Caring for the Indigenous People: Programs and Initiatives

Running head: CARING FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
CARING FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
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CARING FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Introduction:
By the term indigenous health, one can refer to the physical, social, emotional as well as
the cultural well being of the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people. Due to the
exploitation over many centuries by the Europeans, indigenous people have very poor quality life
where they are physically, socially and economically unstable. Lack of education, proper health
literacy, inaccessibility with the urban healthcare centers, low financial ability and many others
have been affected their health conditions largely. Studies say that indigenous Australians are
seen to be affected by respiratory disorders, diabetes, cardiovascular issues, kidney disorders and
birth problems in higher percentage in comparison to that of the non-indigenous people in the
nation (Freeman et al., 2016). However, over time, governmental health care departments have
identified the urgency of the situation and they have proposed and implemented various kinds of
healthcare programs that would help in addressing their concern and give them better quality life.
These assignments will be discussing how the programs had helped in overcoming different
barriers and providing them with effective care so that better lives are lived by the indigenous
people.
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization can be described as the
national peak body in the nation of Australia that mainly comprises of about 143 Aboriginal
Community controlled Health services called the ACCHSs. They are mainly concerned with the
health and well-being of the aboriginals trying their best to deliver holistic, culturally appropriate
as well as comprehensive care to the community. The community has the power of controlling it
through the locally elected Board of Management. This healthcare initiative was important to

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CARING FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
address the social care needs of the indigenous people (Brigg et al., 2017). The social
determinants of health of such people were found to be highly affected because of years of
exploitations and torture and the present day situations are worse. Unstable circumstances that
were shaped by the distribution of money, power as well as resources of national and local levels
needed to be addressed and this program has successfully attended to the requirements. The
program has been highly respectful to the culture of the native people and had accordingly
developed initiatives that were culturally sensitive to the people (Shibthorpe et al., 2016). They
have made sure to implement strategies by which they have provided accessible health services,
flexible approach to care, effective community participation, self determination and
empowerment of the native people, continuous quality improvement of the children, providing
holistic health care and appointing culturally appropriate and skilled workforce for better service
delivery. One of the examples of their initiatives can be stated here. The QUMAX program was
established by the effective collaboration between the NACCHO and the Pharmacy Guild of
Australia. The Commonwealth Department of Health funded it. This program has sufficiently
contributed to the improvement in the quality use of medication. This programs has tried its best
to achieve its goal by seven important initiatives under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
(PBS). They are cultural education, Dose Administration Aids Agreements and Flexible
Funding, Transport, QUM Education, QUM Pharmacy Support, QUM Devices and Home
Medicine Reviews (HMR) models of support.
Close the Gap campaign for Indigenous health equality:
Close the Gap is one of the oldest governmental strategies that mainly aim in reduction of the
disadvantages between the different aboriginal as well as Torres Islander people. These are
mainly in the fields of poor life expectancy of the native people, child mortality, providing