Diabetes Of Pregnancy Among First Nations Women

In relation to Aboriginal health, this will require nurses to develop greater awareness of culture and the influences that affect it including racism, colonialism, historical circumstances, and the current political climate in which we live. Nurses working with aboriginal communities need to understand the history, socio-political climate and culture within the specific community (Foster, 2012). Nurses must emphasize the need for solutions that will strengthen cultural identity, identify and promote both existing and traditional sources of strength within First Nations communities, incorporate traditional healing methods, and rely on local control and self-direction by First Nations communities (Mareno & Hart, 2014). In addition to placing a high priority on cultural awareness, nurses should also understand the concept of respect in aboriginal terms and apply respect in all their encounters. Self-awareness of their own beliefs and assumptions are important in order for nurses to have an effective relationship with the community (Foster, 2012). It is important for nurses to reflect on their own cultural knowledge, awareness, skills, and comfort in encounters with a diverse population of

The diabetes epidemic within this demographic is being combated via multiple channels by a host of characters. The federal government, for one, has been active in addressing this issue. The CDC currently works to reduce diabetes-related health disparities in Native American communities by funding and supporting national organizations to engage and collaborate with local partners in nearly twenty communities (CDC, 2014b). For instance, the CDC provides funding to the Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP), which works closely with communities in Louisiana, Michigan, and Kansas to create culturally appropriate and long-term diabetes interventions. One intervention in Kansas, the Better Health Cooking Skills Class, teaches community

The healthcare system must ensure more women like Delilah Saunders do not continue to slip through the cracks caused by the inability of current policies to properly acknowledge the ongoing complexity of the Indigenous experience in Canada. Interviews with Aboriginal people who had accessed the healthcare system in British Columbia reveal that current policies, and medical professionals themselves, often render Indigenous people’s histories invisible and their person as incredibly visible in a problematic way, as an issue that must be “dealt with” (Hole et al. 2015, 1670). Interestingly, many of the healthcare practitioners interviews in these studies placed an emphasis on the need for “equality” in healthcare, in that they aimed to treat Aboriginal patients the same as white patients (1670). This is the issue faced by Delilah Saunders, in that the policy that kept her from being considered to receive a new liver was expected to impact all patients the same way despite their position within the structure of colonialism.

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

With the advancement of medical technology and increasing self awareness of both mental and physical well being, the health of most Americans has increasingly improved. However, the same cannot be said of the health of American Indians and Alaskan Natives. Health improvements for American Indians and Alaska Natives have not improved, with health disparities still existing in areas such as:  infant mortality, chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, obesity, cirrhosis and liver disease, arthritis, smoking, and cancer

Many Native American tribes (e.g., Ojibwa, Cree, Dakota, Navajo, Kiowa, Ute), for example, believe that diabetes is a new disease introduced by the “white man.” Typically, diabetes is believed to result from a state of imbalance caused by consuming too much sugar, consuming too much food in general, drinking alcohol, or behaving immorally. Because one should strive to follow the right path, a diagnosis of diabetes may indicate a failure to live properly and a lack of spiritual strength. As a result, a person may feel shamed by a diagnosis of diabetes and reluctant to tell family or friends. Changing the way, the Native American thinks about diabetes, obesity and some of the foods they eat might come at a price but we have to let them know that

I believe that increasing the autonomy that individual Indigenous communities have over their health care system needs to happen to incorporate all the diverse Indigenous cultures. We have seen in this class that when it comes to Indigenous peoples health issues’ need to be addressed by whole cultural communities rather than dealing with one individual wounds (Chandler & Dunlop, 2015). This is largely due to the shared cultural wounds communities have from colonization, residential schooling, and dispossession of knowledge (Wexler, 2016). For example, diabetes prevalence rates amongst Indigenous peoples across Canada have increased by 70% over the past 15 years (Martin, 2016). However, prior to the 1980s there was no reported incidences of diabetes for Inuit peoples and none for First Nations prior to the 1950s (Martin, 2016). Similarly, in Northwest Alaska, where suicide is a big issue amongst the Indigenous communities, there were no recorded youth suicides until the 1960s (Wexler, 2016). Therefore, allowing communities to make their own decisions would also prevent a potential mistake of painting all Indigenous communities in Canada with the same brush to arrive at a one-size-fits-all approach (Chandler & Dunlop, 2015).

Pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders women currently experience more illness, disability and injury than non Indigenous Australians pregnant women, and these avoidable health inequalities arise because of the circumstances in which the indigenous women grow, live, work and age. This essay will discuss the health Pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in remote areas and how there health is impacted by social determinants of health. The first part of the essay will contain literature reviews on the relevance, authority, timeliness and perspective of five resources that contain information on pregnant aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women remote areas. The second Part of the essay with discuss the two critical

This blatant discrimination and racism in the health care system makes it unsafe and uncomfortable for First Nations people to access health services. As a consequence, opportunities for early intervention and prevention of health problems are reduced significantly (HCC, 2012). When considering these consequences in terms of pre and post-natal care, Smith (2003) argues that weak preventative and health-promoting care during these times is a significant contributor to poor health outcomes throughout an individual’s life. Research conducted by Dr. Janet Smylie, an associate professor of family medicine at the University of Toronto, indicates that the rate of First Nations infant mortality on reserves is double that of the national average (as cited in Webster, 2012). This shocking statistic is demonstrative of the failing efforts of any government initiated First Nations health care programming.

There is a growing number of non-Aboriginals who have begun to blend traditional First Nation healing process and herbal medicines into their understanding of health and healing. Although, other than these few practices, Aboriginals in Canada are often forced to conform and adopt to the Canadian Health system, a system which is causing them harm (Douglas,

For a non-indigenous person health means the condition of the body and the degree to which it is free from illness, or the state of being well (Cambridge University Press, 2017). However, for First People the definition of health and wellbeing is much more than a physical form. Kinship, Descent, Connection to land and Country as well as tradition are all factors which combine towards a balanced life (REF). With disruption of these factors the balance is tilted and subsequently there is a decline in health. Therefore, with destruction of land, communities and tradition colonisation dismantled the meaning of health for the First People leading to increased illness and deceased. This disruption is still affecting First Peoples’ health today as the disconnection to the above factors are ongoing. This disconnection has lead to First peoples’ having 1O year life gap to their non-indigenous counterparts (Australian Bureau Statistics, 2013).

Overall, all articles reviewed by Simmonds et al (2012) led them to support the need to provide culturally appropriate maternity services to Aboriginal women and led the investigators to underpin a research question that I considered feasible, interesting, ethical and relevant to midwifery and obstetric practice.

Indigenous people are affected by a number of health inequalities that stem from social determinants. There is a direct proven link between the ill-health that Indigenous people have and are experiencing and the health inequalities they face as a result of these social determinants. These health inequalities are classified into three groups that consist of historical, political, social and economic contexts. Macro factors that consist of community infrastructure, resources, systems and capacities; as well as micro factors including health behaviours, physical and social environments. Social determinants effect an extensive array of health dimensions that lead to problematic health complications, health behaviours and poor health management. For instance, living in conditions of low income have been linked to increased illness and disability, which is linked to reduced opportunities to obtain and retain meaningful employment, thus exacerbating poverty (Maddison, 2009, p. 108). There is extensive research and studies that have found individuals and communities that experience disparities in the social determinants of health not only experience a burden of health problems, but they have limited access to resources that could potentially improve these problems (Reading & Wien, 2009, p. 9). How these social determinants impact and also effect on these areas of health for Indigenous people, which produces health problems that lead to conditions and environments that result in

Racialization and prejudice operate in health care and when it comes to Aboriginal women, this social inequality can be studied starting at primary care. Defined as the care of first-contact with a medical professional about a health problem, this field is regulated under the Canadian Health Act of 1984. The Act also states that every Canadian is eligible to choose their own primary care family doctor since their service charges is covered at the provincial and federal government level. (Hutchison et al., 2011) Even though reserve communities are funded at the federal level, for Aboriginal women on-reserve, this “choice” does not come with variety; and often primary care of treatment by a family doctor can involve situations of discrimination and judgement based on their race, class, and gender (Hutchison et al., 2011). The qualitative study interviewing Aboriginal women and documenting their experiences of primary health care on-reserve sites in northwestern Canada, found that many of the population’s health concerns were not taken seriously and often dismissed by their health care providers. Women of the older generation especially, often did not have a covet to form a patient-physician relationship in order to express their health problems, stating that this was what was taught by their teachers in residential schools in the past. Some also mentioned that the need to show their card of Aboriginal identity when accessing primary care services, such as the dentistry or

Aboriginal peoples are the fastest growing population in Canada however, they have the worst health status among Canadians. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) urged Canada to acknowledge the current state of Aboriginal health and address that their poor health status is a direct result of poor Canadian policies. Hence, the TRC made 94 health recommendations which included funding Aboriginal healing centres and providing cultural competency training which would better the health conditions they currently