples widens the gap between the colonizers and the colonized. The existence of racial profiling of aboriginal peoples by “Indian status” often fuels more stigmatization of these people because other Canadians who do not see the benefits of compensations received with having this status often can be resentful in what they may perceive is another compensation to aboriginal peoples. The re... ... middle of paper ... ...ir personal encounters with Aboriginal classmates that they might have had in high school. Life experiences, parental upbringing, ethnic roots, social status and education all shape nursing practices. Nurses and other health care professionals are trained in institutions that fail to recognise the socio-political injustices that occur in health care settings. In addition to this, their experiences in their work and in their personal lives and communities, they already have opinions about certain groups of people. “Cultural safety would encourage nurses to question popular notions of culture and cultural differences, to be more aware of the dominant social assumptions that misrepresent certain people and groups, and to reflect critically on the wider social discourses that inevitably influence nurses’ interpretive perspectives and practices” (Browne, 2009, p. 21).
Healthcare systems are microcosms of the larger society in which they exist. Where there is structural violence or cultural violence in the larger society, so will there be evidence of systematic inequities in the institutions of these societies. The healthcare system in Australia is one example—from a plethora of similarly situated healthcare systems—in which the color of a patient’s skin or the race of his parents may determine the quality of medical received. Life expectancy and infant mortality rates are vastly different for non-Aboriginal, Aboriginal, and Torres Strait Islanders residing in Australia. The life expectancy of Aboriginal men is 21 years shorter than for non-Aboriginal men in Australia. For women, the difference is 19 years. The infant mortality rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male infants is 6.8% and the infant mortality rate for female infants is 6.7%. For non-Aboriginal infants, the infant mortality rates are 1% for male infants and 0.8% for female infants. Further, the Aboriginal population is subject to a wide-range of diseases that do not exhibit comparatively high incidence rates in non-Aboriginal Australians.
The over-representation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian Child Welfare system is a growing and multifaceted issue rooted in a pervasive history of racism and colonization in Canada. Residential schools were established with the intent to force assimilation of Aboriginal people in Canada into European-Canadian society (Reimer, 2010, p. 22). Many Aboriginal children’s lives have been changed adversely by the development of residential schools, even for those who did not attend them. It is estimated that Aboriginal children “are 6-8 times more likely to be placed in foster care than non-Aboriginal children (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, 2010, p. 2).” Reports have also indicated that First Nations registered Indian children make up the largest proportion of Aboriginal children entering child welfare care across Canada (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, p. 2). Consequently, this has negatively impacted Aboriginal communities experience of and relationship with child welfare services across the country. It is visible that the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system in Canada lies in the impact of the Canadian policy for Indian residential schools, which will be described throughout this paper.
In this proposal our team seeks to explore the injustices within the Indian Act. To achieve this our proposed research will examine the target population being the aboriginal woman. The paper will further explore the oppressions faced by the aboriginal women within the Indian Act. In conclusion, this proposal will sum up the negative impact that the Indian Act had on aboriginal women and how it continues to oppress this population within the Canadian National discourse.
A reasonable way of understanding why aboriginal people in Canada are at a higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS is to go back in time and revisit a few historical events that left an indelible mark on this population. To exemplify, colonialism, the 1876 Indian Act and the establishment of residential schools and Indian reserves, resulted in the loss of physical territory, cultural values and had a demoralizing and traumatizing effect on the indigenous peoples of Canada that extends to this date (Reading & Wien, 2009). Also deriving from colonization, were the losses of self-determination, power of voice and decision making as well...
In Canada, access to health care is ‘universal’ to its citizens under the Canadian Health Care Act and this system is considered to the one of the best in the world (Laurel & Richard, 2002). Access to health care is assumed on the strong social value of equality and is defined as the distribution of services to all those in need and for the common good and health of all residents (Fierlbeck, 2011). Equitable access to health care does not mean that all citizens are subjected to receive the same number of services but rather that wherever the service is provided it is based on need. Therefore, not all Canadians have equal access to health services. The Aboriginal peoples in Canada in particular are a population that is overlooked and underserved
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.
The 1967 referendum resulted in the change of the Constitution on August 10 of that year, initiating the start of great change for the lives of indigenous people in Australia. The referendum sought to change Sections 51 and 127 of the Constitution. Section 51 stated the Federal Government could make laws for anyone in the nation except aborigines, leaving state governments in charge (Creative Spirits – 1967 Referendum, online, 14/8/15). Section 127 specified that when the population of the Commonwealth was counted, indigenous people were not included (Creative Spirits – 1967 Referendum, online, 14/8/15). According to Faith Bandler, an indigenous civil rights activist, it was important to force the Commonwealth to be responsible for the aborigines
Fleras, Augie. “Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Repairing the Relationship.” Chapter 7 of Unequal Relations: An Introduction to Race, Ethnic and Aboriginal Dynamics in Canada. 6th ed. Toronto: Pearson, 2010. 162-210. Print.
Cultural Competency is fundamentally linked with the principles of social justice and human rights because it provides the nurses with the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills to provide equal care despite one’s cultural background. However, using the principles of social justice and human rights to educate nurses allows them to learn how to negotiate cultural differences. Removing their own cultural filters, and seeing events through the eyes of those who are culturally different accomplish this. An embedded experience, in which nurses interact with various cultures, would encourage them to adopt Cultural Competency knowledge (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2008).
Access is more than the availability of services; access assumes that services are provided in a way that is responsive to the needs of the health care system users, and is open to participation in the planning of those services by underserved groups. There are many different components in terms of access; client access, securing necessary services for an individual, and to organizational access amount of influence a person has to determine type, delivery and administration of services. Some may not be covered within the publicly insured health care on the other hand, maybe funded but not available when needed. There can be barriers to access these health care systems. Marginalized populations, through the lens of First Nations and Aboriginal people there are many problems and barriers they face in terms of health care. Firstly the geographical barrier many First Nations people live in remote areas where there is limited access to health services funded by the provinces. In these locations the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada is responsible for providing primary health services. Since many doctors, nurses and other health care professional do not live or chose to work in these distant locations due to the isolation. Communities, provision of community health services may not be in the same form as those available to other citizens; some services may not be available at all. These
Puzan (2003, p. 197) discusses racial stratification being responsible for organizing social relations, meaning that through language and practice, nurses participate in the production and maintenance of patient identities. Nurses are vulnerable to interacting and responding to patients with unconscious biases, relying on embedded and accepted stereotypes. Racial health care inequality is a multidimensional problem, with barriers to health care involving the health care system, the patient, community, and health care providers themselves. A lack of awareness and education pertaining to issues of race, racism, and whiteness contribute to poor perceptions are being addressed within Australian nursing curriculum (Van Den Berg, 2010, p. 2). The relationship between health and racism has been found as the cause of persistent health differences by racial or ethnic classification and racism is identified as the root cause of the extreme socio-economic and health disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal Australians (Larson et al, 2007, p. 26). Possessing a diversity and cross cultural competency is important, as is paying attention to systemic policies and procedures that negatively impact a nurse’s ability to provide adequate care to people of all races.
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.
In the health profession, the diversity of people requires the ability to carefully, respectfully and effectively provide care. For this reason, it is vital that the approach of care delivered to patients depend on each individuals. This approach ensures patients receive best quality of care possible and avoid situations that can potentially prevent improvement of health status. This essay will discuss the importance of nurses to be cultural competent, possible consequences of ethnocentrism and how critical reflection can help prevent ethnocentricity.
Robinson, K., Kearns, R., & Dyck, I. (1996). Cultural safety, biculturalism and nursing education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Health & Social Care in the Community, 4(6), 371-380. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2524.1996.tb00084.x
The accessibility and cost of medicines for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remains a significant factor when it comes to reaching health equality across Australia. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule (PBS) expenditure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is approximately half that of the non-Indigenous average despite the three times higher