Health Disparities and Cultural Competent Care for Australian Aboriginals

Running head: COMMUNITY NURSING PRACTICE
COMMUNITY NURSING PRACTICE
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COMMUNITY NURSING PRACTICE1
Part 1:
Health disparity is a common and significant issue identified globally and there is a
growing evidence how Aboriginal people experience healthcare inequalities due to racism and
ethnicity. Health care clinics are more towards supporting stereotypes that negatively influence
them to discriminate people by systematic racism. Australian Aboriginals have experienced
healthcare inequalities resulted in disengagement from care and delay in care. They are not given
priority compared to other patients (Mitrou et al., 2014). The Australian Aboriginals are more
susceptible to medical dismissal that eventually affects their health outcomes. Health disparities
and access to healthcare is known to have persisted globally irrespective of development and
income status. Researches have revealed that access to healthcare is not equal across populations,
including the ability to obtain the required services and the quality of care delivered.
Marginalized group with racial and ethnic minorities have received barriers to access and utilize
the healthcare services (Goodman et al., 2017).
Aboriginals experiences a significant health disparities that resulted in higher morbidity
and mortality rates and a restricted health care access compared to non-Aboriginal population. In
addition to that, the inequalities and discriminations are not evenly distributed within the
population. Evidences have shown that urban Aboriginal population experiences a higher rate of
disparities in health than those living on reserve. They experience a higher rate of homelessness,
diseases like tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, diabetes and suicide and they are in an increasing risk of
substance abuse. They are more vulnerable towards health related harms (Goodman et al., 2017).
There are evidences that have shown the likelihood of Australian Aboriginals and Torres
Strait Islander peoples of Australia to suffer from health disadvantages both in terms of availing

COMMUNITY NURSING PRACTICE2
clinical services as well as getting priority in emergency situations. They received dismissed
health services due to health disparities that exists in the stereotypical nature and mentality of the
healthcare providers and clinicians. They are discriminated due to racism and ethnicity and
experiences a declined health services that results in higher morbidity and mortality rates. They
are unable to access the services due to racial discrimination, when compared to that of other
populations in Australia. There is a strong need of culturally competent health practitioners to
enable the Aboriginals to receive the required care and treatment associated with an improved
health outcome. The life expectancy of Aboriginals at birth is known to be around 11.5 years
lower for males and 9.7 years lower for females, when compared with non-Indigenous
Australians (Harrold et al., 2014).
There is always a gap between the Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Australians and it is
driven by diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and other related health issues. There are evidences
that proves that ethnicity and rurality both contribute to disparities in healthcare and the
population with ethnic minorities experiencing poorer access to healthcare. Though Australia
have an enormous health facilities but still, the existing quality standards and health safety are
not sufficient to ensure or promote culturally safe care for Australian Aboriginals to achieve
optimum care linked with an improved health outcome of the patients (Harrold et al., 2014). The
Aboriginal health care bodies argues that boosting of the likelihood of culturally safe care
contributes to the health outcomes of the Australian Aboriginals. It has been found in a survey
that Australian Aboriginals admitting to the emergency departments with acute coronary
syndromes were half as probable as non-Aboriginals to undergo angiography. It has also been
found that the Aboriginal Australians are less likely to get opportunity to be admitted in the
hospital and have procedures for a condition than non-Aboriginals (Randall et al., 2013).