Contemporary and Indigenous Health and Wellbeing.

CONTEMPORARY AND INDIGENOUS HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Contemporary and Indigenous Health and Wellbeing
Healthcare sector is a very important part of any society. It is a universal requirement that
should be accessed without any aspect of inequality and discrimination. During the learning
process, I got exposed to various issues regarding the historical development of the wellbeing
and health of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. This paper will largely incorporate the
Gibbs reflection framework to underpin the transformation of thoughts, feelings, and emotions
concerning the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
As indicated in my previous reflection, my whole idea about the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander was limited and largely biased initially. Due to lack of previous physical
encounter and interaction with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, I had envisioned
people who predominantly engaged in criminal activities with distinct features like broad nose,
blue eyes, and dark skin.
However, I must confess that my perception about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people has changed drastically. I have learned to appreciate them based on their history
and social development on the basis of access to education, health and other social services (Li,
2017). Although, some of the practices of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people maybe
contrary to my beliefs; I must confirm that I value their cultural values and remain dedicated to
learn more about them. As a healthcare professional dedicated to improve the quality of people’s
lives and wellbeing, I believe that more can be done to help change the circumstances like
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CONTEMPORARY AND INDIGENOUS HEALTH AND WELLBEING
determinants of health affecting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander accessibility and
healthcare experiences (Husebø et al., 2015).
Through the learning process and personal research, I got exposed to a highly
conservative group of people who valued their cultural fabric a lot. Further, the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people respect and place the family institution close to their hearts.
Similarly, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander networks indicate their close adherence to
religious beliefs and indigenous ways of life. Strikingly, the resistance that was fronted by the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander against intrusion from foreigners indicates their undying
spirit and conviction to conserve their culture.
Consequently, it is clear that the way of life of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people affects their healthcare service experiences. Hence, I have the obligation to have deep
cultural awareness of their way of life to achieve the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
cultural competency. I am deeply convinced that by learning their culture, I would contribute
significantly to improve the quality of health and wellbeing of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people.
Contemporary Indigenous Health and wellbeing learning experience contributed
significantly to my change in attitude, beliefs, and perceptions regarding the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people. The learning process has been fraught with both clinical skills and
cultural awareness trainings. I got exposed to pertinent issues regarding the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people that include social, cultural, ethics and legal related to their
healthcare experiences. Notably, three learning activities that enhanced my appreciation of the
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CONTEMPORARY AND INDIGENOUS HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s culture significantly. These activities included
case scenarios analysis and interpretation, presentations and lectures.
The case scenarios utilized for the learning process entailed many practical situations
related to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A case study exposes one to learn in-
depth evidence based ways of solving professional related cases using course related knowledge.
The scenarios exposed me to many aspects of care and cultural interventions necessary for
effective practice among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. As part of case
scenarios, there was depiction of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in terms of
their community and clinical experiences. As students, the case scenarios provided a rich
learning ground for concepts, informational interpretation, and the development of good clinical
judgment skills (Lane and Petrovic, 2018). The circumstances facing the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people convinced me to change my previous biased attitudes about them and
embrace their way of life more. I also got an opportunity to appreciate the need to find evidence-
based solutions towards embracing cultural competency as a way of improving the health and
wellbeing of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Subsequently, the lecturing method utilized while learning helped greatly towards
changing my thoughts, feelings and emotions about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people. Notably, most of the lectures are accompanied by rich learning resources like podcasts
and videos. These materials are so interactive and allow learners to experience the stories of the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through their actual voices. The contextual exposure
to cultural concepts that should be appreciated when practicing in different cultures was a big
blessing. Typically, these activities stimulated my emotions, feelings, and thoughts in relation to
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