Indigenous Australians are defined as inhabitants of the land prior to colonization of Australia (Mooney, 2013). For the purpose of this paper indigenous Australians health and leisure will be further explored. Leisure and health are important components an individual must maintain through out their life. Whether an individual participates in leisure is based on mental, social, physical and environmental factors. These factors may be positive influences or negative influences on the group. The health of an individual is based on physiology, unfortunately for indigenous Australians there are particular diseases, which are more commonly diagnosed. These diseases can physically, socially and mentally be assisted by the use of leisure participation. …show more content…
These factors allow an individual to identify himself or herself as indigenous Australian. This group has experienced many ups and downs throughout history, with current concerns involving the health and leisure of indigenous Australians. There is currently a 17 year gap between Australian and indigenous Australians life expectancy, with indigenous Australians having a much lower life expectancy (Marmot, 2011, p. 21). This reduced life expectancy is due to determinants such as nutrition, education, socio-economic status, unemployment, ill health, low self-esteem and social support and poverty (Eades, 2000, p. 3). Poor health initiatives aimed at indigenous Australians and the common belief that they do not want assistance when regarding health (Eades, 2000, p. 4). This results in indigenous Australians experiencing more concerns regarding their health and a greater burden of disease (Nelson, Abbott & Macdonald, 2010, p. 498). When discussing leisure, similar obstacles are present for indigenous Australians, in particular physical activity. Physical activity is extremely important for health reasons and inactivity …show more content…
They also view it as a way to relax and forget about social responsibilities, and find that family and peer encouragement to participate is very important (Nelson et al., 2010). Although it is viewed as important there are also barriers present. Some indigenous Australians view leisure, sport and physical activity negatively believing it takes away from connections with others by focusing on ones self (Nelson et al., 2010). The last barrier is family involvement; indigenous Australians find that there is a lack of family orientated activities (Nelson et al., 2010). Physical factors relate to the physiology of an individual. Indigenous Australians have a high burden of disease due to diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases and obesity (Nelson, Abbott & Macdonald, 2010, p. 498). Physical inactivity is also extremely high when discussing burden of disease (Nelson et al., 2010, p. 498). Having poor physical health reduces participation in leisure activities for this group. Mental factors for indigenous Australians were either considered positive or negative. Positive factors included an outlet for self-expression, happiness and a way to forget about problems (Nelson et al., 2010). While negative factors related to leisure, included stress due to family situations,
Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life. These focuses and systems include economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies and political systems. (WHO, 2016). In the video, various social determinants of health were being portrayed. They include aboriginal status; how aboriginal people are treated and how this treatment contributes to the economic status and health status of aboriginal people. Education, as aboriginal schools receive less funding from the government. Housing, as aboriginal people are forced to live in unsuitable reserves. Social exclusion and social safety net as aboriginal people are excluded from society. The social determinants of health are what contributes to the attributes of social justice. This problem also led to a larger and broader issue in society that includes the attributes of social justice. Social justice problems such as human and civil rights that includes sexism and racism. Equity in which the distribution of society’s wealth is not distributed fairly and results aboriginal people receive less of society’s wealth. Equity refers to fair shares. (CNA, 2010). It also leads to poverty as they experience lack of access to basic needs such as food, water, clothing and shelter. It also led to higher suicide rates and increase rate of aboriginal people in federal prisons. It also contributes to many health issues such as 42% of aboriginal children lack dental care, tuberculous rate four times higher and diabetics rate three times higher. Most of all it has led
Aboriginal spirituality originally derives from the stories of the dreaming. The dreaming is the knowledge and a sense of belonging that the Aboriginals had of the beginning of life and the relationship to the land and sea (Australian Museum, 2011). The dreaming stories are passed on from one generation to the next orally. These stories teach the following generations how to behave towards the land and other people. The dreaming stories give them a sense of duty to protect the land and appreciate it because the dreamtime stories indicate that the spirits have not died but are still alive in different forms as animals or humans, therefore the ancestor’s power is still felt through the landforms (Clark, 1963), (Australian Governement, 2008)
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
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...
The purpose of this paper is to articulate an Indigenous health and wellness concern such as youth education and how to affects Indigenous populations. Youth education has been a prominent social determinant of health with many people who are from Indigenous backgrounds. Children are moulded into their own beings at a young age and having an influential education from the start is key to a successful person and living a fulfilled life. The reason I have chosen this topic is because it became of great interest to me how Indigenous education is not prominently looked upon.
The education of Aboriginal people is a challenge that has been a concern for many years and is still an issue. However, it remains the best way young people can climb out of poverty. With the colonialization and the oppression of Aboriginals, there have been many lasting side effects that continue to be affecting the Aboriginal youth today. “While retention and graduation rates have improved among urban Aboriginal population, an educational gap still remains between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth in urban settings” (Donovan, 127). Many suffer from a diminished self-worth, as they do not feel valued and feel inferior to their classmates. In this essay I am going to outline the reasons Aboriginals are struggling, discuss what is being done
Since colonialism after the invasion, Australia indigenous peoples have experienced a great deal of loss of identity, loss, disempowerment, cultural alienation, grief. Many indigenous people's mental and physical health impaired. Suicide, family violence, drug abuse and unemployment rates is higher than the Australian average(Berry et al. 2012). That is complicated to contributing to develop and support sustainable mental health and social wellbeing for Australian aboriginals staying in rural areas ,related to much diversity involved in and between individuals and communities (Guerin & Guerin 2012).
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.
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
Thesis Statement: Given the struggles aboriginals have had to face in Canada, the Canadian government should take action to solve the hundreds of cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women, as it will strengthen the relations between aboriginals and Canadians.
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.
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 can be no gainsaying, as to the fact that Australia is not only a choice destination for many, but also houses some of the most beautiful cities in the world (Bastian, 2012). As a matter of fact, Bastian (2012) continues to state that this change is strongly attributed to immigration, which continues to foster strong cultural and economic growth in Australia. As Australia continues to open its borders to an increasingly diverse population, Australians themselves continue to open their minds to accommodate diversity in the form of new lifestyles, foods, traditions, values, beliefs and so forth (Bastian, 2012). According to Henry & Kurzak (2013), the 2011 census show that 26% of Australians were born abroad and 20% have either one or both
• Amnesty International: Australia- governments dismissal of UN criticism undermines hard earned credibility in human rights diplomacy.
Department of Health South Australia. (2004). Cultural Respect Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health. Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council. Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Working Party