Indigenous Cultural Awareness

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.

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

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).

Australia is considered one of the safest and best countries to live (OECD, 2016). For instance, Australia exhibits higher life expectancies (80.3 years for males and 84.5 years for females), lower mortality rates (5.4 per 1000 live births), high-quality education and health practices and many employment opportunities (ABS, 2015). However, there are wide disparities in life expectancy, mortality rates, heath outcomes, education and employment for indigenous people (Holland, 2014).For example, life expectancy at birth for indigenous population is 10.6 years lower than that of the non-indigenous male population and 9.5 years for females (ABS, 2015). The mortality rate for the indigenous

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,

The health plan has six key priority areas addressing the main issues concerning health in Aboriginal Victorians (Victorian

The social determinants of health are described as the condition of daily living in which determines the individual’s chances of maintaining optimum health (Department of Health and Human Services 2015). In Australia, the health inequality between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is noted by the World Health Organization (WHO) to have the largest disparity in the world (Markwick et al. 2014). Statistically, the life expectancy for indigenous Australians who are born in 2010-2012 is estimated to be 10.6 years lower when compared to non-indigenous Australians (Markwick et al. 2014). Social determinants such as employment and social exclusion may contribute to the major difference in the health status between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australians (Markwick et al. 2014). This essay will focus on discussing how having employment and social exclusion has led to the health inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, and how indigenous healthcare nurses can address these determinants in the care they provide in the indigenous community setting.

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

To better understand culturally inclusive care the hospital provides, nursing and healthcare practices and policies were identified and examined. An initiative was taken by the hospital in launching an Aboriginal Health Strategy that was designed to further help establish bridges and develop a culturally safe environment for local aboriginal communities on 8 of July 2015 (God, 2015). A major benefit of the program included recruitment of 30 Aboriginal staff, which corresponds to about 4% of the health care facility 's personnel to make certain culturally assured care for Aboriginal patients was achieved (God, 2015).

Indigenous peoples have occupied Australia for more than 60, 000 years, so why are they among the most disadvantaged in our health system? The right to a ‘standard of living adequate for … health and wellbeing’ was established as a basic human right in Article 25.1 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights). However, it is evident that the standard of health for Indigenous Australians is well below non- indigenous Australians with their average life expectancy being around 20 years younger than the rest of Australia. It is evident that the health of indigenous Australians prior to 1967 was drastically influenced by the European settlement and ever since their health has not been at the same standard as non-indigenous Australians despite recent introductions of health programs, reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians cannot be achieved until health standards are equal for both groups.

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

The term equity relates to giving someone what they need to be successful (Duckett & Wilcox 2015). In this case access to the healthcare system to successfully return to health and equality is being treated fairly and the same as others. The nature of Indigenous ‘philosophical thinking’ has been misunderstood by the health care system, this has contributed to poor outcomes with the system thus leading them to not feel like they have the appropriate access to the Australian healthcare system. These cultural barriers have impacted the importance of identity to Indigenous Australians who are entering the primary health care system (Baum 2015). Equity is required to make sure the cultural aspects of their identity and respected but the treatment required can still be given at an affective level. A way to make the health system more equitable for Aboriginals is the use of interpreters to ease communication between nurses and/or health professionals and indigenous patients; this making the experience much easier for all parties involved. The lack of equity and equality in Australian health care impact whether or not Aboriginals feel it is necessary to visit health clinics, whether it be hospitals or to a doctors