Controlling Diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Islander Population

This paper evaluates the existing national and state legislations for controlling Diabetes among the Aboriginal and Torres Islander population. It discusses the prevalence of Diabetes, barriers to healthcare access, and the need for a health promotion program.

Running head: HEALTHCARE ASSIGNMENT
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Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Introduction:
According to Gale et al. (2013), the Needs analysis approach can be defined as the
procedure by virtue of which the human needs for a specific product is analysed. As stated by
Gale et al. (2013), the Needs Analysis tool serves as an analytical tool that helps in evaluating
the marketability of a service to the consumers. It should be noted here that the application of
needs analysis has not remained restricted to the domain of business and marketing but also
finds application in the domain of healthcare. This paper intends to evaluate the existing
national and state legislations that are available in relation to controlling Diabetes among the
Aboriginal and Torres Islander population.
Step 1:
According to Harris et al. (2013), it has been estimated that approximately, 1.2
million Australians that make up 6% of the Australian population suffer from Diabetes.
Further, as suggested by the statistics published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2019),
it was stated that the most common form of Diabetes that affected Australians included Type
I Diabetes, Type II Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes. In addition to this, a research study
published by Stoneman et al. (2014), mentioned that the indigenous population base of
Australia was three times more likely to suffer from Diabetes than the non-indigenous
population base of Australia. In addition to this, aboriginal women were twice more likely to
develop gestational diabetes than non-indigenous women. Further, research studies also
revealed that aboriginal children were 8 time more likely to develop diabetes than non-
indigenous Australian children. As stated by Australian Bureau of Statistics (2019), the
mortality rate due to Diabetes was reported to be six times higher in aboriginal and Torres
Islander community than in the non-indigenous Australians. The reported factors for the high
prevalence rate was found to be a sedentary lifestyle, lack of physical exercise, increased

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alcohol consumption and smoking, unhealthy diet and lack of awareness about Diabetes and
its implication on the physical health of people (Reading & Greenwood, 2015). The
prevalence of Diabetes was reported to be highest in the rural and remote areas of Australia
along Western Sydney. Statistical figures revealed that 1 in every 8 aboriginal adult had
diabetes. Since the launch of the ‘close the gap’ policy a number of attempts have been
undertaken to enhance the life expectancy of the aboriginals and improve the quality of
healthcare services (Stoneman et al., 2014). In this context, it can be mentioned that that
Australia has assumed the stature of an international leader in the care of Diabetes. The
nation is among the first developed nation to introduce a universal government assisted for
monitoring blood glucose and self-management under the National Diabetes Service scheme.
A number of support programs such as ‘The Aboriginal Health Promotion and Chronic Care
Partnership Initiative’. ‘Aboriginal Life! Program’, ‘Aboriginal Road to Good Health
Program’, ‘Aboriginal Remote Tele health Program’ have been initiative at the national level
in order to improve accessibility to health care services and improve the quality of life of the
aboriginals suffering from diabetes and other chronic illnesses. (Stoneman et al., 2014).
However, despite the provision of the national level diabetes prevention for the aboriginal
community, the prevalence rate among the aboriginals have not gone down. Also, the
statistical estimate of Diabetes prevalence has remained constant within the remote and rural
areas of Australia (Dunbar et al., 2014). This reflects poor access to healthcare service within
the remote and rural regions and as a result it would be feasible to conduct a national level
needs assessment for introducing appropriate support services and improving accessibility.
Step 2:
The principle requisites of conducting a needs analysis relies upon accessing the
needs of an individual, community or an organization. According to a report published by the
Australian National Diabetes Strategy (2019), an increased emphasis was laid on the

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prevention, detection and management of Diabetes among the indigenous aboriginals.
Further, the program aimed at improving the quality of diabetes services and care. Also,
policy makers at all levels of the government as well as non-government organizations,
stakeholder organizations and health care professionals worked in collaboration to facilitate
multidisciplinary care for the prevention of Diabetes among the aboriginal population
(Chamberlain et al., 2015). As suggested by Burrow and Ride, (2016), national policy also
laid emphasis on the inclusion of improved primary care services and increase the needs of
the patient across continuum of care. On the basis of the existing policies evaluation, it can be
mentioned that at the national as well as the local level, sincere efforts have been put in to
render effective care to the indigenous Australians for managing Diabetes. However, major
barriers in the process of implementation of the policies effectively can be identified as the
inequitable distribution of funding. In addition to this, the lack of skill set of the healthcare
professionals to render culturally safe care intervention has also led to the reduced access of
the available care facilities (Brooks et al., 2013). Research studies indicate that health care
professionals placed within the rural and remote areas are not culturally competent to provide
effective services to the aboriginal community members suffering from Diabetes.
Step 3:
According to Gale et al. (2013), for the implementation of optimal care services in
order to manage the symptoms of the aboriginal community members, it is important to have
a clear idea about the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats of the existing healthcare
facilities and services. In this context, it can be stated that after conducting an exhaustive
literature review of the existing policy documents that mention about available services for
rendering care to the aboriginal community members for the prevention of Diabetes, the
SWOT analysis can be mentioned as under:

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Strength
 Provision of Diabetes management
program
 Provision of primary care services
for symptom management
Weakness
 Poor access to healthcare facilities
 Does not cover a major proportion
of the aboriginal population based at
the remote and rural areas
Opportunities
 Revising policy documents to
increase nursing placement within
the rural and remote areas of
Australia
 Mandatory inclusion of health
promotion programs to disseminate
awareness about the disease
Threats
 Culturally incompetent healthcare
professionals
 Resistance from the community
members to seek assistance
Therefore, on the basis of the SWOT analysis it can be mentioned that the rising
prevalence of Diabetes among the aboriginal community can be controlled by disseminating
awareness and including the provision of a culturally safe care.
Step 4:
Provision of health promotion programs for the prevention and management of
Diabetes among the aboriginal community members can help in controlling the rising
prevalence of the disorder. The inclusion of health promotion programs at the grass root level
such as the local council level can help in disseminating awareness effectively. The program

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priorities for the health promotion program should specifically comprise of priorities such as
promotion of health literacy about lifestyle factors that trigger the onset of the disorder
(Juhnke & Mühlbacher, 2013). In addition to this, the inclusion of culturally competent
healthcare professionals for the investigation and assessment of the disease in the patients
would be extremely important. Provision of a culturally safe care delivery would help in
acquiring positive patient outcome. In addition to this, the program priority would include the
provision of mandatory screening/ (blood glucose test) for the detection of Diabetes among
the people. In addition to this, the program must also lay emphasis on providing counselling
to the patients diagnosed with gestational diabetes on a mandatory basis. Also, the program
priority should include cessation of alcohol consumption or smoking in the community
members as it triggers the onset of Diabetes. Further, the program should also assist patients
with self- management strategies so as to help them manage their symptoms effectively.
Other important consideration for the health promotion program can be established during the
planning stage of the health promotion program.
Conclusion:
Therefore, to conclude, it can be mentioned that the needs analysis of the available
Diabetes support scheme among the aboriginal community members helped in identifying a
number of important facts. The prevalence of Diabetes is the highest among the aboriginal
and Torres community members based at Australia. Despite the availability of a number of
support facilities, the prevalence percentage has not gone down. The lack of awareness as
well as cultural incompetence on the part of the health care professionals can be identified as
the important factors that has reduced the access of healthcare facilities among the aboriginal
community. An introduction of a health promotion program at the local council level can help
in improving access to healthcare services and improve patient outcome in relation to
Diabetes.

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References:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2019). Diabetes snapshot, How many Australians
have diabetes? - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. [online] Australian
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Brooks, L. A., Darroch, F. E., & Giles, A. R. (2013). Policy (mis) alignment: Addressing type
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Burrow, S., & Ride, K. (2016). Review of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait
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