Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health | Assignment

Running head: ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER HEALTH
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
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ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER HEALTH1
QUESTION 1
The synergies with the Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander mental health reform and
the creation and promotion of SEWB as a leading principle of health have not generally
culminated in a clear and concise conceptualization of the gaps in interpretation of SEWB and
mental health, nor has there been widespread agreement on how these principles can coexist or
overlap at the philosophy and implementation level (Dudgeon, Bray, D'Costa & Walker, 2017).
The Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Forum and National Mental Health
Taskforce (2004) accountable for the implementation of the 2004-2009 National Strategic
Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People's Mental Health and Behavioral and
Psychological health makes a significant difference among the meanings of 'behavioural and
psychological health' (Dudgeon, Bray, D'Costa & Walker, 2017).
Most Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander (ITSI) communities use the word social and
emotional well-being to define an individual's financial, mental, religious and traditional well-
being (Boksa, Joober & Kirmayer, 2015). The word recognizes that the relation to property,
community, religion, family, and society is essential to individuals and therefore, can affect their
well-being. It also considers the impact of actions and historical events on the social and
emotional well-being of an individual (Boksa, Joober & Kirmayer, 2015). The idea of social and
emotional well-being is more extensive than this. It acknowledges the significance of interacting
with the environment, history, faith, heritage, family and community, and how it influences the
person (Kilcullen, Swinbourne & Cadet‐James, 2018). Challenges of social and emotional well-
being come from a variety of issues that may stem from ongoing grief and loss, depression and

ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER HEALTH2
neglect, domestic abuse, family abuse, drug addiction, social isolation, ethnic dislocation,
discrimination and racism, and social exclusion (Kilcullen, Swinbourne & Cadet‐James, 2018).
Mental health is a concept which has been used widely, particularly by non-Indigenous
individuals or communities, to explain how people see the world and how they are coping with
and engaging in daily life. Individuals are often assumed to be psychologically healthy if they
have no mental disorder (when individuals are clinically depressed in the head, and it impacts
their perception, emotions, and attitudes) (Murrup‐Stewart, Searle, Jobson & Adams, 2019).
Most Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders feel that psychological health and mental disorder
are too concentrated on issues and do not adequately explain all the elements that makeup and
affect well-being. For this reason, most Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders favour the word
social and emotional well-being as it matches well for a holistic health perspective. Mental
health idea comes mostly from a disorder or psychiatric viewpoint, and its emphasis is more on
the patient and their degree of coping in their world (Murrup‐Stewart, Searle, Jobson & Adams,
2019).
QUESTION 2
Indigenous people report adverse health conditions relative to their colleagues who are
not aboriginal. The colonial process and the lengthy-term effects of colonialism have culminated
in gaps in the position of indigenous people, mainly physical, financial, emotional and
intellectual health and well-being (Harfield et al., 2018). For instance, there was a 10-year
difference in survival rate in 2012 among Australian ITSI and non-Australians (Harfield et al.,
2018).