How Health Services Can Provide Culturally Safe Care

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.

The Indigenous health workforce (doctors, nurses etc.) remains disproportionately low when compared to the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders that make up the Australian population.

This essay will discuss the first people’s health as a consequential issue to the Australian community and followed by the discussion of various policies that been introduced by the Australian government to fill up health gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. This essay will first analyze the impact of history and colonization on first peoples ' health and then it demonstrates the how different policy eras has affected to creating first peoples health is important, in turn highlighting how health practitioners can help to build a strong relationship within first peoples on a different basis. This essay will close with the important strategies that may improve the health care system of the first peoples in Australia. The history and colonization had a greater impacts on First people’s health in 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)

“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).

Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) acts as the representative of all the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organizations in Victoria (Australia) where it provides guidance on the Aboriginal Health policies. Furthermore, the organization supports local initiatives, but it does not contain any health services. The organization is involved in numerous programs that aimed at promoting member organizations in providing excellent healthcare which may include sexual health, chronic care, maternity and mental health. This article gives an overview of the policies that are made and have an impact on the Aboriginal people’s health and also the impact it has on other people’s health (Fletcher, 2011). Furthermore,

Cultural competency is a set of appropriate behaviours, attitudes and policies among professionals and enables them to work efficiently in cross-cultural situations (NCCC, 2006). A culturally competent health care system can eliminate cultural inequities, provide greater quality of care, and have less patient dissatisfaction and more positive health consequences. A conclusion reached in a study (Palafox et al., 2002) states, culture influences the outcome of medical examination and; therefore, it is vital to provide culturally competent health care services. Cultural competency is especially important in the context of radiographic examination due to the variety of culturally different patients a radiographer comes in contact. The following case study effectively highlights the impact of cultural competency.

Midwifery has been practiced in several communities of the world since time immemorial. A midwife is a trained person, mostly a woman, who assists in the pregnancy, delivery and post-partum care of an infant. In most countries of the world, the act of midwifery has been neglected for more modern and westernized medical practices deemed safer. In the First nations community, midwives have always been an integral part of the health system assisting expecting women during delivery. In the mid nineteenth and twentieth century, midwifery was outlawed in many communities and reserves ‘for the sake of the health of the country’ (Parkland Memorial Hospital School of Nurse Midwifery). With the outlaw of midwifery in First nation reserves, expectant mothers were transported to hospitals and clinics in urban centers for delivery. With this came several new challenges for expectant first nations women and mothers including, ‘increased maternal newborn complications, increased postpartum depression and decreased breast-feeding rates’ (O’Neil et al., 1990, Smith, 2002 and Klein et al., 2002a. The relegation of first nations midwifery has done more harm than good because it makes the birth process more medical, has led to the inflict of new post natal diseases and has led to the neglect of the traditional and spiritual roles in child

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

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

The purpose of this paper is to inform readers on the culturally competent strategies that ameliorate health disparities in this country. Over the years health issues have increase rapidly. There are different ethnic backgrounds shows that their health plays a big role culturally and also diversity.

Even when access-associated factors, such as insurance and income are considered, minorities continue to have higher rates of disease with shorter life expectancy. They tend to have a poorer quality of health care than non-minorities, increasing the demand and importance of culturally competent health care in the United States. The ability of the healthcare provider to communicate with his or her patient's aides in discouraging barriers to accessing healthcare.

Page 1 The World Health Organisation (World Health Organisation, 2008) states that the indigenous peoples of Australia are one of the most disadvantaged indigenous groups in the developed world. The health of the Indigenous population of Australia is an increasingly pressing issue. Current research and statistics reveals great inequality in many areas of health care and health status between the Aboriginal people and the general population of Australia. Couzos and Murray (2008, p. 29) report that the Indigenous population has “the worst health status of any identifiable group in Australia, and the poorest access to health systems.” This paper will examine the underlying historical contexts and contributing factors that have lead to the

This report has been produced to evaluate a community-based program known as ‘Waminda’, the South Coast Women’s health and Welfare Aboriginal Corporation, running in the Shoalhaven community. This Indigenous Australian organisation works to address the Indigenous Australian health needs of women in the Shoalhaven area. This report provides insight into the prominent health and welfare issues for Indigenous Australian women and the challenges in accessing the necessary healthcare. The elements of this report include the background where the aims and objectives of Waminda are outlined, a section of literature review on ‘Indigenous Australian women’s health’ where the major health issues Aboriginal women face are analysesd,

A general understanding of the history of midwifery is important when considering why it would have such a positive effect on indigenous women’s health. Acculturation diminished the traditional midwifery practices and there is evidence that the health of indigenous women has suffered. Midwifery was an old indigenous tradition that was gradually eliminated throughout acculturation. The Skye article states that in the 20th century, there were laws passed that made midwifery illegal and punishable by law. (Skye, 2010) This caused negative effects on health because there was no longer a focus on the overall wellbeing of the individual and the loss of culture was a traumatic experience for indigenous populations in Canada. The article also states that midwives were highly respected in indigenous culture and midwives shared a spiritual connection with the mother, child, family and whole community. It outlines that midwives coached the mother and community throughout all stages of pregnancy. They ensured that all of the needs of the mother were met nutritionally, physically, and spiritually. Midwives also performed the role of educators to their communities and they passed on many traditions and aided in spiritual development and healing. Throughout the process of acculturation, knowledge of health and traditional medicine was lost. (Skye, 2010) The Caroll article talks about the historical