Preventing Alcoholism Among Aboriginal Children in Australia

This article discusses the policies and principles of preventing alcoholism among Aboriginal children in Australia. It highlights the strategies and programs implemented by the government to address this issue, including investing in the development of indigenous children, introducing alcoholism prevention in the school curriculum, and providing primary healthcare services to all Australians. The article also emphasizes the importance of health promotion, primary healthcare, and advocacy in addressing this issue.

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CHILD, YOUTH, AND FAMILY HEALTH
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Alcohol Consumption Age group 12 and 14
In the year 2005, statistics showed that 2.6% of Australian children between the age of 12
and 14 were into risky drinking. However, 21% of Australian teenagers between the age of 15
and 17 had dangerous drinking habits (Baines, and Rowe, 2013).
Health Policies
The first health policy intends to invest in the development of both the indigenous
children and the majority of Australian tribes. The COAG released the strategy in 2009 with a
vision to guarantee quality childhood to indigenous children by the year 2020 (Barnes, and
Rowe, 2013). Improving the early lives of individuals ensures a bright future for the Aboriginal
children and the country. Part of the investment will recruit health specialist who will train the
children about the dangers of alcohol consumption. 2005 Australian statistics indicate that more
than two percent of children below the age of fifteen were alcohol addicts.
The strategy intends to improve the cultural, emotional, and physical development of the
children. Cultural bias stresses the children are leading them to resort to alcoholism for
consolation. Therefore, the policy tends to ensure social equity regarding service delivery to curb
addiction. The strategy also intends to improve the relationship between the young ones and their
parents who in turn explain the dangers of addiction to teenagers (McMurray, and Clendon,
2015). Excessive consumption of alcohol can push the children to violent acts and even
accidents. The Australian government has also promised to assist parents in caring for the
children.
The second national policy aims to prevent children from engaging in habits that
deteriorate their health like excessive alcohol consumption. The strategy seeks to turn Australia
into the healthiest country by the year 2020 (Talbot, and Verrinder, 2013). The principle outlines

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various prevention strategies targeting alcoholism among teenagers. The first strategy involves
warning the alcohol outlets countrywide against selling alcoholic drinks to individuals below the
age of eighteen. The second strategy consists in introducing the topic of alcoholism in the school
curriculum. The teachers have the responsibility of explaining the dangers of alcoholism to the
children such as liver cirrhosis.
The national administration intends to partner with the territories and states to end
alcoholism among the young indigenous children. The government plans to fund the local
administrations to improve the lives of the teenagers. An example of a region that has
implemented the alcoholism prevention strategies is the Queensland state. The policy runs from
2010 to 2013 and intends to end alcoholism among the Aboriginal children (Croyden et al.,
2018). The strategic directions tend to create a healthy aboriginal community with healthy
children. The strategies target individuals below the age of eighteen. Apart from alcoholism, the
preventive mechanisms aim to address health concerns like obesity and tobacco use among the
young ones.
The third policy focuses on primary health care provision to all Australians regardless of
their race or origin. The national administration launched the strategy in the year 2009 to address
the health concerns of the indigenous communities (Smyth et al., 2016). Government agencies
went ahead to establish Medicare Locals to reach the Aboriginals and Torres Islanders
individuals. One of the functions of the local health facilities is to provide rehabilitation services
to young alcohol addicts. The facilities also offer educational programs to the youth and their
families including the severe effects of alcohol consumption.
Australian government value the input of the young individuals and their relatives when
developing any health policy. For example, legislation on alcoholism incorporates a study on the

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causes of the addiction. Recent research has shown that factors like relationship problems and
depression compel the youth to alcoholism (Gray et al., 2017). Therefore, all levels of
governance aim to tackle the causative agents of the addiction before releasing the prevention
measures. The state agencies are currently training Aboriginal children on the essence of staying
away from relationships till they attain the age of the majority.
Principles of Health Promotion, Primary Healthcare, and Advocacy
Health Promotion
According to WHO, health promotion should include the entire aboriginal community
and not just the teenage alcohol addicts (Baum, and Fisher, 2014). The move assists the parents
to participate in the wellbeing and health of their children. The promotion intends to tackle health
determinants like the environmental, physical, and economic factors. Other determinants include
political, cultural, and social factors. The inequalities in the distribution of social amenities like
schools and hospitals can cause stress and anxiety among teenagers. Therefore, they resort to
drugs like alcohol and tobacco. The government should ensure equal distribution of essential
resources to prevent depression and subsequent alcoholism. Health promotion applies strategies
like education, communication, legislation, and fiscal measures to counter health hazards.
Educational programs expose the dangers of alcohol consumption to the young individuals. The
Ottawa Charter requires various governments to combine multiple strategies that can end
alcoholism among the young aboriginals (Thompson, Watson, and Tilford, 2018). The Charter
expects the health agencies to develop supportive environments for a healthy Australia. The
teenagers should participate in health promotion to make it a success. The participation gives the
young ones a platform to state the reasons behind their alcohol consumption. Health
professionals should assist the promoters to receive a desirable result from the promotion

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campaigns. Therefore, the specialists should educate the teenagers on the dangers of alcoholism.
The promotional projects should be pro-active and sustainable to the country’s economy. The
health promotion must also tackle the determinants like unemployment. An efficient promotion
should empower the aboriginals and respect their space and time. It must also be culturally
sensitive and address the problems facing the indigenous individuals.
Primary Health Care
The first principle of primary health care is accessibility. The care services should be
affordable, and available to all Australians regardless of their location, ethnicity, or age (Gardner
et al., 2018). Therefore, the government should construct rehabilitation centers at the local areas
to benefit the teenage Aboriginals who are alcohol addicts. The health stakeholders should use
the available resources like the media to train the teenagers about the effects of alcohol. The
national administration should also conduct health promotion campaigns to sensitize the citizens
on alcoholism. The addicts should assist the health agencies to find solutions to their health
issues.
Advocacy
Advocacy tends to change factors like policies, regulations, and prices of health
determinants. For example, health activities can lobby the government to raise the alcohol
drinking age from eighteen to twenty-one (Freeman et al., 2016). Such a move prevents
teenagers from drinking alcohol since they have not reached the required period. The
government can also increase the prices of illicit brews to scare away the youth; since they
cannot afford expensive drinks.
Principles of Equity, Self-determination, Rights, and Access
Equity

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Equity involves treating every Australian reasonably regardless of their origin, race,
language, culture, or location (Lane et al., 2017). Therefore, the government should promote
equal alcoholism preventive measures among the indigenous and non-indigenous citizens. A
recent study has shown that the Aboriginals lack proper schools, hospitals, infrastructure, and
other social amenities. Education from schools enlightens the children about the dangers of
alcoholism. On the other hand, health specialists from hospitals can treat the addicts from
complications like liver cirrhosis. The government should ensure that quality schools and
hospitals are present at the local areas to tackle the alcoholism problem among the teenage
aboriginals. Health practitioners should also incorporate the cultural beliefs of the aboriginals in
the treatment methods. Culturally sensitive medical attention improves the health of indigenous
individuals. The national administration should also empower the aboriginals to enable them to
send their children to schools.
Self-determination
Self-determination involves allowing every Australian to freely choose their economic
activities and political stand (Tsou et al., 2015). The inability of the indigenous people to make
an open choice of their source of livelihood has made a majority to be jobless. Unemployed
parents cannot educate their children; therefore, the teenagers resort to alcoholism due to
depression. Thus, the government should accord the aboriginals their right to self-determination.
The national administration should also recognize and accept the distinct decision-making and
culture of the indigenous individuals. Failure of the government to understand the distinction of
the aboriginals affects both the families and the young ones. The principles of self-determination
require the various stakeholders to respect the culture of the indigenous people in all aspects of
service delivery. Additionally, the service providers should treat the aboriginals in equal

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measures to the non-indigenous groups. The government should consult the aboriginals before
taking any action that has national interest.
Rights and Access
The linguistic and cultural diversity of the Australian population should not deny the
indigenous individuals the right to access various services (Freeman et al., 2016). The lack of
schools has left the aboriginal teenagers idle as the non-indigenous young ones acquire
education. The Australian government should follow the principles of rights and access to ensure
that the services are tailored towards the social inclusion of all citizens. The media outlets should
also run indigenous programs and recruit aboriginal presenters. The move intends to educate the
young ones on the severe effects of alcoholism. The aboriginals have the right to access quality
health facilities like the other Australians. Therefore, teenage alcohol addicts must get adequate
medical attention to address diseases like alcoholic poisoning. The government must also
construct proper roads to link the local areas to the urban centers.

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