Assessment Task 2 : Victorian Government Strategic Directions For Aboriginal Health

Thank you for taking time to read my letter. As a nursing student of University of Technology Sydney, I studied contemporary indigenous subject this semester. In this letter I want to illustrate 3 main social determinants of health that impact indigenous Australian health which I found and analysed during my recently study. And also offer some suggestion that could help the government improve aboriginal Australian mental health conditions in the future.

Local Aboriginal community control in health is important as this classifies the Aboriginal entire health. Thus, it allows Aboriginal communities to find out their own relationships, protocols and procedures. NACCHO represents local Aboriginal community control at a national level. By making sure that Aboriginal people have a greater right of entry to valuable health care within Australia. A coordinated holistic response is provided by NACCHO from the community sector. Therefore, it is promoting for culturally respectful and approaches to needs requirement. This shows the improvement in health and wellbeing through ACCHSs with better outcome.

The Assimilation policy (1961) has impacted on Indigenous Australians within their physical and mental state and identity present in today’s society. Australia is commonly considered to be free and fair in their culturally diverse societies, but when the Indigenous population is closer looked into, it is clear that from a social and economical view their health needs are disadvantaged compared to non-Indigenous equals. In relation to this, the present Indigenous health is being impacted by disadvantages of education, employment, income and health status. Even urban Indigenous residents are being affected just as much as those residing in remote and rural areas of Australia.

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,

The Framework embodies the Victorian Government’s commitment to improving the life expectancy of Indigenous Victorians. Its priority outcomes are to:

“The status of Indigenous health in contemporary Australia is a result of historic factors as well as contemporary socio-economic issues” (Hampton & Toombs, 2013, p. 1).

C. (2009). Is ‘Close the Gap useful approach to improving the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians?. Australian Review of Public Affairs, 9(2), 1-13.

This paper will examine the healthcare of Indigenous Australian peoples compared to non-indigenous Australians. The life expectancy gaps between the two are a cause for alarm when statistics show Indigenous Australian peoples die on average 17 years earlier than non-indigenous Australians (Dick 2017). This paper will examine the social determinants of health to explore these factors and what interventions are in place to improve health status and life expectancy gaps for equality. The Federal Government has seen the implementation of the Northern Territory Intervention and the Closing the Gap Initiative. This essay will examine these two strategies and discuss the effectiveness of both policies. It will explain the differences, similarities and look at the success so far to

As health professionals, we must look beyond individual attributes of Indigenous Australians to gain a greater understanding and a possible explanation of why there are such high rates of ill health issues such as alcoholism, depression, abuse, shorter life expectancy and higher prevalence of diseases including diabetes, heart disease and obesity in our indigenous population. Looking at just the individual aspects and the biomedical health model, we don’t get the context of Aboriginal health. This is why we need to explore in further detail what events could have created such inequities in Aboriginal health. Other details that we should consider are the historical and cultural factors such as, ‘terra nullius’, dispossession and social

The inequalities in today’s indigenous communities are still strongly evident. Heard, Khoo & Birrell (2009), argued that while there has been an attempt in narrowing the gap between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians, a barrier still exists in appropriate health care reaching indigenous people. The Indigenous people believe, health is more than the individual, it is

The following report will explain what “Koolin Balit” outlines and its specific objectives to reach the ultimate goal: to improve Aboriginal health in Victoria over the period of the next ten years, as a strategic administration conducted by the Victorian government. This report will then address one of its priority areas, “A healthy start to life” which is designated to improve the health conditions of Aboriginal mothers and their infants that are deemed two at-risk groups. Lastly, three specific determinants of health related to the specific priority area: early life, addiction and social support will be amplified how they connect with this priority area and related health outcomes for aboriginal babies.

The Australian Government will work with essential human services partners also, states and regions to set up Medicare and health centers. Local people all over Australia will benefit from the primary Medicare Neighborhood, which was operational by mid-2011, and another portion by mid-2012 (Department of Health and Ageing, 2012).The accompanying activities under the ‘Close the Gap' activity will convey wellbeing enhancements, characterize center administrations, execute quality change activities and create a supportable model of administration conveyance for Indigenous Australians. Indigenous Chronic Disease Package is a piece of the National Organization Agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes which focused on

It covers all understanding of social, economic, cultural and political determinants of health. Primary health care is regarded as a major contributing factors underlying population health around the world. In fact “the ultimate goal of primary health care is better health for all.” as declared by the World Health Organization.According to the International research, it has shown that countries with high primary health services are recording lower rates of lower mortality, hospitalizations and better health outcomes. A different kinds of responsive forms of service delivery are provided by a range of provider including nurses and midwives for primary health care services. Many efforts and implementation have been done for the improvement of aboriginals health in Australia like replacement of therapy for kidney disease, mental health service, sexual health problems, maternity services, aged care and other health issues (Amanda Adrian 2009). Aboriginal health issues have been given more priority on providing primary health care. In recent time, due to the lack of proper training for new diseases and the rapid technological advancement, primary health care has been facing difficult challenges in

The third argument to overcome the maternal and child health issue health equality. Proper allocation of resources and infrastructure on primary health service must be done by the government to bring equality in health as other non- indigenous Australians are having. Similarly proper housing facilities should be provided. Most of the Aboriginal people are suffering and dying from the very common disease that can be treated with affordable medicines(2007, April, CLOSE THE GAP! SOLUTIONS TO THE

Funded strategies to address these problems are currently lacking and should be developed. The healthcare services infrastructures can be funded by the Government and ensure all these funded are made available to all the aboriginal people. Increase funding for Aboriginal people must remain priority and support for the building blocks of good health such as awareness and availability of healthy lifestyles should be delivered within a government structure for Aboriginal community (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2011).