Case Study: Tuberculosis In Canada

The health of Aboriginal people in Canada is both a tragedy and a crisis (Aboriginal Affairs and North Development Canada, 2010). Aboriginals have a higher rate of death among aboriginal babies, twice the national average, higher rate of Infectious diseases example gastrointestinal infections to tuberculosis, and chronic and degenerative diseases such as cancer and heart disease are affecting more aboriginal people than they once did (AANDC, 2010). Availability of important medical facility is not enough to accommodate the growing medical needs of Aboriginals. A socioeconomic and cultural issue also hinders the access of aboriginals to access health care in the community.

In general, Aboriginal health services are ineffective. This is due to a wide variety of factors, but mainly due to a lack of trust/cultural miscommunication which is a catalyst for many other factors. This lack of engagement is due to a variety of factors, such as lack of access to health care, lack of aboriginal representation in the health workforce, ect. Overall, the difference in mortality rates between indigenous and non-indogneous peoples proves to highlight the need in the health community to provide effective services for Aboriginal people.

Living conditions such as overcrowding of dwellings, poor sanitation, limited food and water supply and underserviced homes all contribute to the health and well being of this population group. Overcrowding can greatly increase the risk of transmitting diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis A, and shigellosis. Studies have reported that these diseases have a higher rate in provinces that have a higher population of aboriginals, such as Ontario. (Dr. Chandrakant P. Shah. 2005, page. 21)

The colonial occupation and subsequent oppression has a greatly impact to the health of indigenous population across Australia. There is still lapses in regards to biomedical and ethnomedical models of health that still needed to work on in order to provide the quality care that is culturally appropriate and acceptable by the indigenous

Further, low income, unemployment, racism, lack of education further deteriorate their quality-of-life and well-being (Carson, Dunbar, Chenhall, & Bailie, 2007). Therefore “closing the gap” on indigenous disadvantage is crucial for archive equality in life expectancy, health status, education and employment between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians (Black & Richards, 2009).

Despite enjoying excellent health and receiving comprehensive and universal healthcare access, Canada has seen continuing healthcare inequality especially among those people living at or below the poverty level and those who are members of the Aboriginal Peoples. The greatest impact of this disparity is evidenced through earlier mortality rates and greater incidences of injury and illness. Nowhere in Canada is this more true than among the Aboriginal Peoples, who, for example, have the highest rate or and risk for Type 2 Diabetes. This risk costs Canada an additional 18 billion dollars CAD every year (Strategic Initiatives and Innovations Directorate, 2011).

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

Finally, Indigenous communities play a significant role in health promotion and adapting health services to the needs of their community. (Health Canada,

Tuberculosis is a disease of an infectious nature caused by a bacterium known as mycobacterium tuberculosis. The disease spreads through the air. People with the disease can spread it to susceptible people through coughing, sneezing, talking or spitting. It mainly affects the lungs and other parts such as the lymph nodes and kidneys can also be affected. The symptoms for TB are fatigue, coughing, night sweats, weight loss and fever. One third of the population of the world is affected with mycobacterium tuberculosis. The rate of infection is estimated to be one person per second. About 14 million people in the world are infected with active tuberculosis. Drug resistant TB has been recorded to be a serious public health hazard in many countries. Resistant strains have developed making it difficult to treat the disease. TB has caused millions of death mainly in people living with HIV/AIDS ADDIN EN.CITE Ginsberg19981447(Ginsberg, 1998)1447144717Ginsberg, Ann M.The Tuberculosis Epidemic: Scientific Challenges and OpportunitiesPublic Health Reports (1974-)Public Health Reports (1974-)128-13611321998Association of Schools of Public Health00333549http://www.jstor.org/stable/4598234( HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_3" o "Ginsberg, 1998 #1447" Ginsberg, 1998). The World Health Organization came up with the DOTS (Directly Observed, Therapy, Short course) strategy. The approach involves diagnosing cases and treating patients with drugs for about 6-8

As a country Canada prides itself on Universal health care for everyone equally (Macqueen, 2011). However, there are many discrepancies seen in the health care that Aboriginals and non-aboriginal Canadians receive (Weeks, 2013). As a result, Aboriginals health is deteriorating in nearly every aspect on a much larger scale than the rest of the Canadian population (Weeks, 2013). As reported in the article Aboriginal seniors face more challenges staying healthy, accessing care: report from “The Globe and Mail” aboriginal seniors are struggling accessing health care and staying healthy (Ubelaker, 2013). Aboriginals are much more susceptible to health issues such as chronic diseases, disabilities and infections and are having to travel unethical distances in order to access health centres (Weeks, 2013).

Canada has had many events where tuberculosis was having an outbreak in 1924 through 1948, but since then it has been decreasing. We have dealt with this problem back in 2012 where an outbreak of tuberculosis infected 8% of the individuals in the extremely small Northern Quebec community of Kangiqsualujjuaq. After the outbreak The Public Health Agency of Canada is running over to discover the origin of the outburst its spread. Officials are also bringing up more additional resources to the place, such as a mobile x-ray machine. Tuberculosis is a disease caused by bacteria that travel from person to person. A person who is infected with tuberculosis, but does not show any symptoms at all may have dormant tuberculosis and can still transmit

Among many misconceptions, tuberculosis is not a disease of the past. Tuberculosis remains a public health issue. It is estimated that one-third of the total world population is infected by tuberculosis (TB). The American lung association (2013) states, in 2011 alone there were nearly 9,000,000 new diagnosed cases of tuberculosis around the world and an estimated 1.4 million deaths because of this disease. In the United States, TB is not as common (but still a problem). In 2011, only 10,500 people reported having TB (Trends in Tuberculosis Morbidity and

Tuberculosis at one point was a very serious and life threatening disease. Fortunately, according to the Canadian Lung Association, in Canada, TB is not very common. In 2008, there had been 1600 cases of TB (2014). In Canada, TB is most

“Despite all the ghastliness in the world, human beings are made for goodness, the ones that held in high regard are not militarily powerful nor economically prosperous. They have a commitment to try and make the world a better place” (Desmond Tutu,15)- Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Strong words of hope and faith in humanity come from a man who is regarded in the same heights as Ghandi. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a survivor of the deadly disease known as, Tuberculosis. According to the CDC, “One third of the world’s population is infected with TB” . A staggering number, but the amount of deaths from TB is even more astonishing, “1.8 million deaths in 2015” (Center for Disease Control). Most people get confused with what exactly tuberculosis even is, whether people say it’s like the flu or bronchitis, but it’s something truly life threatening. Tuberculosis is not exclusive to only one race, ethnicity, or gender, tuberculosis is able to kill anyone regardless of age. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness and educate all the people in the world of the Tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis is among the fatal diseases that are spread through the air. It’s contagious, meaning that it spreads from one infected individual to another, and at times it spreads very fast. In addition to being contagious, the disease is an opportunist infection as it takes advantage of those with weak defense mechanism, and especially the ones with terminal diseases like HIV and AIDS. Tuberculosis is therefore among the major concerns for the World Health Organization due to its contagious nature (World Health Organization 1).