Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing

This article discusses the importance of cultural safety, self-determination, and collaboration in providing healthcare services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. It also explores the impact of colonization on their health and wellbeing, and provides advocacy strategies for improving healthcare delivery.

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ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER HEALTH AND WELLBEING
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The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander is in reference to all people whom have got the
Aboriginal and/or the Torres Strait Islander descent. According to the National Aboriginal
Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), the term health is defined as the good
and stable individual’s social, feelings and the cultural condition, which includes also the well-
being of the entire community whereby every single person is at a position of achieving his/her
daily duties. The well-being of all the people leads to good health condition of the entire
indigenous Australian community. The Aboriginal people view health as the whole-life aspect.
The healthcare facilities should at all times work towards achieving the health status in which
each individual is capable of attaining the full potential as the living creatures, and it must ensure
that the total well-being of the Aboriginal communities is met. The holistic angle of the health
and the community well-being revolves around the entire society throughout the individual’s
life-course. This understanding focuses on the wide scope of issues such as social justice,
equality, human rights and also, the traditional knowledge, traditional healing, and the country
connection (Taylor and Guerin, 2012). Hence, the indigenous Australians ideology of health
revolves on the mental health and the physical, cultural and the spiritual well-being. In this
paper, I will focus much attention on the concepts of the cultural safety, self-determination, and
collaboration with regard on how the Australian Government commits itself on improving her
indigenous members’ health good condition and stability. The government is ever committed on
raising the health standards of the indigenous occupants of the Australia’s mainland or those on
the Tasmania’s island by reducing the niche on the health outcomes on the broader scope of the
Australians.
Health and Wellbeing
The Australian government has prioritized on the improvement of health conditions of
the indigenous Australians in order to minimize the health inequality amongst them. All this
would include the results for the physical, the mental health, disabilities and the palliative care
for the children and the old. By offering the indigenous young population with a good healthy
foundation to human life creates the basis for them to achieve success in school and their future
opportunities in employment (Smith, Fatima and Knight, 2017). Further, assisting the indigenous
elderly citizens to access better health services enabling them to remain healthy and happier
leads to the better working of the communities.

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Impact of Colonization on the Health and Wellbeing of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Australian
The population of the Australians before the European colonization varied but it was
estimated to have been approximately over one million of the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait
Islander occupants. There existed various Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groupings and
many different languages spoken. Although, the population reduced rapidly immediately after
the colonization. In the 1920s there existed about sixty thousand aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders. The colonization of the European on the islander people had various impacts on their
health and wellbeing. Firstly, colonization leads to the displacement of the Aboriginal and
Islander people from their ancestral lands (O'Shane, 2014). Land displacement led to the various
side-effects such as loss of lives through violent acts in the process of evicting the Islanders out
and resistance from the owners. This greatly led to high mortality rates, lack of food since there
existed no peace amongst the aboriginal and islander to practice their hunting and gathering
activities. High death rates left many people homeless and without parents/guardians to offer car
and provide the basic needs. Such conditions lead to the reduced healthy standards since health
care providers will be scared away, malnutrition due to lack of balanced diet, hunger-related
effects and other dangers arising from lack of proper housing (Funston, 2013). Furthermore,
most of the aboriginal and islander people suffered from the infectious diseases which caused a
high rate of deaths. Secondly, colonization led to the enactment of new laws which as
consequent limited the land rights of the aboriginal and islander people causing segregation
amongst other Australians and allowing them to have little or no self-determination. The new
laws conflicted with existing laws and as a result, the health rights of the ancestral people were
compromised, hence, no equality to quality healthcare services. Thirdly, colonization leads to the
displacement of families whereby children were separated from their parents and moved to the
European missions or set up reserves to be brought up there. This impacted on them both
negatively and positively. The children were restricted from using their local languages and
practicing their cultures (Khan and Khan, 2009). These restrictions led to the cultural erosion and
adoption of foreign cultures. Lastly, the aboriginal and the Torres people were abused both
physically and sexually in the European institutions and served as slaves in their own lands. This
led to the high poverty levels amongst the aboriginal and islander people, unplanned pregnancies
and transmission of sexually infectious diseases.

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Social and Cultural Influence on the Future Health-Care Practice with the Aboriginal People
As a healthcare service provider, my own social and cultural locations which comprise of
the beliefs, values and the attitudes should influence the healthcare practice with the aboriginal
patients, their caregivers, and the aboriginal health workers positively (Guzys and Petrie, 2013). I
will manage all these through incorporating their cultural diversity, beliefs and develop a positive
attitude and passion in the medical field while serving them. I should love my profession and
always remember that I took an oath to save lives or improve them without any discrimination. I
will acquire the essential skills relevant in serving the aboriginal people (BIDDLE and PROUT,
2014). For example, I should be competent, learn their cultural aspects and the appropriate health
care safety measures. As a health service provider, I would learn their local languages, this will
assist in understanding what they say or whatever they shall be described regarding their health
status. I will try as much as possible to be accommodative to the aboriginal people’s cultures,
beliefs, and land laws. Through such, I will be at a position to behave and act as an aboriginal
person which will make my work easier. Research has shown that the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait population is on the increase, with fifty percent of the population aged below twenty-five
years, there is a need for immediate and early enough interventions and prioritizing their easy
access to better health services (CHCDIV002, 2010). On the contrary to the increasing
population, there is a high mortality rate due to suicide amongst the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders than it is in the non-aboriginal, hence, mental healthcare support is vital. The aboriginal
and the islander people have got a strong cultural aspect, communal spirits, and the identity.
Advocacy Strategies for Health Service Delivery
I as a future health service provider, I will implement several advocacy strategies with the
main objective of closing the gap in healthcare provision amongst the Aboriginal and the Torres
Strait Islander citizens. First, I will launch healthcare campaigns to create awareness amongst
the indigenous Australians (Lohoar, Butera and Kennedy, 2013). Through the campaigns, I will
be at a position to educate the population on the importance of getting health care services in
time not to solely rely on traditional medicines and beliefs. Secondly, I will come up with a
technical medical committee to draft a healthcare plan for the people and present it before the
government to have it implemented and budget allocation for the betterment of the health care
services to her citizens. thirdly, I shall advocate for health care talks in the various gatherings

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either in public or private institutions with an aim of educating the masses on the proper ways of
preparing meals, taking balanced diets and proper hygiene practice (Earp, French and Gilkey,
2011). I will close the gap for the aboriginal health workers through organizing healthcare
professional teams and team building for motivations and professionalism sharing. Lastly, I will
build up guidance and counseling teams to offer support to the mental-health patients and those
Australians who are opting to commit suicide.
In conclusion, the healthcare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander should be based on
cultural safety, considerate self-determination, and collaboration. The European colonization had
impacted both negatively and positively to the health care services delivery. It led to the high
death rates through violence, infectious diseases and other long-term tortures which led to either
suicidal acts or mental health deterioration and disabilities. The colonization positively impacted
on the introduction of European healthcare provision ways, like having built mission schools to
teach and train.
Most of the population in Australia is below twenty-five years and it is seemingly
increasing at a high rate. Although, there is a high death rate as a result of suicidal acts and
mental health deterioration. The aboriginal population is a vibrant community that is still strong
in their cultural practices and beliefs. I therefore recommend that the Australian government
should consider setting up guidance and counselling groups to assist to counsel those citizens
who give up with life and think of suicide acts as the only option. Such groups will assist in
guiding them on the alternative ways of survival means instead of giving up. The government
also should set up a mental health facility to take care of the mentally challenged patients.

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References
BIDDLE, N. and PROUT, S. (2014). Recent Change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Population and Housing Geographies. Geographical Research, 52(2), pp.133-145.
CHCDIV002 Promote Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait islander cultural safety. (2010).
Earp, J., French, E. and Gilkey, M. (2011). Patient advocacy for health care quality. Sudbury,
Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Pub.
Funston, L. (2013). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Worldviews and Cultural Safety
Transforming Sexual Assault Service Provision for Children and Young
People. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 10(9),
pp.3818-3833.
Guzys, D. and Petrie, E. (2013). An Introduction to Community and Primary Health Care in
Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Khan, W. and Khan, I. (2009). Solutions to Issues of Equity in Primary Healthcare for
Aboriginal People Living in Canada. Hypothesis, 8(1).
Lohoar, S., Butera, N. and Kennedy, E. (2013). Strengths of Australian Aboriginal cultural
practices in family life and child rearing.
O'Shane, P. (2014). The Psychologigal Impact of White Colonialism on Aboriginal
People. Australasian Psychiatry, 3(3), pp.149-153.
Smith, K., Fatima, Y. and Knight, S. (2017). Are primary healthcare services culturally
appropriate for Aboriginal people? Findings from a remote community. Australian
Journal of Primary Health, 23(3), p.236.
Taylor, K. and Guerin, P. (2012). Health care and indigenous Australians.