Reasons for Inequity in Cardiovascular Disease

HEALTHCARE AND SOCIAL PRACTICES
By
Professor’s Name
The Name of the Course
The Name of the University
The City and the where it is located

Reasons for inequity between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians
in Relation to Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease has been reported as the leading cause of mortality in the
world. Indigenous people account for a total of 370 million in the world. Cardiovascular
diseases like stroke, sclerosis, and coronary thrombosis and heart problems have been
reported to have higher prevalence on indigenous communities as compared to non-
indigenous communities in Australia. There are various cultural factors that have led to the
inequality between the indigenous and non-indigenous communities in Australia. Despite the
sensitization of the public on the implications of cardiovascular diseases, the disparities in the
incidences the disease persists in Australia. Evidence-based practices provide effective
strategies to be used in the reduction of chronic cardiovascular disease in most parts of the
world (Semsarian, Ingles, Maron and Maron, 2015, p. 1250). The application of health
promotion strategies in health care services has led to a reduction in the cases of
cardiovascular disease in most non-indigenous communities than I indigenous communities.
The strategies include the education of the people on the contribution of geographical,
environments, cultural and educational factors to the increase in the incidences of
cardiovascular diseases.
First, cultural beliefs and practices contribute to the inequity in the prevalence of the
cardiovascular disease among the indigenous people in Australia. For example, most of the
Aboriginal population are drug addicted. The aboriginal young men are smokers as compared
to non-indigenous communities. Prolonged use of drugs, especially smoking increases the
risks of contracting cardiovascular diseases among users (Brown, 2012, p. 102). The
indigenous adults are the leading groups of people with multiple problems related to the heart
of a vascular system. Prolonged smoking of tobacco leads to heart attack and septic shock,
therefore, causing organ dysfunction. Bronchitis results in congestion in the thoracic cavity.

The congestion affects the gaseous exchange and subsequent cardiac output, therefore,
interfering with the normal functioning of the heart. The interference of the heart function
increases the susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. Research is done on the Aboriginal; and
Torres communities have a shown a clear indication that indigenous communities are affected
by the cardiovascular diseases due to their cultural practices and beliefs.
The second factor that leads to inequality in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases is the
inability of the indigenous communities to access improvised medical and health care
services in the country. There are factors that affect the availability if medical therapies in the
country. Non-indigenous communities are able to access modern and quality medical services
as compared to indigenous communities like Torres and Aboriginals. The cardiovascular
specialists in the country require a lot of money to attend to the patients (Chew et al, 2016, p.
125). The indigenous communities are comprised of poor people. Poverty has become the
main challenge the indigenous people, therefore increasing the incidence of cardiovascular
diseases among these poor communities. The limited access to quality health care is also
caused by a low level of literacy among the indigenous communities. Illiteracy leads to
ignorance, therefore, increasing the risks of exposure to this disease. Limits access to the
cardiovascular therapeutic procedure may also occur due to geographical barriers, for
instance, the indigenous communities live in remote areas, therefore, making it difficult for a
researcher to exploit the areas and implement appropriate interventions for reducing the
incidences of cardiovascular disease and mortality rates in the country.
Primary Health Care intervention in Addressing the Health Issue
The increase in mortality rates due to cardiovascular diseases is attributed to the
change in the lifestyle adopted by many people in the world (Derrick, Haynes, Chapman and
Hall, 2011, p. 45). There is a need to minimize the disadvantages encountered by these