The Role of Culture in Shaping Health Beliefs: A Reflective Assignment

Running head: REFECTIVE ASSIGNMENT 1
REFECTIVE ASSIGNMENT 1
Name of the Student:
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Author Note:

1REFECTIVE ASSIGNMENT 1
In terms of heath behavior, it has been perceived that culture and cultural conservation
plays a very important part in shaping these health beliefs. It has been referred in many
researches that the culture acts as a fundamental factor in case of health behavior. I have often
seen the importance of the cultural connections in terms of family networks and the kingship
groups, who were quite influential on the behavior of health. These indigenous people had strong
obligation towards their families including provision of support to the members of the family.
They maintained a very sharing and sociable lifestyle. However these families faced a lot of
economic hardships which in turn again affected their health beliefs (Sunderland, 2015).
Through my personal experiences I understood the importance of cultural identity for the
aboriginals and the Torres Strait islanders. This cultural identity had an effect on them that was
unifying that was successful in leading an expectation of conformation. These indigenous people
have often been criticized by others especially the non-indigenous population because of their
different lifestyle choices (Parker & Milroy, 2014). According to them it was considered
culturally inappropriate or non-Indigenous. However in my viewpoint, the lifestyle choices of
the aboriginals and the Torres Strait islanders might he different from that of the other
communities of the mainland, but it is incorrect to view them as inappropriate or culturally
backwards.
Mainstream media has always played a big role in shaping the opinion of individuals
regarding any issue. Here the Australian media too had played a role to shape my ideas of the
about the aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders. The media continuous has provided racist
stereotyped opinions in respect to the aboriginal population (Kingsley et al., 2013). Going
through the media coverage related to the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait islanders, I have
often perceived that the views are mostly negative or typically stereotyped. Most of the times,

2REFECTIVE ASSIGNMENT 1
the voices of the indigenous have been lost amongst the voices of the non-indigenous
population . My ideas regarding the aboriginals always been manipulated by the media portrayals
that highlight the indigenous as the problems of society. However when it comes to several
advertisements and documentaries, they have been treated in a positive manner.
While going through literature, I have come across several studies which has discussed
about the social and emotional well being of the aboriginals and Torres Strait islanders
population. This is often related to the mental health of the individuals of this population
(McNamara et al., 2018). After careful observation I have deduced from the literature that there
is a stigma associated with these individuals of this particular population. These indigenous
people have been rejecting the views of biomedical of a disease for a long time. This has
developed as a result of the psychological events that have occurred and in turn have disrupted
the mental and physical processes. Most of the people of this community has undergone the
consequences in terms if colonization along with the evolution of the social, bureaucratic and
legislative norms for a period of 200 years (Lowe & Yunkaporta, 2013). According to my
viewpoint, these factors had a profound effect on the social and cultural determinants of the
population, in turn affecting their health beliefs.
From the literature survey it was also seen that there were presence of issues among the
individuals of this community regarding the removal of children and forced separation. This
issue had led the path for development of inter-generational trauma along with use of drugs and
alcohol abuse (Murphy, 2015). Apart from reports from the literature survey, my personal
experiences with the Aboriginals have made me realize that they have a very holistic approach
towards health and well-being. This not only involves physical, social, cultural or emotional
aspects but also the spiritual aspects of the individuals in addition to the community as a whole.