Mental Health And Rural And Remote Practice

Mental illness disorders and suicide as surveys and statistics would show, affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at a higher rate than the rest of the Australian population (Elder, Evans, Nizette, 2013). Thirty percent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population aged 18 years and over experienced some sort psychological distress at a greater than normal level during the year 2012 to 2013 (ABS, 2015). Compared to other Australians, the Indigenous people aged 18 years and over were three times more prone to experiencing psychological distress than the rest of the Australian population (ABS, 2015). Mental health services treat more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in contrast with the Non-Aboriginal population, around

It is important that the strategy has to draw on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, understanding what they need and provide the most effective way to reduce the mental illness and suicide prevention (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2009). According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfares, “Closing the gap” is a continuing national program which to help closing the gap of mental health of ATSI people. In the area of improving the mental health of Indigenous people, one strategy under the program is the National Action Plan on Mental Health 2006-2011. This plan elaborates that health practitioners who working in Indigenous community are being trained to identify and address mental illness, as well as other associated issues among indigenous people and make referrals for their treatment. In addition, the national plan also highlights that develop the capacity of health practitioner, local community and community organisation, provide better professional support and resources to enable Indigenous people to improve their mental health and develop cultural awareness and suicide prevention training for local health practitioner in mainstream

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)

Under the Mental Health Act 2014, mental illness is defined as a medical condition whereby thought, perception, mood or memories are considered to be disturbed (Vic, p. 15). But at what point does this Act deem it acceptable to override a person who is experiencing mental illness right to choice around their treatment or freedom? Likewise is the process of a compulsory treatment order or admission as an involuntary patient conducive towards an individual’s wellbeing and recovery from mental illness? This short essay aims to explore these questions through analysing the discourses of care, control and protection. The interventions imposed on the individual of forced medication, restraint and seclusion will be considered within a non-indigenous family context in contemporary Australian mores and norms surrounding cultural perceptions of mental illness and mental health displayed in policy and legislation.

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

“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).

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

The first obstacle that must be overcome when Appalachians want to get help for mental health issues is the lack of access to mental health professionals. While there are mental health treatment options available, they are mainly located in the more urban areas of the region (Susan Emily Keefe, Appalachia’s Children). All too often, people are unaware of the services available to them for the treatment of mental health disorders. Even if they do possess knowledge of what is available, it may not be feasible to get to these services. Many of the residents may not have insurance or the financial capabilities necessary to pay for treatment. Because the

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

Residents of rural and remote communities tend to experience poorer health outcomes than those in the metropolitan area (Humphreys & Walkerman, 2008). The fact that the high proportion of Indigenous Australians, which increases with remoteness, reflects the lag in Indigenous health outcomes (Humphreys & Walkerman, 2008).

emphasis was on relationships to family, group and country rather than the development of an

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

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

In Australia, many Indigenous communities operate at a social order insufficiency, where negative social norms such as binge drinking and welfare dependency have resulted in an ongoing cycle of poverty, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, high levels of illness and mortality (Wieland & Heazlewood, 2008). Indigenous children residing in these communities are exposed to socioeconomic disadvantage that contribute to lower educational attainment and poor health (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2008). An example of such community is Cape York, a vast region of 150000 square kilometres, located in the Far North Queensland (Bound for Success, 2012).

Access to mental health care is not as good as than other forms of medical services. Some Americans have reduced access to mental health care amenities because they are living in a countryside setting. Others cannot get to treatment for the reason of shortage of transportation or vast work and household tasks. In some areas, when a