Chronic kidney disease is a significant health problem for all Australians, however it is ten times more common among indigenous people. (Kidney Health Australia, 2014)
The incidence of kidney disease is especially high for indigenous Australians living in rural and very remote areas. (Kidney Health Australia, 2014)
Their likelihood of dying from kidney disease is more than fifteen times that of non-indigenous Australians. (Kidney disease among Aboriginal people, 2013)
Forty to sixty year olds in particular have kidney problems and failure. This greater prevalence of disease in indigenous Australians is due to an increased susceptibility to kidney damage, higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking, inadequate nutrition, alcohol abuse, streptococccal throat and skin infection, obesity, poor living conditions, and low birth weight linked to reduced nephron development. (Kidney Health Australia, 2014)
The incidence of end-stage kidney disease is especially high for indigenous Australians. They are 20-30 times more likely than non-indigenous Australians to have end-stage kidney failure. (Kidney disease among Aboriginal people, 2013)
Kidneys clear waste products from our blood. They play a role in controlling the body’s level of water and chemicals, and produce essential hormones. (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2013)
Blood is filtered in the glomerulus and then water and waste is passed out as urine. (Edith Cowan University, 2001-2004)
Kidney damage can occur from hypertension which causes blood vessels in the kidneys to shrink and harden; infections travelling though the bloodstream; long-term and uncontrolled diabetes, and genetically inherited kidney problems. (Edith Cowan University, 2001-2004)
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...e in improving health outcomes and management of chronic disease such as kidney disease. Factors contributing to kidney disease among indigenous people are complex. They reflect a combination of social, and economic, as well as biomedical risk factors. Risk factors for kidney disease in rural indigenous Australians include repeated infections, high blood pressure, obesity, low birth weight, infant malnutrition, poor diet, low activity levels, alcohol and tobacco use, and diabetes. (Edith Cowan University, 2001-2004)
These conditions are common among rural indigenous people. The majority of these factors are modifiable in nature, and there is evidence that minimising these risks can help to reduce the prevention of kidney disease and its associated mortality in indigenous people. (Edith Cowan University, 2001-2004)
The article has been well organized and written. Mackay clearly states her rationale for writing the article and provides a valid reason to hold up her article with sources. Within the introduction section, the authors present worrying statistics of Americans affected by kidney disorders. Moreover, the author provides the disadvantages of dialysis with only Kidney transplantation being the only option. The author relates the topic to the readers...
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
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.
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...
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.
With the population of about 23 million, Australia stands as one of the most developed nations in the world. While a major proportion of the Australians are non-natives, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders accounts for a much smaller proportion. According to Australian Bureau of Statics, they accounted for 729,048 in 2015. There are 32% of indigenous people living in major cities, 43% in regional areas and 25% in remote areas according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Although this is their native place, indigenous people still face social disadvantages, poor socioeconomic status, education, employment which leads to high rate of mortality and morbidity.
Stumpers S, Thomson N (2013) Review of kidney disease among Indigenous people, Australian Indigenous Health Info Net Viewed 14 may 2014, .
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...
Hampton, R. & Toombs, M. (2013). Indigenous Australians and health. Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.
Living in a remote area has always been thought to have negative influences on the individual. There are 35 % of the total population in Australia living in rural area(Phillips, 2009).Rural areas in Australia and all over the world are not geographically isolated and disadvantaged only but also culturally and economically deprived which has great consequences on the health status of the population. The main two factors that have a major effect on rural health are socioeconomic status and cultural issues(Beard, Tomaska, Earnest, Summerhayes, & Morgan, 2009).
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
The colonisation of Australia occurred throughout 1788-1990. During this time, Great Britain discovered Australia and decided that it would become a new British colony (“Australian History: Colonisation 17-88-1990”, 2014.). It was decided that convicts would be sent to Australia and used for labour to build the new colony. There are many health determinants that are effecting the health of Indigenous Australians including; poor living conditions, risk behaviours and low socioeconomic status. Many of these determinants have an effect on the Indigenous Australians due to the colonisation of Australia.
In Indigenous Australian communities low birth weight infants and infant mortality is much more common than in non-Indigenous Australian communities.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasingly becoming a major community and public health issue. This paper looks into CKD as both a community and public issue and proposes how concerned stakeholders and partners can be mobilized to work together toward fighting the disease.
Chronic Kidney Disease. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.