Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing

Running head:NURSING
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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STEP 1 (500 words)
a) Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders long-since faced discrimination in the country,
and the racial disparity has been said to account for the differences in healthcare
between the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. Personal racism accounts for the
discrimination by an individual, guided by personal thoughts of racism, conscious and
unconscious. This impacts interpersonal relationships, and often disguised as a
personal opinion. This is usually directed at individuals (Slaughter-Acey et al., 2019).
The definition of Institutional Racism according to Macpherson can be described as
the unequal or inappropriate service provided to a group of people or population
based on their culture, ethnicity or colour of their skin. This unequal treatment can be
apparent via their behaviour, ignorance, stereotyping and other factors that ultimately
lead to discrimination. This put that group of people in serious disadvantage
(Holdaway & O'Neill, 2006). A study untaken in Victoria shows significant racism
experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, both systemic and
interpersonal (Markwick et al., 2019).
b) The concept of being a 'white Australian' has always had its unjust implications in all
sectors, and healthcare is no different. Many Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders
have reported being receiving worse healthcare than that of their white counterparts.
Many pregnant Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander women spoke of their
experience with racism and reported to have received less attention. A pregnant
aboriginal woman reported that midwives would often treat them different from the
white pregnant women in the same room, for example checking on her for no
particular reason, while many black women were ignored. They also faced demeaning
comments, distrust, talking down and downright mistreatment from the midwives, as
recollected by many new fathers from the maternity ward (Jennings, Bond & Hill,

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2018). In a study conducted with Aboriginal women, it was observed that
institutional racism is one of the leading causes of poor mental health in Aboriginal
Australians (Macedo et al., 2019).
c) Cultural competency can be described as the ability of healthcare providers such as
nurses to administer high-quality care to all individuals, irrespective of their race. It
also includes administering healthcare while being aware and respectful of their
culture. On the other hand, cultural safety can be described as establishing a
physically, culturally, socially accepting environment for people from any ethnicity
and race. While both is very important, an intensive review of the literature tends to
lean in favour of cultural safety rather than cultural competence. Cultural competence
involves knowing about culture and the basic aspects of it, and approaching
individuals while being aware of their culture. However, cultural safety involves not
just knowing about the patient's culture, but rather establishing a healthcare setting
that is inclusive and respectful towards patients from all ethnicities and race and aims
to provide the best quality healthcare to all patients. It has been preferred by many
because it has better potential to achieve equality in terms of healthcare (Curtis et al.,
2019). Hence the healthcare professionals must work towards making the healthcare
settings culturally safe for everyone so that patients are not deterred from seeking the
best quality healthcare.
STEP 2 (100 words)
From reading Chapter 1 (Sherwood & Geia, 2014) I learned about the poor health of
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the current issues they tend to face. Since the
event of colonisation, they have been dismissed as irrelevant, and their issues are not taken
seriously. This chapter, as conveyed by the Aboriginal Registered nurses, describes how the
colonial policies lead to the ill-health of the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders and the

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emergence of the healthcare gap. Currently, the leading cause of morbidity in Aboriginals is
cardiovascular disease, followed by cancer, injury, and self-harm. Reading this chapter
enlightened me with the specifics of the health issues faced by the Indigenous Australians and
what changes need to be implemented to 'close the gap.'
STEP 3 (400 words)
Institutional or systemic racism has long since tarnished the history of Australia, ever
since the British colonisation. This racism is majorly directed against the Indigenous
Australians. The Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have long been discriminated against
in all sectors, including public health sectors, judicial sectors, and others. In terms of
Australia's history, 1967 was the first year when the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait
Islanders were counted as citizens. The white Australia mind-set was still pretty much
prevalent. Before that, they were downright ignored as citizens.
The Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders were riddled with diseases since the time
colonisation itself. They lost their land and livelihood, and several introduced diseases
spread. However, little was provided in terms of medical assistance. In 1837, under the policy
for protection for Aboriginal populations, 'protectors' were appointed who had the right to
move the Aboriginals from here to there between government settlements. Till the 1930s, the
prevailing attitude was that Aboriginals were inferior to the white race (naccho.org.au.,
2020).. The Aboriginal Protection Act of 1869 in the colony of Victoria, gave the government
rights to move the Aboriginal population where ever they liked, and also enabled them to take
away any Aboriginal children below the age of sixteen. This put a significant barrier in the
lives and education of the Aboriginal children and gave rise to the 'stolen generation.' These
policies and practices played a significant part in creating what is now known as the 'health
gap' (Sherwood & Geia, 2014). The health gap contributes to the death of Indigenous