Health Care Disparities In Indigenous Australia

Social and Cultural Determinants of Indigenous Health - Australian Government Department of Health - Citizen Space . 2018. Social and Cultural Determinants of Indigenous Health - Australian Government Department of Health - Citizen Space . [ONLINE] Available at: https://consultations.health.gov.au/indigenous-health/determinants/. [Accessed 14 April

Aboriginal people within the previously mentioned study called for nonracist healthcare, and policy cognisant of social and historical factors that influence the need for healthcare and the cultural desires of Indigenous patients (1671). Moreover, policies in healthcare have to contend

Indigenous people in Australia do not have equal access to health service compare to non-Indigenous Australian. Indigenous people experienced socioeconomic disadvantage which put them in a greater risk of environmental and behavioural risk health factors. Some of Indigenous living household do not support good health. Indigenous

These policies aimed to erase Indigenous cultures, perpetuating intergenerational trauma, and fracturing social cohesion within Indigenous communities (Clark, E. C., 2022). The early colonisation period saw frontier violence and conflict inflict significant harm on Indigenous populations, causing loss of life, displacement, and lasting trauma. This violence’s legacy persists in historical trauma and ongoing social disparities, contributing to poor mental health and interpersonal violence within Indigenous communities. Additionally, diseases introduced during colonisation, like smallpox and influenza, devastated Indigenous populations due to their lack of immunity, resulting in widespread mortality and ongoing health disparities. Today, the impacts of colonization, including socioeconomic disadvantage, discrimination, and cultural dislocation, continue to shape Indigenous health outcomes in Australia.

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

How we define health differs to how Indigenous Australians define health. The World Health Organisation defines health as “not only the absence of infirmity and disease but also a state of physical, mental and social well-being” (WHO, 1946) However, the National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Party (1989)

Also the population rapidly decreased because of “indiscriminate slaughter… and punitive expeditions” (Encyclopaedia of Australia, 1973)

Indigenous people are more likely to be obese, have higher mortality rates, higher hospitalisation rates and higher infant mortality rates. The rate of hospitalisation of Indigenous Australians for mental health problems was nearly twice that for other Australians. Injury, poisoning and dialysis were the main causes of hospitalisation for Indigenous Australians. The most common injuries were those inflicted by another person and accidental falls. It has been reported that indigenous people are less likely to seek medical help when feeling ill, and also less likely to continue treatment of an illness.

Methodology I plan on conducting an extensive literature review of existing papers on the social and economic determinants of health of Indigenous people in Australia. There could be limited work on the social determinants of health in Indigenous populations in Australia, I would hope to supplement this by looking at data from other countries with similar colonization histories. To answer the following guidance questions: - Are there particular social determinants of health in Australia’s indigenous population? - Is there a link between the current inequalities in health of indigenous people and historical issues like colonization? - Which health policies should be given priority to reduce health inequalities between the general population and Australia’s indigenous population?

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

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

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 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).

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.

Colonialism in Australia places a detrimental threat to the health of Indigenous Australians. Inherent in colonialism were scientific racisms, institutional racism and structural violence. These factors continues to persist in the fabric of Australian society today and limits the life chances of Indigenous Australians. This essay illuminates colonialism as a major contributor to the social marginalisation and low socioeconomic status experienced by indigenous Australian. An analysis of Aboriginal infant mortality rate, a health indicator highlights the difference between biomedical and sociological approach and the embedded negative impact of social marginalisation and low socioeconomic status on the health of Indigenous Australians. The