Health Inequalities in Australia: Causes and Solutions

Health and Wellbeing

Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Main points............................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................5
References.............................................................................................................................................6
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Introduction
The health of the Australian population has increased manifold in the twentieth century.
Despite the improvements made by Australia in the health care sector, the twenty-first
century is facing remarkable health inequalities. Health inequality can be defined as
differences in the health status that results from economic, social and geographic influences
that are unnecessary, unfair and avoidable. There still exist large morality inequalities
between population subgroups. Health inequalities are complex in nature. They are caused by
the unequal distribution of material resources necessary for health (Carnevale, 2012). Low
income and unemployment influences health. The persisting inequalities in health can only be
overcome by certain social and economic resources. They are work and meaningful
employment, education, adequate housing, healthy foods and access to health and community
service infrastructure. However, the health inequalities affecting the indigenous people are
complex. In addition to the above-mentioned factors, they are also influenced by
colonization, racism and land loss.
Main points
The health disadvantage of aboriginals in Australia is recognized long before. The factors that
attribute to their poor health status are complex and multi-faceted. The major factors affecting
indigenous health are socioeconomic status, socio-cultural status, access to quality health care
service and environmental factors. Very little progress has been made in reducing the health
disparity between the indigenous and non-indigenous people of Australia. The low health
status of the indigenous people of Australia is based on demographic, behavioral, socio-
economic and cultural factors. The indigenous people are not homogenous groups (AIHW,
2018). The health status of indigenous and non-indigenous groups should be analyzed
separately. A major contributing factor to the health gap that exists between the indigenous
and non-indigenous Australians is the removal of the indigenous people from their families
under assimilation policy. The indigenous population that has been removed under
assimilation policy do not show any improvement in their health status as compared to those
not removed from their families despite receiving better socio-economic and behavioral
status. New policies are required to remove the trauma and grief associated with past policies
that are needed for reducing the gap in the health status between the indigenous and non-
indigenous Australians (Dalton Brown, 2016). The reduce the gap and ensure that more
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