Health Inequality In Australia

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

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.

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)

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).

C. (2009). Is ‘Close the Gap useful approach to improving the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians?. Australian Review of Public Affairs, 9(2), 1-13.

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

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 World Health Organization (WHO) states that social determinates of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These are shaped by a number of factors such as; money, power, and resources. The social determinants of health are mostly responsible for the inequalities in health status (WHO, 2017). Moreover, an indigenous viewpoint can add some specific considerations of social determinants for the first Australians which include; social class; poverty; education; training; housing; history of health; the justice system and incarceration; employment; marginalisation and racism; powerlessness; income; family separation; land and reconciliation; and control over their own health. Furthermore, due to the implications

The permanent impact of colonisation still has an indisputable connection with the current health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people. Poverty and powerlessness are social disadvantages amongst ATSI people which are related to dispossession, reflected through measures of education, employment, income and incarceration. Before 1788, indigenous Australians did not suffer from diseases such as cardiovascular disease, smallpox, measles or influenza. All of this changed with the arrival of the First Fleet, this epidemic affected the fabric of ATSI societies through depopulation and social disruption. These issues continuously impact the health outcomes and prospects for ATSI

This strategy presented the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a sense of independence to manage their own wellbeing (Eckermann et. al., 2010). Contradictory to this era’s description, Forsyth (2007) stated that this policy was not fully employed. This is complemented by Sherwood (2013) stating the impression that self-determination does not really concern the liberty of the Indigenous community. Access to health services were generally prejudiced and unjust (Best & Fredericks, 2014). To this period, the problems of Indigenous Australians on health, education, and employment were not resolved.

This is evident in other areas like health and social services. Aboriginal health in Australia for example is consisted shocking and at the level of a Third World nation in a First World country (Siewert: 2006). Government policies have always been discriminatory whether rightfully or wrongfully, it has widened the gap between Aborigines and other Australian (Hughes 2007:181). The Aboriginal life expectancy is 21 years less for men and 19 years less for women compared to non-Aborigines (Henry et al 2004:517). Suicide rates among Aborigines were unknown