Media’s Influence on the Health and Wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

Running Head: MEDIA’S INFLUENCE ON THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF
ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE 1
Media’s Influence on the Health and Wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
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MEDIA’S INFLUENCE ON THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF ABORIGINAL AND
TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE 2
Media’s Influence on the Health and Wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
Introduction
It has been a daunting and long-term challenge to the Australian governments to improve
the health and wellbeing of apparently a majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
[Australian Human Rights Commission, 2007]. The health and wellbeing of non-indigenous and
indigenous Australians have been characterized by wide disparities with the Australian
government devising many strategies to fill the gap such as the “the closing the gap initiative”.
Nonetheless, the United Nations has since endeavored to label the disparity a human rights
concern with the Australian government acknowledging it as such (Dudgeon, et al., 2010).
Indigenous Australians inequitable access to quality and affordable healthcare dates back to the
colonial times and other historical events that subjected most indigenous Australians to
socioeconomic disadvantages (Paradies, Harris & Anderson, 2008).
Moreover, the indigenous people’ sociocultural orientations has been used up as a
yardstick to discriminate upon them. Adding to these contemporary concerns, the media has also
been important at influencing the public to form adverse stereotype ideologies, attitudes, and
beliefs about indigenous Australians that by extension adversely impact their health and
wellbeing (Stoneham, Goodman, & Daube, 2014). This is evidenced when most indigenous
Australians are unable to freely access quality, safe and affordable healthcare. In this paper, the
focus will be on extrapolating two latest media items reporting about the health and wellbeing of
indigenous Australians and which possibly impacted negative stereotype ideologies in the public
leading to their further hindrance to access to quality, safe, and affordable healthcare.

MEDIA’S INFLUENCE ON THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF ABORIGINAL AND
TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE 3
Older Indigenous Australians with illness or disability at high risk of depression, study
finds.
Bridget Brennan and Naomi Selvaratnam vividly bring out the true picture of what media
can do to influence the public to form negative stereotypes and attitudes towards some members
and sections of the community besides painting the wanting health and well-being picture of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. This media report is premised on a research report
conducted by Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute which found out that indigenous Australians
with different health care conditions including disabilities, diabetes, renal failures have a higher
likelihood of contracting mental illnesses like depression. Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute
categorically assert that about half of elderly indigenous Australians with life-threatening health
conditions posit a possibility of suffering from some form of psychological breakdown in one
point or another in their lifetime. Moreover, the report says that this is particularly a mental
illness risk factor of Aboriginal people. During the release of the report an official Dr. Eades
commented in a statement;
"Before this study people were aware of the impact of social disadvantage and poverty on
poorer mental health in older Aboriginal people, but we didn't really appreciate the
important role that living with chronic illness and physical disability has in driving these
mental health problems,"
Being categorical that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with other healthcare
conditions pose a higher likelihood of contracting mental disorders is by itself stereotypic and is
a statement that seeks to degrade the Aboriginal people as week people in the community with
the likelihood of passing different illnesses to the wider Australian community. The report puts

MEDIA’S INFLUENCE ON THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF ABORIGINAL AND
TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE 4
across the statement "We would say it would be exceptional for an Aboriginal person with the
disability not to have experienced anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder" to prove this
assertion. Such a stereotyping statement in a media item like this is bound to further corrode the
general public’s attitude towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with the likely
effect being the traumatizing of the members of this community whenever they are in the public
limelight rendering their health outcomes into further jeopardy.
However, the report is a wakeup call to the Australian government to speed up efforts of
the “closing the gap initiative” that seeks to close the life expectancy gaps that have long existed
between indigenous and their non-indigenous Australians for a very long time [Australian
Human Rights Commission, 2007]. With the “Closing the Gap initiative”, the Australian
government envisaged for a society in which there is equality in the access quality, safe and
affordable healthcare irrespective of all Australians socioeconomic levels [Australian
Government; Closing the Gap, 2013]. Despite the efforts of such initiatives, Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander People continue to experience inequalities in healthcare access leading to
adverse healthcare outcomes. Garvey, (2008) assert that this situation is brought about by there
being widespread inequalities of social determinants of health amongst different members and
sections of the community.
To this end, a majority of indigenous people have been subjected to contend with adverse
healthcare outcomes owing to factors such lack of employment, poverty, improper housing, lack
of access to safe drinking water, poor neighborhoods among others [Australian Human Rights
Commission, 2007]. Moreover, Calma, Dudgeon, and Bray (2017) observe that indigenous
people have historically been discriminated upon, segregated and intimidated both on racial

MEDIA’S INFLUENCE ON THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF ABORIGINAL AND
TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE 5
grounds as well as due to their traditions and culture. This puts their healthcare outcomes further
into jeopardy. These concerns are evidenced by this media report assertion that indigenous
people with illnesses are more likely to contract mental disorders than their non-indigenous
counterparts. It is important to note that Australia is quite inhabited by people of diverse origins,
cultural orientations, and beliefs as well as with different socioeconomic stances. These
differences should not be utilized as stereotyping platforms but rather as sources of strengths that
unite all Australians as well as yardsticks for realizing social justice especially in the access to
adequate and quality health care (Graham, et al., 2013; Gubhaju, et al., 2013).
Overly, this media item is instrumental at awakening the government and the general
public on the need to refocus on the health care needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
People for purposes of realizing equality in the access of healthcare as well as improving their
health and wellbeing. Senior citizens with disabilities and other chronic diseases ought to be
accorded prime priority since they are likely to suffer from depression. Merging social
determinants of health gaps that have perennially characterized the relationship between
indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is critical to this end. Moreover, healthcare programs
and policies ought to be customized to reflect sociocultural respect and protection of indigenous
people [Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2017].
Northern Territory: Remote Aboriginal Communities Left Behind By the National
Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
This report by Chelsea Heaney for news.com.au brings out the plight of disabled
Aboriginal communities living in the northern territory of Australia after being neglected by the
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Heaney draws the insights of writing this report

MEDIA’S INFLUENCE ON THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF ABORIGINAL AND
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from a research project being conducted by First Peoples Disability Network Australia. While
interviewing a 60-year-old Aboriginal elder, First Peoples Disability Network Australia’s
researcher Scott Avery is shocked to learn how the Australian healthcare system is biased and
virtually not seriously concerned with the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander People. The man narrates how the hospital discharged him without proper transport
arrangements after a critical knee operation literally to nowhere since the man says in a statement
“I live at bush ... Just around the town area. Just down — [pause] — we’ve got nowhere to
sleep,”. He was left to walk to the bus stop and further to his campsite.
Despite the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) being mandated by the
Australian government to implement NDIS on equitable grounds across Australian societies, it is
vivid from this report that indigenous Australians have been left out by the mainstream
bandwagon of the same or poor policies that do not comprehensively cater for the needs of
Aboriginal people have been fronted. The NDIS is designed to advance disabled Australians with
an opportunity to lead life with greater independence, get more involved in the community, gain
employment and improve their health and wellbeing (Hollinsworth, 2013). NDIS has however
missed to address these concerns by falling to customize interventions to reflect the sociocultural
orientations of Aboriginal people and especially those with disabilities as brought out in this
media item. Some Aboriginal people not only live in the bush but also lack an opportunity to get
involved in the community or gain substantial employment to sustain their life.
Nonetheless, from the description of the dire situation of the indigenous people and
particularly the disabled in the report posits the potential of leading the public to further
stigmatize indigenous people besides giving them an opportunity to form negative attitudes about