Health as a Social Injustice

Running head: HEALTH AS A SOCIAL INJUSTICE 1
Health as a Social Injustice
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Running head: HEALTH AS A SOCIAL INJUSTICE 2
The historical path of health as a social justice
Introduction
Health is a very critical sector in the community. The Australia health sector is facing
a challenge concerning the life expectancy difference. To reduce the gap between the
indigenous and non-indigenous life expectancy is very crucial in streamlining the health
industry. There is a point of separating all the policies that have already worked and
developed new commitments which they require for providing equitable health services to the
whole community in the country. There is a problem with the language differences in
Australia making it difficult for the people to read and understand the health policies in the
country. In closing the gap needs more than just reducing the life expectancy disparity within
the communities in Australia. There is more which needs to be done to improve the life
expectancy of the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander which has been growing slowly over
the decades.
The society consists of various communities, and social justice is the rights of all the
people in a specific population in regards to fair and equitable services to every member of
the city (Blyton, 2009). The social justice mainly focuses on the marginalized groups in the
society like the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, the young ones specifically the
children, and those people who come from different backgrounds, people living with
disabilities, the aged in the society, and women. The main concerns of health as a social
justice are:
All the information that is for the public should be available in the languages that the
community understands. All the documented health policies should enhance equality of all
the people regarding health care access (Braveman, 2006). It is very critical to have a precise
translation of health information as per the different languages available amongst the

Running head: HEALTH AS A SOCIAL INJUSTICE 3
community to enhance dissemination of information and also clear understanding without
discrimination of any societal group in the country. Policies and rules of any health sector
approved by the administrative authority should be displayed somewhere accessible to all the
members of the society. There should be easy and clear access to all the policies and rules
concerning the health sector.
The people living in the rural and marginalized regions should have similar access to
clean water and sanitation as their counterparts living in the urban areas. The people who earn
low income in the society should be able to access the same level of healthcare as their
counterparts who have a high socio-economic standard in the community (Fredericks et al.
2012). The health policies should discourage any form of discrimination in the line of
economic measures of the Australian people. All the people in Australia even those who are
considered not originated from there should receive equal treatment and equal access to the
available health services in the country.
A significant focus on health as social justice is an excellent way of reducing health
disparities in Australia. This social justice will help in building an economic empowered
country since, a health nation is a rich nation. There is a great disparity in the health sector of
Australia, the health standards of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait is lowered as compared to
the other population in the country. There is a significant difference of about 17 years of life
expectancy between the indigenous and the non-indigenous people in Australia (Holland,
2015). The socio-economic disparity in the country is the main socio justice factor that
affects the health sector in Australia. There is also another factor of systematic discrimination
that affects the indigenous people.
There are several principles of social justice which include the principle of equity
which is about ensuring equitable and fair distribution of all the available in the health sector.