logo

Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Health Issues in Australia

11 Pages3054 Words415 Views
   

University of Western Sydney

   

Cultural and Social Diversity in Health Care (401082)

   

Added on  2020-05-01

About This Document

The Australian government today defines the Australian native as one who originates from an Aboriginal community, acknowledges him or herself as a native descent person and the community accepts him or her as one of them. The records of health statistics and information show inequities between indigenous population of Australia and non-Indigenous Australians (Al-Yaman, 2017).

Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Health Issues in Australia

   

University of Western Sydney

   

Cultural and Social Diversity in Health Care (401082)

   Added on 2020-05-01

ShareRelated Documents
Running head: HISTORICAL AND CURRENT EVENTS IMPACTING HEALTH ISSUES OFINDIGENOUS AND NON-INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA1Impacts of Historical and Current Events on the Health Issues of Indigenous and Non-Indigenousof AustraliaName:Institution:Course:Lecturers Name:Date:
Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Health Issues in Australia_1
Running head: HISTORICAL AND CURRENT EVENTS IMPACTING HEALTH ISSUES OFINDIGENOUS AND NON-INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA2Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people groups are the principal tenants of Australia..Formerly they were distinguished by their skin pigmentation or just aboriginal descent but that has been replaced by present-day definitions which are more inclusive. The Australian government today defines the Australian native as one who originates from an Aboriginal community, acknowledges him or herself as a native descent person and the community accepts him or her as one of them. (Fuary, 2016). During the colonization period, Australia was identified as a colony. The indigenous landwas taken and become under control of British colonists and assumed that the land belonged to no one. The struggle between the natives and the colonists resulted in bloodshed which was one-sided leading to the drastic decrease in the Aboriginal population (Nayton, 2012). The number of native individuals who passed on during the white people settlement in Australia is estimated to range between 300,000 and 1 million. This figure increases considering the confrontation battles of the Aboriginal and the white settlers. Additionally, numerous Aboriginal populaces died of acquainted maladies which no protection was available to counter, for example, smallpox, flu and measles without forgetting arbitrary killings, inflicting punishment and organized mass killing (LoGiudice, 2016). Resulting to significant decrease of the Aboriginal population. The survivors were transferredfrom their land to reserves and missions denied education or studying from different schools. Some were assimilated into the broader population with the aim of eradicating the natives gradually and to ensure that they lose their identity.
Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Health Issues in Australia_2
Running head: HISTORICAL AND CURRENT EVENTS IMPACTING HEALTH ISSUES OFINDIGENOUS AND NON-INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA3The circumstances surrounding the natives after the end of colonization period resulted intheir exclusion from the mainstream Australian policies, specifically, the health policies. The records of health statistics and information show inequities between indigenous population of Australia and non-Indigenous Australians (Al-Yaman, 2017). At a populace level, Indigenous Australians encounter more prominent dreariness, mortality, and handicap over diverse situations and at each phase of living. For instance, elevated diabetes rate, kidney infections, poor eyesight, inappropriate and higher rate of hospital admission for cognitive health and deaths as a result of cardiovascular diseases just to mention a few, affect the Indigenous as compared to non-Indigenous individuals. ("Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, October 2010"). These inconsistencies are owing to the mind-boggling interaction of past events already highlighted and an extensive variety of biological, socio-cultural, political and economical determinants of health ("House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs: Press Release," 1989). As in numerous settings, these disparities is as a result for disdain and disappointment by ones whose well-being is highly influenced which is of worry to policymakers whose aim should be ensuring there is equality and fairness in the society. Similarly, the light way with which the health of Indigenous population is reported and handled is an indication of how vital health information is unclear on the non-Indigenous populaceAnother commonly used measure of social equity is life expectancy which is a concise measure of susceptibility to death. In Australia, the life expectancy for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders has been used determine the limitations of the Indigenous populace, ("Intellectual disability in Australia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples," 2007) and has become a vital avenue for championing for Australian natives health. Life expectancy calculation relies on the
Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Health Issues in Australia_3
Running head: HISTORICAL AND CURRENT EVENTS IMPACTING HEALTH ISSUES OFINDIGENOUS AND NON-INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA4reliable data indicating the size of the population and deaths by age and gender. With this in mind, there has been a concern about the reliability of the natives' information, especially on their deaths. This has led to unreliable methods of estimating Indigenous life expectancy (Rosenstock, Mukandi, Zwi, & Hill, 2013) where late reports evaluated a life expectancy of 11.5 years for Aboriginal males and 9.7 years for Aboriginal females contrasted with non-Aboriginal Australians (Gwynne & Lincoln, 2017). Another important indicator of a healthy community is nutrition. Nutrition contributes to infants' development; maternal wellbeing also, serves an essential determinant of the unending ailments that lessen Aboriginal life expectancy. Hence, enhancing nourishment is fundamental for advancing Aboriginal prosperity (Gibson et al, 2015). According to National Aboriginal Health Strategy (NAHS) which was started in 1989, poor nutrition and acquiring food were the main issues influencing Aboriginal well being (Wilson, 2016). The NAHS was recognized for reframing the Aboriginal wellbeing agenda and for its group inclusion and all-encompassing approach. However, most analyses concentrated on its absence of subsidizing and implementation. This was affirmed by the NAHS assessment, which revealed little confirmation of either procedure usage or change in Aboriginal wellbeing status (Smith, 2013).Due to inequality health service provision and health policies which are not inclusive, ailment burden in rural Aboriginal areas with respect to the general Australian population is evident. These diseases start at the neonatal stage. Statistics have indicated that the susceptibility to death of infants in indigenous communities is three times that of the non-indigenous populations (Harris & Zwar, 2014). Albeit Australia is recognized as a developed country, health problems in Aboriginal communities are similar to those experienced in developing countries. Indigenous infants suffer from
Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Health Issues in Australia_4

End of preview

Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.

Related Documents
Colonization, Racism, Identity, and Diversity in Healthcare
|8
|1896
|71

Diabetes Incidence among the Australian Indigenous Population
|10
|2433
|182

Two Historical Issues Impacting Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People
|4
|1145
|133

Contemporary Indigenous Issues (DOC)
|16
|4299
|81

Impact of Colonization on Aboriginal Assessment
|8
|1813
|14

Promote Aboriginal and Torres Islander Strait Cultural Safety
|14
|1221
|26