Indigenous Health Perspective

Running Head: INDEGINOUS HEALTH PERSPECTIVE
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Indigenous Health Perspective
Student’s Name
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INDEGINOUS HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2
Indigenous Health Perspective
It is widely accepted that Indigenous Australians have lower health outcomes compared
to their non-indigenous counterparts (Browne et al., 2018). According to a series of research
studies, negative media portrayal with respect to the Indigenous individuals impacts the health
outcomes of this population and further disseminates a racist typecast among the larger
population. Every time the term ‘indigenous health’ is mentioned, the first thing that comes
across everyone’s mind is the prevalence of chronic illnesses and the huge gaps in life
expectancy among the Indigenous population. It comes as no surprise when studies such as one
by Stoneham, Goodman and Daube (2014) unravel that 74% of media items talk negatively
about Indigenous health. However, there are still those media items that have a neutral and
positive view with respect to Indigenous health. Ideally, the media pretty much shapes the
manner in which people view issues and other people. When the Indigenous individuals are
consistently depicted as violent or drug abusers, it is more likely that this will fuel racist outlooks
among the rest of the population and this might profoundly impact the health outcomes of the
indigenous Australians. This paper particularly focuses on smoking habits among the indigenous
Australians and how this could impact the health and wellbeing issues of the population.
Smoking
Ting (2013) article in the Sidney Morning Herald termed the last ten years as a “wasted
decade” with respect to the general health of the indigenous people, implying that smoking, heart
disease, and psychological distress levels among the Indigenous people continue to escalate
when compared to their non-indigenous counterparts. One of the profound notes about this
article is that it negatively displays the smoking habits of the indigenous people. Although the
article agrees that the smoking rates for the Indigenous people have been on a downward spiral

INDEGINOUS HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 3
since 2002, it proceeds to note that roughly 40 per cent of Indigenous individuals aged 15 and
above ingest tobacco on a daily routine, while the non-indigenous level of smoking stands at 19
per cent or below. In essence, the smoking rates in the urban regions are steadily reducing, while
the remote regions continue to record stubbornly high rates. According to the article, this is a
major public health challenge. Notwithstanding, the article still has its positive side. For instance,
Justin Mohamed, who happens to be the leaders of the National Aboriginal Community
Controlled Health Organization, cited that there was evidence to show that the smoking levels
among the indigenous people were slowly improving as a result of empowerment and fair
allocation of resources. Town et al. (2017) and Carson et al. (2014) note that such sentiments can
help the government and the entire Australian populations realize that indeed the negativities
associated with the indigenous people can be stopped. Additionally, this is a plus for the
indigenous Australians considering that those who never smoked or those who quit could be
compelled to start the habit if there happens to be a high intake of tobacco in the households.
The journal by Briggs, Lindorff, & Ivers (2013) discuss the mortality rates among the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as a result of tobacco use, which is yet another
negative display of the Indigenous people. The authors proceed to argue that tobacco use remains
to be the major cause of preventable deaths among Indigenous Australians. Approximately, this
population is associated with 2-8 times the rate of death among individuals of all age groups. In
addition to that, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is highly associated with
tobacco linked ailments including pneumonia, ear disease, cataracts, and cervical cancer as
compared to the rest of the Australians (Pringle et al., 2015; Knott et al., 2016). Due to their
lower levels of education, the authors argue, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are
more likely to be associated with tobacco use. This article argues that due to various risk factors