CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
Introduction:
It is amazing to note that humans are a type of species that can smartly organize and form a community. Several of these communities create their cultural norms and beliefs that make their society a place to live. Willis, K. and Elmer, S. (2007, p3), defines society as the identifying pattern of behaviour, meanings and beliefs in order to uncover the links between individual lives and social forces.
Accepting this definition as a fact, the analysis of this case study will take into consideration culture clash, the history of indigenous dispossession, and contemporary health issues faced by indigenous people. Subtopics on the models of health and the transcultural theories protruded by the study are covered by this analysis.
For a better understanding of what this analysis is all about, culture has been defined by Collins, W. (1990, p187), as an aspect in a particular society that consists of ideas, customs and art that are produced by such a society. The applications of the models of health and the transcultural theories and their rationale have also been covered in this analysis.
Culture clash and indigenous dispossession at the time of colonization:
To give us a better understanding of the word “indigenous” Collins, W. (1990, p401) defined indigenous as the originality of a country in which it is found, rather than having come from another country. It is hard to talk about culture clash without looking at the historic aspect of indigenous culture and how they were stripped off their rights and dispossessed of their society. (Garner, 1995 p183), cited by the Human Rights and equal opportunity commission, 1997, defined compulsion as the force or coercion that was used to forcefully a...
... middle of paper ...
...ight. An imprint of Schwartz
publishing Pty ltd, Level 3, 167 Collins street, Melbourne Victoria.
Saggars, S. & Gray, D. (1991) Aboriginal Health and Society; The traditional and contemporary
Aboriginal Struggle for better health. Allen & Unwin pty Ltd, 9 Atchison Street, St. Leonards NSW 2065 Australia.
Stein – Parbury, J (2006) Patient and Person: Interpersonal skill in Nursing. 3rd ed, Churchill
Livingstone- Australia.
Thomson, N. and M. Honari (1988) ‘Aboriginal Health: a case study’ In Australia’s Health: The
first biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health Canberra: Australian Government Printing service.
Wilson, R. (1997) Bringing Them Home: Human Right and Equal Opportunity Commission.
Willis, K. and Elmer, S. (2007) Society, Culture and Health: an introduction to sociology for
nurses. Oxford University Press
Wakerman J, Tragenza J, Warchivker I (1999) Review of health services in the Kutjungka Region of WA. Perth: Office of Aboriginal Health, Health Department of Western Australia
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
Firstly, gender disparity plays a significant role in aboriginal health, especially in the administration of health care. In Aboriginal culture, there are certain health practices that can only be done by either men or women, but not all (Bonvillain, 2001). In most cases, women are treated by their female counterparts whereas male doctors handle male patients. This means that a male doctor cannot undertake a vaginal inspection and a female nurse cannot teach an aboriginal man about self-catheterization. As a result, a breach of this traditional gender division, for instance a male doctor helping a woman in emergencies, is likely to cause shame, distress, depression, and fear of breaking a particular taboo (Freud, 2000).
In this essay the writer will discuss the colonisation of Australia, and the effects that dispossession had on indigenous communities. It will define health, comparing the difference between indigenous and non- indigenous health. It will point out the benefits and criticism of the Biomedical and sociological models of health, and state why it is important in healthcare to be culturally competent with Transcultural theory. The case study of Rodney will be analyzed to distinguish which models of health were applied to Rodney’s care, and if transcultural theory was present when health care workers were dealing with Rodney’s treatment plan.
...fficient training for health workers, communication barriers, a general mistrust in the health care system and culture shock has contributed to issues in delivering services to many Indigenous communities. The reason to why these issues have emerged is a result of two main factors, the lack of health services that are needed to address the issue and the silence of Indigenous communities which leads to misunderstanding between the government and Indigenous communities. Indigenous Australian’s experience this major disadvantage and neglect in the Australian society due to the poor healthcare system and policies that haven’t had a positive effect on the issue. For the issue of Indigenous health to be resolved, the Government and social policies need to address and meet the need of Indigenous people to overcome the poor health conditions that these communities suffer.
In order to understand the impact of colonisation on Aboriginal health; it is important to recognize their worldview or set of beliefs on health (Tilburt, 2010). They practice a “holistic” approach unlike the Western Biomedical model where health is centred on biological functioning (Lock, 2007). According to this model the essence of being healthy relies on the mental, spiritual and social well-being rather than the absence of an illness (Hampton & Toombs, 2013). It is closely linked to spiritual and environmental factors; the heart of which is country, tradition and kinship. Land is a source of identity and spirituality for indigenous people (Hampton & Toombs, 2013). Kinship manages connection to land as well as ceremonial obligations and interpersonal relationships (Hampton & Toombs, 2013). For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders a healthy person consists of physical and spiritual elements. It’s evident that colonisation eroded the structures upon which Indige...
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...
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.
The article follows with the situations and laws that further marginalized Indigenous woman, such as: The Indian Act (in which Europeans imposed Eurocentric sexist laws, making Indigenous woman dependent) and Residential schools (where there were separations of family units and the spread of diseases due to poor diets and bad sanitary condition). These situations led the Indigenous populations to lose their parenting skills, live in poor health conditions and the loss of their cultural identity, lasting for several generations.
This paper will be addressing the difficulties that the First Nations face everyday, whether they are part of a non-Aboriginal community or simply in their own Reserves. It will also address what control the Canadian government has on the Aboriginal and their culture. No matter where these people are living, they face with certain discrimination from non-Aboriginal people everywhere they go. As a conclusion, the reader will have a better understanding of why it is important that the Aboriginals get a discrimination-free environment and treatment. They will also open their eyes that this is a matter of racism applied by everyone who fits in the ‘norms’ that society has created.
The first factor that has an impact on the health of Indigenous people is their access to health services. Health services include health care provided by general medical practitioners, nurses, and allied health professionals. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2008), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have lower level of access to health services compared to other Australians. Distance may be one of the reasons that Indigenous Australian have difficulties to get to the facilities they want. Compared to the general population, the percentage of having medical facilities, including hospital, Aboriginal primary health care and other community health center, located in the discrete indigenous communities was only 7%, while in general population, the percentage was 35% (ABS 2006). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities face many different kinds of transport challenges as well. In 2008, 43% of Indigenous adults lived in an area in which the local transport was not available (HAMAC 2012, p. 99). That affects people’s access to health facilities as well. People may not get the treatment they need when take location and tra...
Walter, M. (2007). Aboriginality, poverty and health-exploring the connections. Beyond bandaids: exploring the underlying social determinants of aboriginal health. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.lowitja.org.au/sites/default/files/docs/Beyond-Bandaids-CH5.pdf/ [Accessed 10 Apr 2014]
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...
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...
Aboriginal people in Australia account for a very small proportion of the population, have poorer health outcomes due to the colonization of Europeans and government policies which suppressed their lives through all aspects including social, mental and physical. The essay opens with the pre-invasion health of Aborigines and the trauma caused by assimilation policy which affected their culture, way of life, family and belief systems and health. Aboriginal people regard their land as spiritual and their culture dictates that an Aboriginal person needs to know their origins, emphasising the value placed on kin and also demonstrating a strong desire to remain within their own country. Management of the issues of mental illness in Aboriginal people