Determinants of Health

Running Head: DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
Determinants of Health
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DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
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Determinants of Health
Introduction
Over the years, colonized nations like Australia, New Zealand/Aotearoa, the United
States of America, Canada, and Latin America have come up with research evidence as well as
government policies recognizing the need to enhance the poor state of health of the indigenous
people. Nevertheless, success in reducing disparities has been restricted. The indigenous people
have worse health status than non-indigenous people, they have lower life expectancies, and are
over-represented amongst the disadvantaged and poor people (Alvidrez et al. 2019). These
disparities are greater in Australia than any other country and are brought by health determinants
like education, employment, housing, location, community safety, transport health lifestyles and
behaviors. This paper will critically discus the determinates of health among the indigenous
people in Australia.
Racism and health
Racism is considered as a basic social determinate of health in which institutional and
interpersonal racist behavior and attitudes are normally embedded in political, social, and
structural contexts. Studies have found out that perceptions or experiences of racism have been
linked with poorer physical and mental health of people. There have been systematic reviews of
research between 2005 and 2007 associating health and racial disparities and focusing on the
African Americans in the united states of America (Hamilton, 2014). The reviews revealed that
there were inverse interactions between racial discrimination with poor physical and mental
health. Racism in Australia has its origin in the adverse effects on indigenous people of
oppression and colonization powerfully described in stolen generation stories in the ringing them
home report. Research has revealed that racism happened institutionally and interpersonally in
all sectors with the indigenous people getting less benefit from similar regulations and policies
than other Australians. They were also subjected to disparaging comments in both social and
health contexts. Presently, whiteness underpins the reproduction as well as production of
dominance instead of subordination, privilege instead of disadvantage, normativity instead of
marginalization.

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People identify others and themselves by being socialized within race ideologies and
concepts in which particular population define and determine boundaries of inclusion as well as
exclude others who not fit their criteria (Straiton et al. 2014). In spite Australia present effort to
minimize racism and her ratification of the United Declaration on rights of indigenous people
cases of adverse effects of racism continue. It should be noted aboriginals have the right to
access devoid of any discrimination, all health and social services as well as have the right to
have an equal right to enjoy maximum attainable level of mental and physical health. Thus,
states are required to take appropriate steps with the view of realizing progressively maximum
achievement of this right (Priest et al. 2016). To succeed, there must be countering effects of
racism to minimize health disparities between indigenous and non-indigenous people. in the
country, non-indigenous dominance is legitimated as normal social order in which indigenous
people are treated as inferior people as well denied basic resources. The idea of symbolic
violence has largely contributed to the theory of socialization in which different ways of acting
and thinking are accepted without criticizing them. studies on whiteness critically evaluate the
role dominant culture of the whites play across cultural settings and assume race as a social
construction in which explanations-based biology are not sufficient to explain the production and
reproduction of economic and political disparities along racial settings. Racism is one of the
serious health determinants that has influenced and shaped the health of both aboriginal and non-
indigenous Australian. Indigenous people have greatly suffered due to racial discrimination and
the government must come up with strict and strong polices and regulations to eliminate racial
discrimination of the indigenous people.
Education and health
Education can determine and influence health via a range of intricate mechanisms such as
access to health care and income as well as the active participation in the labor market.
Attainment of education can be linked to developing cognitive and information skills, choices, as
well as participation in public and social networks (Tooth & Mishra, 2015). Moreover, education
has been found to be firmly linked to determinants of health like preventable service use and
risky health attributes. in Australia, relative to rest of the people, aboriginals are disadvantaged
across a host of outcomes. Not only is lower life expectancy but lower income. Moreover, the
incidences of a host of chronic conditions is much greater particularly in managing and