The Health Between Indigenous And Non Indigenous Australians

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 healthcare improvement of aboriginal population in countries like Australia has been a challenging issue in front of both government and non-government healthcare organizations. Significant gap is present between the government legislations and policies regarding the health and social wellbeing between the native Australian and indigenous communities. It is a concern of human rights among the indigenous people of Australia and the matter has been a topic of debate in the committee meeting of United Nations (Bonvillain, 2016). Their access to healthcare is very low, lack of basics for daily living, lack of schools. The disadvantages and inequalities among the indigenous population has been demonstrated in Cassie’s case

The poor health position of Indigenous Australians is a contemporary reflection of their historical treatment as Australia’s traditional owners. This treatment has led to Indigenous Australians experiencing social disadvantages, significantly low socio-economic status, dispossession, poverty and powerlessness as a direct result of the institutionalised racism inherent in contemporary Australian society.

Further, low income, unemployment, racism, lack of education further deteriorate their quality-of-life and well-being (Carson, Dunbar, Chenhall, & Bailie, 2007). Therefore “closing the gap” on indigenous disadvantage is crucial for archive equality in life expectancy, health status, education and employment between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians (Black & Richards, 2009).

This paper will examine the healthcare of Indigenous Australian peoples compared to non-indigenous Australians. The life expectancy gaps between the two are a cause for alarm when statistics show Indigenous Australian peoples die on average 17 years earlier than non-indigenous Australians (Dick 2017). This paper will examine the social determinants of health to explore these factors and what interventions are in place to improve health status and life expectancy gaps for equality. The Federal Government has seen the implementation of the Northern Territory Intervention and the Closing the Gap Initiative. This essay will examine these two strategies and discuss the effectiveness of both policies. It will explain the differences, similarities and look at the success so far to

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

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.

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

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

Colonialism in Australia places a detrimental threat to the health of Indigenous Australians. Inherent in colonialism were scientific racisms, institutional racism and structural violence. These factors continues to persist in the fabric of Australian society today and limits the life chances of Indigenous Australians. This essay illuminates colonialism as a major contributor to the social marginalisation and low socioeconomic status experienced by indigenous Australian. An analysis of Aboriginal infant mortality rate, a health indicator highlights the difference between biomedical and sociological approach and the embedded negative impact of social marginalisation and low socioeconomic status on the health of Indigenous Australians. The

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples suffer a greater level of ill health than other Australians and are more likely to experience disability and reduced quality of life due to ill health.

Improving the health status within the Aboriginal communities is a challenge for governments in Australia. Despite some small improvements over the past couple of decades, Indigenous Australians continue to demonstrate the lowest levels of health indicators and outcomes in the country. During 2005 - 2007, Indigenous males and females experienced a life expectancy gap of 11.5 years and 9.7 years respectively, compared to the rest of the Australian population (1). High rates of chronic disease remain as a crucial feature of the Indigenous disease burden, with chronic diseases being responsible for 64% of the total disease burden for Indigenous Australians in 2015 (2).

Indigenous community represent members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who existed in Australia prior to European colonisation. Aboriginal culture is one of the oldest surviving cultures in the world. Colonisation, legislation and stolen generation has played a major role in the health and mental health of people in indigenous community ( reference gbrich). Some of the problems continue to exist today which is a concern. The major health issues for indigenous people in Australia are Life expectancy, mortality, and morbidity and health risks. I would argue that despite measures and initiatives by government, the health of indigenous people is still at higher risk as comparing to the non-indigenous population. There are a lot of challenges for social work practice in indigenous community and it demands a holistic approach of working by social workers.

The perspective of social determinants of health is positioned on the assumption that “economic and social conditions . . . shape the health of individuals, communities, and jurisdictions as whole” (Raphael, 2008, p. 2). Affecting the social determinants are aboriginal status, early life, education,

Equality in health implies that ideally everyone should have a fair opportunity to attain his or her full health potential and, more reasonably, that no one should be disadvantaged from achieving this potential. Based on this definition, the aim of policy for equity and health is not to eliminate all health differences so that everyone has the same level and quality of health, but rather to reduce or eliminate those which result from factors which are considered to be avoidable and unfair. To appreciate the importance of striving for equity in relation to health, it is necessary to be aware