Introduction: The “Gap” refers to the vast inequality of life expectancy rate, levels of health, education and employment between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians. Australia is known for its higher life expectancy in world but it is not same for the indigenous people. In the past few years, Australia’s economic wellbeing has increased but the economic and social condition have not improved for Indigenous communities. Economic wellbeing is crucial. Its absence adversely affects health, along with social status that prompts a forswearing of the likelihood of full interest in social and financial life (Wilkinson et al. 1998). The purpose of this report is to provide possible key factors of economic inequality between indigenous and …show more content…
The rate of employment for indigenous people are lower in remote areas than in major cities. There is a strong relation between education and employment. At higher levels of education there is no employment gap between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Another reason, On June 30 2015, Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) terminated its operation. It was an initiative of Australian government being managed by local Indigenous community organizations that helped job seekers especially members of indigenous communities to carry out different activities of work and training. Amid the life of the project, the members of CDEP were categorized as employed by the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). The decrease in CDEP members somewhere around 2008 and 2012-13 represented 60% of the decrease in the Indigenous work rate over this period. Critical analysis: To achieve wellbeing of communities and individuals only providing or reallocating of resources in not enough. The government has to strength up the local and regional communities. Without the effective participation of indigenous people the economic strategy is doomed to
This is reflected by the huge gap in the health between indigenous and non-indigenous people. For example the life expectancy for indigenous people is 17 years lower than the non-indigenous people and for age groups below 65 years the death rates are double in these populations compared to non-indigenous people.
In 2011 19.3% of Indigenous people were living below the poverty line, compared with 12.4% of other Australians.
Why are Indigenous people in Australia still disadvantaged with regard to health care and services?
Australian government today recognises that educational policies regarding Aboriginal people cannot be made without considering social and economic policies aimed at improving outcomes for Aboriginal communities in general (TICHR, 2006). Main contemporary issues facing Aboriginal communities are proving land ownership, remoteness, health status, education and employment status and social attitude of Non-Aboriginal population towards the Aboriginal communities (Challenges facing the Indigenous communities today, n.d.). Tackling this issue is not a simple task: the document “National Indigenous Reform Agreement” (2010) which aims to improve outcomes for all Indigenous Australians recognizes that this process needs approach from different aspects, taking into account “seven key building blocks: Early Childhood, Schooling, Health, Economic Participation, Healthy Homes, Safe Communities, and Governance and Leadership” (as cited in DET Queensland,
Inequality in health is one of the most controversial topics within Australian Health Care. Inequality in relation to health is defined as being “differences in health status or in the distribution of health determinants between different population groups” (World Health Organization, 2012). Within Australia inequality affects a wide range of population groups; however Indigenous Australians are most widely affected therefore this paper will focus on how inequality has impacted their health. Research shows that Australia’s Indigenous people suffer from a multitude of social and economic inequalities such as inadequate access to nutritious food and health care, being socially and
A lot of aboriginal students are now graduating high school in the past few years. But, now they seem to rank lower in education, higher rates of unemployment, along with higher rates of smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, which can lead to needing a lot more health care than the average person. (Dr. Chandrakant P. Shah. 2005, page.3)
The Northern Territory Intervention and the Closing the Gap initiative are two Federal Government strategies that were designed to end the disparity between the health of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Australia is considered one of the safest and best countries to live (OECD, 2016). For instance, Australia exhibits higher life expectancies (80.3 years for males and 84.5 years for females), lower mortality rates (5.4 per 1000 live births), high-quality education and health practices and many employment opportunities (ABS, 2015). However, there are wide disparities in life expectancy, mortality rates, heath outcomes, education and employment for indigenous people (Holland, 2014).For example, life expectancy at birth for indigenous population is 10.6 years lower than that of the non-indigenous male population and 9.5 years for females (ABS, 2015). The mortality rate for the indigenous
“Structural inequities produces suffering and death as often as direct violence does, though the damage is slower, more subtle, more common and more difficult to repair” (Indigenous politics, 2005). The overt difference in health between aboriginal and non-aboriginal
What might explain these statistics, or at least serve as correlations, are the determinants of health. If the reader is not familiar with the determinants of health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) provides an explanation of them. In essence, these health determinants are factors that have significant impact upon one’s health. The main determinants for health are: socioeconomic status, where the rich and upper classes tend to be healthier; education, where low education is linked to stress, lower self-esteem and poorer health choices; environment, where purer air, cleaner water, healthier workplaces and better housing contribute to being healthier; health services, where access to services and proper equipment all contribute to health; as well as gender, genetics, culture and social behaviour (WHO, 2016). As there are so health determinants, where essays can be written on one alone, it is not within the scope of this essay to critically analyse each determinant for Indigenous Australians. With this in mind, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2014) documents an extensive list of data for Indigenous health, most of which discusses issues which are out-of-scope for this analysis. What is relevant, however, is outlined next. Across the board, in 2011, the Indigenous population was younger than the non-Indigenous population due to high fertility and mortality rates with those
Socioeconomic factors are associated with education, employment, and income, and each, has a substantial influence on the health of Indigenous Australians. Education, which is inaccessible for many Indigenous people, allows for the greater knowledge of health issues, and the increased understanding of both protective behaviors and risk factors. It is a known fact that with a lack of education or one that is poor, there is a increased risk that there will be less employment opportunities – ultimately leading to little or no income. Hence, the vicious poverty cycle is born. Education enables
Different ethnic backgrounds immigrate to Canada making it a very multicultural society. Immigrants coming to Canada have made it progress to a more multicultural society, making other nations believe that this is the case, however this does not include native societies that have been living in Canada for the longest period of time. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how Aboriginals live in Canada. This paper argues that aboriginals in Canada are not treated with the same equality as non-aboriginals livening in Canada, even though Canada is known as a multicultural society. By studying the history of Aboriginal settlement in Canada
The social determinants of health are described as the condition of daily living in which determines the individual’s chances of maintaining optimum health (Department of Health and Human Services 2015). In Australia, the health inequality between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is noted by the World Health Organization (WHO) to have the largest disparity in the world (Markwick et al. 2014). Statistically, the life expectancy for indigenous Australians who are born in 2010-2012 is estimated to be 10.6 years lower when compared to non-indigenous Australians (Markwick et al. 2014). Social determinants such as employment and social exclusion may contribute to the major difference in the health status between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australians (Markwick et al. 2014). This essay will focus on discussing how having employment and social exclusion has led to the health inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, and how indigenous healthcare nurses can address these determinants in the care they provide in the indigenous community setting.
People with higher education are healthier than those with no or minimal education. This is because those with higher education are able to understand the influence of societal factors on their health. By not having an education it leads one to have no job security or even being unemployed for long periods of time providing no source or constant rate of income. Ultimately this leads to one falling in the depths of poverty causing them to be stressed and turn to unhealthy coping behaviors such as alcohol. In regards to Aboriginals, specifically another contributing factor to job insecurity is the loss of language (Health and Canadian Aboriginals, 1998). This is another controversy because one should be provided access training, employment opportunities regardless of language barriers to have a sufficient
On the other hand, 1.7% of the ADF workforce are now indigenous Australians, and they are provided with a plethora of opportunities. Here is two for example: