Is Diabetes A Common Disease?

Among Aboriginal peoples, there are a number of similar historical and contemporary social determinants that have shaped the health and well-being of individuals, families, communities and nations. Historically, the ancestors of all three Aboriginal groups underwent colonisation and the imposition of colonial institutions, systems, as well as lifestyle disruption. However, distinctions in the origin, form and impact of those social determinants, as well as the distinct peoples involved, must also be considered if health interventions are to be successful. For example, while the mechanisms and impact of colonisation as well as historic and neo-colonialism are similar among all Aboriginal groups. The contemporary outcome of the colonial process

As Perry Bellegarde, Chief of the Assembly of First Nations said, Trudeau’s claims finally allow for an optimistic view of the general aboriginal community’s future (Mas, 2015). Indeed, it is promising to witness the government taking action towards addressing issues such as lack of funding in aboriginal education, as it is these issues along with indecent access to fresh produce or to proper entertainment, which most often leads to both physical and mental health problems in First Nation communities. Furthermore, although most of the Canadian population is aware of the health issues faced by aboriginal communities, what seems to be lesser known is that the cause of those issues go far beyond maladaptive genes. Consequently, measures addressing the socioeconomic risk factors, such as access to adequate health services, must be taken as soon as possible.

Using information from Australia’s Health 2016, select two groups who suffer from significant health inequity and analyse how they experience health at a different level to other Australians. In your response, you must address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and one other group of your choosing. Health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians is improving in several different measures, including noteworthy declines in infant and child mortality and decreases in preventable mortality related to cardiovascular and kidney diseases. Although improvements have been made, significant disparities persist between ATSI Australians and non ATSI Australians. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are still left with

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

“Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people have a greater amount of disadvantage and significantly more health problems than the non-Aboriginal & Torres strait Islander population in Australia”

Social determinants of health encompasses ethnicity, gender and social class. It is seen as the essential

Communities are sometimes largely unaware that social factors rather than medical ones, such as income, and employment status, shape our health. Our health is also determined by the health and social services we receive, and our ability to attain high education levels, food and safe housing, among other factors.

Social determinants refer generally to social factors, such as income inequality or social exclusion which influence health (Community Tolls Box, 2013). “The social determinants approach is underpinned by an appreciation of the broader value of health to society and the dependence of health on actions far beyond the health sector, as both problems and solutions are system-wide.” (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2010). As the Australian population is ageing, the social determinants need to be adjusted to face the future challenges. The social determinants have become the main focus regarding the health of the people in the whole world and Australia is one of them (Hunter, Neiger, & West, (2011). Lots of fund are already being used in researching about the relationship between social determinants and health. Instead of dealing with curing and studying of the disease, the government and scientists have turned their focus on the main root cause of good and poor health Hunter, Neiger, & West, (2011). This essay will discuss some of the positive and negative impact of the social determinants of health and illness of the ageing population in Australia as well as the ways in which health can be affected by staying in aged care facilities after admission just like in case of Mrs Wilson.

What might explain these statistics, or at least serve as correlations, are the determinants of health. If the reader is not familiar with the determinants of health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) provides an explanation of them. In essence, these health determinants are factors that have significant impact upon one’s health. The main determinants for health are: socioeconomic status, where the rich and upper classes tend to be healthier; education, where low education is linked to stress, lower self-esteem and poorer health choices; environment, where purer air, cleaner water, healthier workplaces and better housing contribute to being healthier; health services, where access to services and proper equipment all contribute to health; as well as gender, genetics, culture and social behaviour (WHO, 2016). As there are so health determinants, where essays can be written on one alone, it is not within the scope of this essay to critically analyse each determinant for Indigenous Australians. With this in mind, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2014) documents an extensive list of data for Indigenous health, most of which discusses issues which are out-of-scope for this analysis. What is relevant, however, is outlined next. Across the board, in 2011, the Indigenous population was younger than the non-Indigenous population due to high fertility and mortality rates with those

The World Health Organisation posits that the social determinants of health (SDoH) are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life which are in turn responsible for health inequities, the unequal and preventable disparities in health within population groups and between countries (WHO 2015). This broadly means that a person’s health can be negatively impacted or enhanced depending on their social status, educational attainment, level of income, living conditions and access to resources and social support networks.

Income is the very important factor in determining whether individual stays or become ill. It provides fundamental pre-requisite of human health such as shelter, food, and warmth (K Judge, I Paterson, 2001). The low income creates an individual or family exposure to harmful physical and social environment (The social, Cultural and Economic Determinants of Health in New Zealand: Action to Improve Health, 1998). The studies also show the relation between income inequality and child health outcomes, which higher inequality association with high infant mortality, low birth weight and mortality in people aged 1-14 years in both sexes (A Harding, 1999)

Using the Williams (1997) ‘basic causes’ model for health inequalities, the role of Maori ethnicity in health will be examined. In particular, the significant disparities regarding cardiovascular disease rates in Maori compared to the ‘dominant’ group in society will be addressed. The model will be worked through backwards, starting with the health status of Maori relating to cardiovascular disease rates. The different levels of causation will then be focused on from the biological process and response level, to the surface causes and proximal pathways, then to social status, and then addressing the underlying overall basic causes including racism and colonisation.

Health inequities are defined as “differences which are unnecessary and avoidable, but in addition are considered unfair and unjust” (Whitehead 1992, p.431). Numerous studies provide evidence of deep seated and continued health inequities between Maori and non-Maori in Aoteroa/ New Zealand (McCreanor 2008). The role of social, political, environmental and economic factors have in determining health outcomes for individuals and social groups is increasingly being recognised globally. These factors include determinants such as housing, education, employment status, income, deprivation and racism (Robson & Harris 2007). There is increasing body of evidence that show that racism and ethnic discrimination negatively impact the health and well-being of individuals and ethnic groups (Gee 2002). Based on these findings, many researchers have proposed that programmes targeted at reducing racism are a public health measures that could mitigate health inequities (McKenzie 2003).

Poor levels of education exacerbated the social situation, like poor housing, unemployment and low income. All these factors are the determinants of health and it was seen that from year 1964 – 1984 there was a continual decline in Maori health. Now Maori represent lower socioeconomic status in all the strata and this will probably predict a greater likelihood of adopting risk – laden lifestyle.

Socioeconomically disadvantaged people have the worse health outcomes than other Australians. Socioeconomically disadvantaged people are shown to be less educated which will mean they are less able to make correct decisions about their health, and due to their lack of knowledge, individuals will have limited employment options which will result in a lower income level, higher risk of unemployment, and have high risk jobs like construction. This leads to the socioeconomically disadvantaged people to be at higher risk of health inequalities due to their lower income levels as opposed to people who have better access to health care services and resources who are typically shown as healthier than people who don’t have the same access, opportunities or financial stability. This also means the socioeconomic disadvantage has less money to spend on their health.