Austalian Indigenous People and Their Traditional Medicines Essay

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

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

“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).

Carson, B., Dunbar, T., Chenhall, R. D., & Bailie, R. (2007). Social determinants of Indigenous health. Allen & Unwin.

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

“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

Colonialism has contributed to multiple issues in the lives of Aboriginal people including inadequate housing and clean resources on Aboriginal reserves. One significant outcome is health problems reserve residents face, including a lower life expectancy and higher mortality rate. “For Aboriginal men on reserve, life expectancy is 67.1 years, while off reserve it’s 72. 1, compared to 76 years for the general population of Canada. For Aboriginal women, it is 73.1, 77.7, and 81.5 respectively” (Frohlich et al. 134). Additionally, more than 50% of off reserve Aboriginal people have at least one chronic condition (Frohlich et al.). Reserves stem from the colonial era, where Aboriginal people were displaced by the government and are a continuous symbol of oppression.

For most indigenous people, health disadvantages begin at birth, and this inequity is appalling. Something must be done to close the gap by 2030.

     Many of the inequalities in the health of the Aboriginal people can be attributed to the

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

Indigenous peoples have occupied Australia for more than 60, 000 years, so why are they among the most disadvantaged in our health system? The right to a ‘standard of living adequate for … health and wellbeing’ was established as a basic human right in Article 25.1 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights). However, it is evident that the standard of health for Indigenous Australians is well below non- indigenous Australians with their average life expectancy being around 20 years younger than the rest of Australia. It is evident that the health of indigenous Australians prior to 1967 was drastically influenced by the European settlement and ever since their health has not been at the same standard as non-indigenous Australians despite recent introductions of health programs, reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians cannot be achieved until health standards are equal for both groups.

Since the 1970’s, many Indigenous communities have established their own independent, community-controlled health services (ACCHs) and an over-arching representatives advocacy body, the National Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Organisation (NACCHO previously NAIHO) was formed in 1975.

Around the globe in countries from Australia and New Zealand to South American and North America there is a disparity in the quality of healthcare and life that indigenous people receive compared to their non-indigenous counterparts (Ring & Brown, 2003). Life expectancy for Aboriginals, the indigenous people of Australia is 19-21 years less than non-indigenous life expectancy; 5-7 years for the Maori population in New Zealand; and 5-7 years less for Native Americans in Canada (Ring and Brown, 2003). In the United States American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) live, on average, 4.2 years less than the rest of the population (Indian Health Disparities, 2015).

A right-based approach to achieving indigenous health equity: The right to health for minorities and indigenous peoples against the backdrop of these general human rights provisions on the right to health we can sketch a framework that focuses on rights of particular concern to minorities and indigenous peoples: the right to non-discrimination; the right to participation and the right to protection of identity. The right to non-discrimination-Everyone has the right to access health facilities, goods and services without discrimination (Federation & Alliance, 2015). This means non- discrimination both in access to health care and in enjoyment of the underlying determinants of health. States have obligations to prevent discrimination