Assignment On Health Disparities Of Aboriginal Report

Running head: Health Disparities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
of Australia
Health Disparities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of
Australia
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Student Note

1
Health Disparities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia
Introduction
Health disparity is a prevalent issue, which have been observed in many
countries around the world but is more seen in Australia. The aboriginal
people in Australia have been facing health disparity since the time they
came into existence. Growing evidence has been observed for racial and
ethnic discrimination on the aboriginal people. There have been delays in
care being provided to these people due to their ethnic background and
class. It is observed that these people have a low quality of life, which
makes them die at much younger ages with more chances of them
experiencing disability (Conway, Tsourtos & Lawn, 2017). 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. Aboriginals’
experiences significant health disparities that resulted in higher morbidity
and mortality rates and a restricted health care access compared to non-
Aboriginal population (S Reath & O’Mara, 2019). In addition to that, the
inequalities and discriminations are not evenly distributed within the
population.
The following essay will discuss about the prevalence of cardiovascular
diseases in aboriginal people. The social determinants, which affect the
frequency of the disease with its consequences, will be discussed. The
income and the social status that is being conferred to these people have
been lower than their non-aboriginal counterparts.
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Health Disparities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia
Discussion
Priority area description:
Cardiovascular diseases refer to a set of diseases, which affect the heart
and blood vessels. These diseases refer to the condition of blocked or
narrowed blood vessels that can lead to heart attack and eventually cause
heart failure. The most common types of cardiovascular diseases include
coronary heart diseases, stroke, hypertension, heart failure, peripheral
vascular disease, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, and more.
The main risk factors, which determine the incidence of the diseases, are
smoking, alcohol consumption, imbalanced diet, and diseases like
diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and even kidney diseases.
Status of priority area with respect to ATSI:
A report by the National Centre for Monitoring Vascular Diseases at the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, describes that cardiovascular
diseases are one of the major ‘burden diseases’ of the country, states that
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population,
Cardiovascular disease has been identified as a major health problem in
Australia, especially among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
population.
Over half of the indigenous population, belonging to the age range of 18
and above, exhibited several risk factors of the disease like excessive
smoking, alcohol consumption, lack of incorporation of fruits in their diets,
hypertension, diabetes, obesity as well as kidney diseases (Aihw.gov.au,
2019). 1 in every 25 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have
been reported to suffer from heart or vascular diseases and also undergo
stroke. About 6% of the aboriginal population has been reported to have
high blood pressure.
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3
Health Disparities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia
This disease was recorded to be more in the female population of the
indigenous Australians, with about 14% reported to suffer from some type
of cardiovascular diseases (Aihw.gov.au, 2018).
Statistics show that cardiovascular diseases are 1.3 times more prevalent
in indigenous population compared to the non-indigenous population.
Surveys further implied that out of several cardiovascular diseases, the
leading cause of death in the aboriginal population is ischemic heart
disease, with a prevalence rate of 1.8 times more than non-indigenous
population (Aihw.gov.au, 2015). The coronary heart diseases, also known
as ischemic heart diseases, can be accompanied by angina and heart
attack.
How Social Determinants of Health impacts ATSI health:
In Australia, the gap between the number of outcomes of non-Indigenous
and the Aboriginal population is very evident. The major area of disparity
between the two groups is the health of the aboriginal people, in
particular the higher mortality rate, decreased access to healthcare
facilities and limited healthcare benefits (Humanrights.gov.au, 2019).
National Census over years have highlighted the health disparities faced
by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Australia,
especially in cases of fatal diseases like cardiovascular diseases, cancer,
diabetes and more.
Income, Social Status, Literacy and Employment
According to the data received from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
2014–15, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population have been
recorded to have a lower mean income compared to the native
Australians. In 2014-15, it was estimated that 36% of the indigenous
people aged 15 or over, earned as low as 20% of the gross weekly
household incomes, compared to the non-indigenous people belonging to
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