The Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islander‘s reside in remote locations in specific regions, which makes it difficult for them to access high quality maternity health care facilities. The skilled maternity service providers play a crucial role in providing the required care and services, which can help in improving the health of women and children during the birth. The midwives play an important role in ensuring that the reasonable care is taken during the birthing process, and also after the birth of the child. The mortality rate among the mothers and infants is quite high among Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islander cultural groups as compared to the people of Australia from other regions. The support to mothers as well as infants before and after the birthing process is vital in ensuring safety and health of both. The cultural differences between Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islanders and other communities can also be one of the major reasons for the ineffective maternity health care facilities for Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islanders. The government needs to play an important role in improving the maternal health care services among Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islanders. The society plays a key role in the development of one of the groups which are unable to access high quality health care services. There is clear shortage of workforce that can take care of the patients’ that need care and assistance. Therefore, it is recommended that more and more number of health care professionals is included to serve the people from the cultures like Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islanders. The midwifery services can be crucial in providing basic health care services to mothers and infants. The medical and nursing students can also contribute p... ... middle of paper ... ...erefore, the health care budget for groups like Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islander has been increasing year on year, (Kildea, 2010). The funds allocated towards the health care services of Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islander in the year 2010 have reached over $1 billion. However, it is also to be noted that the higher the funds allocated, the fewer problems faced by the people from Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islander groups. Therefore, numerous financial provisions have been made along with the initiatives that are aimed at bridging the gap between the maternal health care services among Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islander, and other Australian communities, (AIHW, 2011). The role played by administrations and ministers plays an important role in closing the gap, and improving material health care services among Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islander communities.
Another issue which commonly affects the Aboriginal population, inhibiting the experience of good health, is culture clash which consistently lead to social exclusion and societal assimilation. Urquhart (2009) identifies social exclusion as the fourth of ten social determinants of health and is often a result of culture clash. It is very important to recognise that culture clash is a cultural issue which gives rise to certain discrepancies that highly influence Aboriginal health. These discrepancies are complex and interspersed factors such as ethnocentrism, segregation and oppression, which all result in the social exclusion and societal assimilation of Aboriginals. Ethnocentrism is described as the tendency to view one’s own culture as superior to all other cultures (Cooper, 2012). Crisp and Taylor (2008) endow that “All people are inclined towards ethnocentrism” and this was reiterated by the Storti (2012) who stated that “Not only is judging natural, it is essential to function effectively in society”. Although, whilst it is a common issue, ethnocentrism becomes a problem when it is exhibited by people whom hold a position of power and who also have the ability to overrule those with lesser power (Crisp & Taylor, 2008). Ethnocentrism is an important factor because it has the potential to develop into such social exclusions as segregation and oppression, especially when it is exhibited by people who hold such positions of power as community or Government leaders. Such was the case when the Aboriginal population began to raise at the beginning of the 20th century (Crisp & Taylor, 2008). The Government powers, influenced by ethnocentrism, developed the policy of segregation which ultimately impacted on many facets of Aborigina...
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...
This birthing plan is often documented in the patient’s medical record which aids the health care staff during the birthing event. Documentation and discussion of these events is often necessary to ensure all the needs of the family are met. Too often all the potential needs are not discussed and the opportunity to meet the needs of the new family is missed. These missed opportunities can result in emotional and religious conflicts within the family unit and toward the health care staff. For the nurse leader these missed opportunities in care could result in unfavorable patient satisfaction scores and reports within and outside the institution which necessitates follow up. The most important missed opportunity is how this affects the family unit itself. Depending on the missed opportunity the family unit may be affected for years based on questions not asked or decisions made with poor information. Some cultures must bury the placenta after birth and if this was not discussed and the placenta discarded the religious implications could be devastating for this family. Application of Henderson’s need theory guides the nurse in the educational plan for the patient-family unit to ensure all basic needs are covered and questions related to those needs are posed in advanced of the birthing
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 ...
...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.
The issue of aboriginal people in Canada is not new. For a long time, it has been heatedly debated by academic scholars and by the general public as well. By no means does this issue have a straightforward solution to it. RCAP (Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples) is one of the institutions largely responsible for the aboriginal issue. Unfortunately, the problems RCAP faces are too intractable to settle in a relatively short time, due to which there are some unresolved problems intimately related with the life of aboriginal people awaiting to be dealt with soon in an effective and politically sound way. The complexity of the issue calls for more intellectual discussion beyond the scope of the immediate present aboriginal reality.
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.
Since the time of federation the Aboriginal people have been fighting for their rights through protests, strikes and the notorious ‘day of mourning’. However, over the last century the Australian federal government has generated policies which manage and restrained that of the Aboriginal people’s rights, citizenships and general protection. The Australian government policy that has had the most significant impact on indigenous Australians is the assimilation policy. The reasons behind this include the influences that the stolen generation has had on the indigenous Australians, their relegated rights and their entitlement to vote and the impact that the policy has had on the indigenous people of Australia.
The introduction of Government Policy through the Aboriginal Protection Act. had a major impact on the lives of Aboriginal people past and present. This case study looks into the story of Coranderrk during this time of inequality and segregation through Government law and regulation.
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 conclusion the colonisation of Australia and the adoption of discriminatory policies eroded Aboriginal culture and tradition affecting their sense of well-being and thus deteriorated their health. Today these policies are reflected in the social determinants of health as socio-economic disadvantages. They continue to impact contemporary Aboriginal people. In order to improve Aboriginal health outcomes; the impacts of these policies need to be overturned. This can be done by assisting them with improving their socio-economic status in the light of their needs and traditions.
This suggests that all efforts should be made to address substance abuse by women at risk, rather than maintaining a limited focus on these women only when they are pregnant. A variety of reasons result in the lack of service Aboriginal women experience. From long waiting lists to these women fearing that they will loose custody of their children, if they admit to needing help with substance abuse during pregnancy, to the geographical location of communities, are all barriers that must be overcome.
• Amnesty International: Australia- governments dismissal of UN criticism undermines hard earned credibility in human rights diplomacy.
The indigenous people of Australia, called the Aborigines, are the oldest culture found on Earth. Studies show that the Aboriginal genome can be traced back seventy-five thousand years to when this community first migrated from Africa to Australia. As the oldest known continuous culture, their traditions and rituals have thrived even though the world around them has changed so drastically. In this paper I’d like to talk about the history of Aboriginal cultures in Australia, their cultural rituals and how their culture has been so heavily influenced and changed over the last few decades.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been the first nations, which represented the whole Australian population, for centuries. However, the continuous European colonization has severely affected these peoples and, over the decades, their unique values and cultures, which enriched the life of Australian nation and communities, were not respected and discriminated by numerous restrictive policies. As a result, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have turned into the voiceless minority of the Australian population. Fortunately, in recent years, these issues became the concern of the Australian government, promoting a slight improvement in the well being of native Australians. Nowadays, there are numerous social work