Health And Wellbeing

The addict incidence of mental health disorders and substance misuse problems is terribly high. Compared with the non-indigenous population, the indigenous people of Australia occupied very high crime rate, indigenous peoples make up 33 per cent of the total population of Australia, while one out of every four prisoners in Australia indigenous peoples. Drug abuse is a serious issues, leading to poor mental health and high imprisonment rates(Calma & Dudgeon 2013).

In order to develop a wellness program there are several things that should be taken into consideration. First, you must develop your own personal perception of what you feel wellness is and how to stay well. Secondly, you must know what the pros and cons are for being fit. Then finally you must set immediate goals to obtain your level of wellness. The main thing you need to keep in mind is that developing a healthy life style early in life is a key factor in preventing diseases and improving one quality of life.

These days there are a number of social issues in the community, such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is rampant in today’s society, Australian Drug Foundation states that, “Alcohol is the most widely used psychoactive, or mood-changing, recreational drug in Australia.”(Healey, 2002, p. 11). Underage drinking and binge drinking are some of the problems associated with alcohol abuse.

It is a commonly known issue in Australia that as a minority group, the people of Indigenous Australian ethnicity have always been treated, or at least perceived, differently to those of non-Indigenous disposition. This can be applied to different contexts such as social, economic, education, or in relation to this essay – legal contexts. Generally, Indigenous Australians face issues such as less opportunity for formal education, less access to sufficient income, more health issues, and higher rates of imprisonment (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service

The experience of racism will bring negative stress and emotion, and may have the risk to develop a range of psychological and physiological problems (Sherwood, 2013). Ferdinand (2013) reports the racism problems among Aboriginal Australian by using a survey. The outcome highlights that almost every Aboriginal who participated in this survey had experienced racism during daily activity, and they or their family members have all experienced a different level of stress when coping with racism. In spite of the anti-racist practice has improved the relationship between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people, but the ongoing forms of discrimination are still continuing and impacts on Indigenous mental health. Furthermore, Indigenous Australian has a higher prevalence of smoking, alcohol and drug intake. The psychological stress they experience may consequently lead to harmful alcohol and drug use, which also causes the mental health problem among Indigenous Australians. Bearing in mind the previous points, all those risk factors and issues for Aboriginal mental health have contributed the high rate of mental illness and also leads to suicide or self-harm behaviours among Aboriginal

As a people, our rate of chronic disease is still 2.5 times higher than that of other Australians, and Indigenous people in this country die 15 to 20 years younger than those in mainstream Australia. More than half of

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)

Substance abuse among Indigenous Australia has a clear link to Incarceration because substance abuse is a contributing factor in family violence, child abuse and financial (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015). Other risks factors contributing to Incarceration is that Indigenous Australia have a high rates of poor health and mental health issues (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015). In addition, Indigenous Australian have a high rates of unemployment, poor education and inadequate housing which all have strong link to Incarceration (Wearherburn, 2014).

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 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).

Marmot, M. (2011). Social determinants and the health of Indigenous Australians. Med J Aust, 194(10),

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

Alcohol abuse among Aboriginal youth is a prevalent issue in Canada. This widespread drug abuse stems from social, cultural, and biological factors. As there are many negative impacts that come with alcohol abuse, treatment options are necessary. When treating Aboriginal youth for alcohol abuse, it is necessary for practitioners to take cultural context into consideration to ensure sensitivity and success. It is important to understand alcohol abuse and why Aboriginal youth are an especially high risk demographic. This helps to identify effective ways to diminish alcohol abuse in the Aboriginal youth population through behavioural therapy, drug therapy, and therapeutic recreation programs.

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

Culture is a common ground of group of people sharing ideas, beliefs, values and behaviour which is not restricted to ethnicity (Fanany, 2012). Australia is one of the most culturally diverse countries across the world who have their own cultural and social aspects of life. There exist various factors that influences the health of different cultural groups which includes social gradient, social exclusion, unemployment and addiction (Wilkinson & Mormot, 2003). Among the various cultural and ethnic groups, this case study highlights the aspects determining the health and its risks in Chinese-Australian and Homeless-Australian youths’ community and the strategies overcoming those risks. It reviews the literature on the social determinants causing health risks in the specific cultural groups and suggests the best possible approaches dealing with the health problems associated with them.