Health Disparities Between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians

(2012, p.501) indicates that lower income of the Aboriginal residents of Ruralsville, as well as low social status and socially marginalised, all leads to poorer health status. People with low income are more likely having trouble to get the treatment they need. Some of them cannot afford the medication for a specific disease. A study by Kemp et al. (2013, p.21) shows that, prescription medicines for chronic disease pose a substantial financial burden to people who had low incomes.

By researching literature, it has been found that poverty is a large issue affecting many Indigenous Australians lives. These examples of issues causing Indigenous poverty have found, that the loss of land faced by Indigenous Australians both historically and now is resulting in Aboriginal poverty, the pollution on the environment causes Indigenous poverty by affecting their health and isolating them and the exclusions of social provisions that Indigenous Australians face do not allow for a healthy wellbeing, evidently resulting in poverty. Overall, to address the issues one must be culturally appropriate. A research approach can also be effective in addressing the issue. Therefore, the issues must be addressed so Indigenous Australians can have fairness amongst all areas of life.

It’s evident that colonisation eroded the structures upon which Indige... ... middle of paper ... ...s even harder due to the distance and cost. In 2008 Indigenous children were less likely to be immunised and Indigenous people were 5 times more likely to be hospitalized for illnesses that could be prevented by timely medical intervention (Australian human rights commission, 2008a). 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.

Dispossession and dislocation has resulted in poverty, loss of identity, culture and spiritual connection, impacting generations of Indigenous Australian's health (Hampton & Toombs, 2013b, p. 79). The combination of SDoH and historical factors has led to poor lifestyle choices and anti-social behaviours with an end result of increased disease such as diabetes and renal disease among contemporary Indigenous Australians (Calma, 2007, Mathews, 1998). ‘Everyone agrees that there is one critical social determinant of health, the effect of colonization’ (CSDH, 2007, p.30)

Health Care Accessibility a Challenge for Aboriginal People The health of Aboriginal people in Canada is both a tragedy and a crisis (Aboriginal Affairs and North Development Canada, 2010). Aboriginals have a higher rate of death among aboriginal babies, twice the national average, higher rate of Infectious diseases example gastrointestinal infections to tuberculosis, and chronic and degenerative diseases such as cancer and heart disease are affecting more aboriginal people than they once did (AANDC, 2010). Availability of important medical facility is not enough to accommodate the growing medical needs of Aboriginals. A socioeconomic and cultural issue also hinders the access of aboriginals to access health care in the community. Availability of health care providers and specialist are inadequate to provide Aboriginals proper health promotion and prevention.

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. Indigenous communities suffer the worst health in Australia and are most at risk to many illness’s compared to other Australian’s. “The poor health experienced by Indigenous people reflects the disadvantage they experience, as many Indigenous communities do not have access to quality health care and to clean water.” (Reconciliaction Network, p.1) The specific health concerns for Indigenous Australian’s are the higher rate of diabetes, higher mortality rate with cancers, cardiovascular disease is more common, eye conditions, higher risk of smoking which contributes to other health impacts, ear disease w... ... middle of paper ... ...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.

SRH2002 – Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Assessment Task 3 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.” Charmine A Hines 25171720 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.

Some being that it supports principles of diversity and social justice. Australia is diverse in terms of multiculturalism, socio-economic status and geographic location. Socio-economic status relates how much the individuals income is, their employment status, car/home ownership or their knowledge about health. Being geographically isolated means not having access to available health services. It is taken into account so that the individual has a sense of belonging and empowerment to improve their health.

Social inequality is the disparity and unequal distribution between different groups in a society. Inequalities can be detrimental to health as a result of lack of income, resources or opportunities (bbc.co.uk, 2017). The effects can harm the physical, mental and social well-being of individuals and also cause illness and disease. The social class someone belongs to is a major factor in determining how healthy they are. Social class is the most singular reason for differences in health between people in the UK since social class is closely linked to available wealth, itself a key determinant in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Roughly, 88% of seniors and 60% of adults in Canada are health illiterates (About Health Literacy, 2013). It is estimated that six out of ten Canadian adults lack the literacy skills needed to adequately manage their health and health care needs (Fact sheet, 2008). Research has shown that Canadians with lower health literacy skills are more than 2.5 times more likely to have poor health compared to Canadians with higher health literacy due to their inability to process and understand health related materials (Fact sheet, 2008). This paper aims to emphasize the role and importance of health literacy in relation to sexually transmitted infections in youth and the promotion of sexual health among the elderly. Role of Health Literacy in Relation to STI’s ans Sexual Health Promotion Sexually transmitted infections and sexual health promotion among individuals are sensitive Public Health issues that need to be addressed with care (STI’s in Niagara youth, 2014).