The Indigenous Population of Australia existed before the European colonisation of the country, they are known as Aboriginals, and Torres Strait Islanders. Unfortunately, due to the colonisation and westernisation of Australia, the indigenous population has suffered. Presently a large portion of the indigenous population in Australia has developed a poor socioeconomic status, there are fewer opportunities for them to work, it is not uncommon for indigenous people to have poor nutrition, they have a higher rate of certain chronic diseases than European descendants for example diabetes, renal failure and heart disease, and until relatively recent years they did not have the same rights as those Australians of other races, for example Aboriginals …show more content…
Prior to 1923 when the first recorded case of diabetes was diagnosed in an Aboriginal man, the Indigenous population of Australia had been considered healthy and unlikely to suffer from the metabolic conditions seen in western civilisations. The high energy diet and sedentary lifestyle of Western Civilisation’s has been adopted by a large amount of Indigenous Australians and it is a lifestyle that Indigenous people are not adapted to. This caused a huge spike in obesity and diabetes in Indigenous Australians (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2007). For example diabetes related death rates in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is three times as high as non-Indigenous Australians (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2015). The most relevant and statistically successful disease prevention activities available through the Australian Government and Australian Indigenous Health Information Network are the ‘Food and Health Communication Across Cultures’ initiative which aids Indigenous people and families to help “communities to explore and focus on health promoting activities that are culturally integrated for Indigenous knowledge and beliefs” (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2014) and other initiatives like “Shape Up Australia” which is for all …show more content…
These policies and initiatives come in different forms depending on the target audience, for the general public we things like advertisements on television and flyers, “Quit for You, Quit for Two” anti-smoking ads, the “Five Star Health Rating” that is seen in most supermarkets now, and the “Draw The Line” campaign to reduce sedentary lifestyle choices. These advertisements come from more detailed policies that are developed from reports that are aimed at the government groups that help to implement action like the ‘Indigenous Australians Health Programme (Chronic Disease Activities)’ (The Australian Government Department of Health, 2014). The ‘Indigenous Australians Health Programme’ report addresses the “key areas of weakness within health care” and aims to support primary health care in the prevention of health issues within the Indigenous community by health education and supporting alteration of entrenched poor lifestyle
...nts of Health and the Prevention of Health Inequities. Retrieved 2014, from Australian Medical Association: https://ama.com.au/position-statement/social-determinants-health-and-prevention-health-inequities-2007
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have faced disadvantages in various areas, particularly housing. The disadvantages these people face now are the result of policies introduced by the European settlers, then the government. The policies introduced were protection, assimilation, integration and self-determination. It is hard to understand the housing disadvantages faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people if their history is not known.
Indigenous Australian’s health has been a focal point and topic of interest for many members of the government and policy markers. The reasoning for why this topic has been of popular interest for the government and policy makers is due to the startling and atrocious lack of health that Indigenous Australian’s suffer. Indigenous Australian’s are disadvantaged in the Australian healthcare system and have the poorest health out of all Australians. “Between 2004 and 2008, 66% of Indigenous deaths occurred before the age of 65 compared with 20% of non-Indigenous deaths.” (Red Dust, p.1) Indigenous Australian’s experience this major disadvantage and neglect in the Australian society due to the poor health care system and policies that haven’t been able to solve the issue. This essay will explore the significant and negative impact on the Indigenous communities and how policy decisions have impacted and continue to impact the Indigenous communities. This essay will also outline why there have been significant policy shifts over time, the current issues in delivering services to Indigenous Australian’s and why these issues have emerged.
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.
Uncontrolled Diabetes: Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute (2012, p. 2) stated that Australian Aboriginal and Torrens state Islander people are 3 times more likely to suffer from Diabetes as compared to the Non Indigenous Australian. Overweight and obesity are the leading contributing factors to the uncontrolled Diabetes among Indigenous Australian’s. As per Harrison (2012, p. 449) Lack of physical activity, diet and having impaired glucose regulation contribute to the overweight and obesity. Increase in body weight can leads body to the Insulin resistance. In 2008- 2009 diabetes rapidly increasing among Indigenous adults as 37 percent of adults were overweight and 25 percent were obese. Diabetes is a chronic disease which can leads to so many other complications so it is vitally important to control all the contributing factors to prevent it and to promote healthy life style. Diabetes type 1 is more common in younger people between the age of 15-24 and Type 2 Diabetes i...
The dispossession of Indigenous Australians has been looked upon for many years. The colonisation by the British reduced the number of Indigenous people significantly; they reduce so much they are now only 2% of Australia’s population. Due to the colonisation this bought many diseases and sickness that Indigenous people had never been exposed to before. At the same time the lands the Indigenous owned were stolen by force, many were hurt but also driven away from their land. In 1992 it was recognised that the Indigenous people had rights to land, due to the connection of spiritual, religious and other obligations (Martin n.d.). Many Indigenous people still remain
The first Europeans to settle Australia treated the Aboriginals in a brutal, unfair manor. They downgraded Aboriginals to a lower status as human beings. They tried to force the Aboriginals to conform to the western way of life for more than 200 years. It is only fairly recently that the Aboriginals have finally been able to gain back some of their indigenous rights and traditions.
Australian indigenous culture is the world’s oldest surviving culture, dating back sixty-thousand years. Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have been represented in a myriad of ways through various channels such as poetry, articles, and images, in both fiction and non-fiction. Over the years, they have been portrayed as inferior, oppressed, isolated, principled and admirable. Three such texts that portray them in these ways are poems Circles and Squares and Grade One Primary by Ali Cobby Eckermann, James Packer slams booing; joins three cheers for footballer and the accompanying visual text and Heywire article Family is the most important thing to an islander by Richard Barba. Even though the texts are different as ….. is/are …., while
Topic 3: "Outline the social determinants of health in Australia and provide a critical analysis of these determinants. Discuss the current health status comparisons between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and interventions to remedy these inequalities.”
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 dramatic and widespread problem of obesity has been deemed an epidemic by various health organizations. Obesity and numerous other diseases can and do occur in a large number of the Australian population and affects men and women, children and various people from different social and cultural backgrounds. The spike of obesity in the Australian population can lead to countless health issues including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (increases the chance of a stroke), various types of cancers, musculoskeletal problems, respiratory problems. Aboriginal Australians are a high risk of developing obesity. This essay will explore this issue through a range of geographical and socioeconomic perspectives. Recommendations will be made to
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...
Wang, Z., Hoy, W. E., & Si, D. (2010). Incidence of type 2 diabetes in aboriginal australians: An 11-year prospective cohort study. BMC Public Health, 10(1), 487-487. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-487
...s health has been an issue since past and is still an issue upto now. In conclusion appropriate action needs to be taken in order to help indigenous Australians to improve the health of individuals thereby making the society a better place for all.
Health is a major issue in the Aboriginal society of Australia, Indigenous Australians receive lower levels of healthcare than the mainstream Australian. The life expectancy of the Indigenous male in 2003 was 59.4 years old and the female 64.8 years old, meaning that an Indigenous Australian citizen will live on average for 17 years shorter than a non-indigenous Australian.