Summary: Indigenous Mental Health

Health risk increased with unemployment. There is evident that the health risk is higher in areas where unemployment is common. Stable and secure work improves to individual’s job satisfaction, well-being and health. Deteriorate illness and premature death caused by higher unemployment (Wilkinson & Marmot 2003). A number of research form many foreign countries shows individuals and their families face comparatively high risk of premature death (Wilkinson & Marmot 2003). Australia indigenous peoples accounted for 2.4% of the Australian population, the impact of factors such as unemployment, imprisonment, low-income, eligible housing, lead them to life expectancy 9-12 years less than other Australian population(Cunningham & Paradies 2013).

The social issue that I would like to address as a social worker is the epidemic of indigenous youth suicide in Canada. On the macro level, I believe this issue can be understood through two fundamental components: the residual effects of colonization trauma passed through generations and the effects of current colonial-based, neo-liberal institutional actions on indigenous youth.

Native Americans have been neglected, abused, and tormented since the 1700’s when their land was abruptly invaded by Europeans. Europeans declared this “unknown” territory to be their property from then forward and did anything and everything to make sure this would happen. This included forced assimilation, where Natives were stripped of their cultural traditions and forced to assimilate to an english speaking, westernized culture (McLeigh, 2010). This included taking children from their families and sending them to boarding school to learn a new language, new cultural traditions, and new religious practices. Starting in 1860 and lasting until 1970, children were taken from their families at a young age and often lost touch with their family

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

Racism in Australia has always been a controversial element of our country and still continues on in today’s society. Our nation is a bigot country, and the history of Australia shows it continuously has been. Racism majorly impacts the health of Indigenous Australians. The impacts reflect on the life expectancy and mental health of the Indigenous Australians who are then racially criticised in our health system. This paper will explore the impacts that racism in Australia has on Indigenous Australians within healthcare, the life expectancy and the mental health.

The last contributing reason for this paper which relates to the increase of suicide in Canadian aboriginals is limited access to healthcare, especially mental health and addictions counselling. Barriers to receiving proper health care are due to geographical isolation and shortage of trained professionals in the aboriginal communities. Up to 50% of aboriginal communities are so remote they can only be accessed by air, leaving limited options to seek mental and physical healthcare. (Kirmayer et al., 1993, p. 1572)

The burden of disease and injury is higher amongst Indigenous Australian youths as compared to other Australians. For young Indigenous people, this burden is largely attributable to high rates of mental disorders like anxiety and depression (AIHW, 2011). Indigenous Australians aged 18 to 24 were twice as likely to report high levels of psychological distress than non-indigenous Australians of the same age (AIHW, 2011).

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.

Australians. An example where institutional racism may play a factor in clinical practice is a lack of culturally appropriate materials or treatment options for Indigenous patients (Shah, A. 2007) Interpersonal racism is the discriminatory interactions between individuals. This includes degrading comments or behaviours by a health care worker or discriminatory behaviours of other individuals in the community (Larson, A., Gillies, M., Howard, P. J., Coddin, J. 2007) Researchers have found compelling evidence connecting the impacts of Indigenous discrimination to the root cause of extreme socio-economic and health disadvantages (Larson, A., Gillies, M., Howard, P. J., Coddin, J. 2007). A study of the Indigenous population by ‘Flinders University’ reported that 97% of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders taking part in the research, regularly experienced racism. These staggering results highlight that this is still an ongoing contemporary issue that continues to be the root of many physical and mental health issues commonly experienced by the community (Creative Spirits, 2017)

Improvement of health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia remains a big challenge for the Australian Government. There is a wide gap between the health status of indigenous and non-indigenous Australians and it is even seen as a human rights issue by the United Nations Committee (Calma and Dick 2007). The social determinants theory argues that health and well-being is governed by a number of social factors. Situations in which people grow, live and work are responsible for inequities in health. Studies suggest that between one-third and one-half of the health gap between indigenous and non-indigenous communities is because of differences and inequalities in socio-economic status such as education, employment

They have had their land stolen from them. They have been victimized again and again by colonists. Today, they face deep systemic racism. Native Americans face unprecedented amounts of adversity that is resulting in a suicide epidemic. In this review, I present solid information on the reasons that a suicide epidemic is affecting the Native American community. Suicide and mental health are not often subjects that make headlines. However, Native Americans have been facing a silent mental health crisis for decades. The rate of suicide in Native American communities is disturbingly high compared to other races. Stigma, abuse, mental illness, and a lack of federal assistance are all factors that contribute to the alarming statistics. I will be looking at the various reasons for why the suicide rates are so high in these groups and what can be or has been done to combat this problem.

The impacts of structural and/or institutional racism have been experienced across generations by Aboriginals and have resulted in the collective wounds which are not easily healed. Aboriginals who experienced social exclusion as a form of racial discrimination are far more involved in substance use and alcoholism. In addition, there is a strong association between racism and self esteem (Reading & Wien, 2013). Similarly, the historical and contemporary trauma resulted from loss of land; marginalization, incarceration, residential schools, abuse and violence, and lack of governance affect the overall mental health of aboriginal communities in Canada (Haskell & Randall, 2009; Gee, & Ford, 2011). These points have merit. However, as stated previously, family violence, replicates the anguish and pain of all family members, including the perpetrator. The impacts of this violence on victims, often leads to higher risk of developing mental health problems, psychological problems and low self esteem (Andersson & Nahwegahbow, 2010). Similarly, the Aboriginal women are more vulnerable to family violence for a number of reasons including racism, marginalization and poverty (Amnesty International, 2014). Internationally, in many communities, domestic violence are accounted to be at crisis levels

Half of all Australians will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime, with around 20% affected every year by conditions such as depression and anxiety.

Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people there are a number of negative health trends that have been entrenched into their culture. These include high rates of chronic disease (renal failure, cardio-vascular diseases and diabetes), otitis media, eye conditions, sexually transmitted infections, high rates of HIV/ AIDS and also high rates of unhealthy an risky behaviours (substance abuse, alcohol and tobacco use). Between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non- indigenous Australians substantial inequalities exist, particularly in relation to chronic and communicable disease, infant health and mental health and life expectation. Despite the government’s commitments to address this situation, data suggests that there have only been slow improvements, in some areas of health station and no progress in others over the course of a decade. From the little improvements made they are generally not of the same magnitude that of the gains experienced by the non- indigenous

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