INDH2490: Foundations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

INDH2490: Foundations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
Assessment 2 - Written Assignment Case Study - 30%
Case study
Questions
Q1. “Briefly identify any barriers and cultural considerations that the family may face
when accessing Aunty Letti’s treatment”
In the case scenario of the elderly client, Mrs. Letty, it can be found that she is an Aboriginal
individual dealing with type 2 diabetes disorders. The condition is insulin controlled and later
has also been exposed to chronic kidney disorder. Living in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders community in Australia, the individual would be considered to fall under a
culturally, politically, socially and economically disadvantaged group (Lorkins et al., 2016).
The Aboriginal client can experience inequalities in accessing health care services. Letti is
also inclined to face several cultural barriers during accessing health care for her illnesses.
There are several cultural barriers that play an essential role in determining the inequality of
health care services between non-Indigenous and Indigenous individuals of Australia. The
potential differences in languages, medical procedures, and practices, or conceptions of
gender and sexuality are primarily raised while accessing healthcare services (McBain, Rigg
& Veitch, 2011).
Due to these barriers, the patient can face miscommunication issues in receiving suitable
treatment and care. Cultural or language barriers can also impose obstacles among various
healthcare professionals to understanding the healthcare requirements of Mrs. Letty and
looking for effective treatment. Further, unsatisfactory health outcomes for Aboriginal clients
like Mrs. Letty can deteriorate her health condition even more (Mobula et al., 2015). She can
anytime be exposed to a massive heart attack or complications in the kidney. Due to her
unique cultural beliefs, she also faces difficulty in accessing health services including going
to check-ups regularly and undergoing health screening as well as carried out through
hospital appointments (Newman et al., 2007). Another major barrier is unsatisfactory health
outcomes that the elderly client can face is ineffective communication due to language
barriers. When there is a lack of effective communication due to cultural issues it leads to

increased confusion and misunderstanding among healthcare providers and the client while
providing health services.
Q2. “Briefly describe the determinants of health, and inequalities that Aunty Letti and
her family are facing to receive adequate health care?”
Cultural identity defines the cultural background of an individual and in this case the client,
Letty belongs to the Aboriginal community. It has been known that clients from Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander groups hold a strong connection to their family, land, culture, and
language which form the basis of their social and economic well-being (National Indigenous
Australian Agency, 2020). Moreover, the physical, as well as biological differences, also can
create a gap between Aunt Letty as well as her family members. This cultural gap holds these
people to avail health benefits similar to other non– indigenous Australians. Several
determinants of inequalities and health can be found that the client along with her family are
currently experiencing while accessing health care which include their cultural identities,
family and kinship, language, and participation (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare,
2020).
It has been reported by the ABS under the analysis of the AIHW report that the health gap
exists between aboriginal and non–Indigenous people of Australia is due to the limited
accessibility of indigenous people to health care and influence of cultural and historical
effectors (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018). Colonization has impacted the
people of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal group to a large extent affecting their culture.
The incidences of the past which included violence and epidemic have put them under a lot of
suffering including "loss of life, the occupation of land by settlers and the restriction of
Aboriginal people to reserves disrupted their ability to support themselves". The various
disputes regarding their families, kinship, living together, having a large family to feed;
unemployment, and insufficient income are some of the factors that determine the health of
Aunty Letti. Moreover, the lack of health services in her area for which she had to travel a
long distance and the cultural stigmatization faced by them from hospital staff are some of
the determinants that affected the health of Aunty Letti.
Q3. “Identify what health services and resources could be accessed to help support the
care of Aunty Letti in the admission and treatment process? And why it is important to
use culturally appropriate resources?”

There have been establishment and implementation of several policies and legislations to
provide equal opportunities to these people in attaining health care yet these issues remain
unresolved and require specific measures to be taken (AIHW, 2015). The most crucial role in
uplifting the status of indigenous Australians could be played by health professionals by
delivering a potential solution to eliminate ethnic and racial disparities. The major emphasis
is on the role of nurses who can actively participate in addressing cultural barriers among
Indigenous Australians (Li, 2017). It has been observed that people belonging to the
Indigenous population do not prefer to use mainstream health services due to their reduced
positive health outcomes for diverse health situations of these people. Therefore, it is
necessary that health services are customized according to the specific needs of the patients
which could be done by engaging Aboriginal individuals in the healthcare field with their
effective collaboration could help them achieve better patient outcomes (Davy et al., 2016).
Several actions have been taken by the government of Australia since the time period of
colonization by reducing the incidences of removal of their children and making health
services easily accessible to them.
As in most circumstances, it has been observed that unavailability or delayed accessibility of
health services had adversely affected their physical and mental health. However, the
Australian health care system has lacked coordination with the government authorities and
other health service providers. Due to these reasons, timely, effective and culturally safe
health services are not accessible to Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people (Nolan–Isles
et al., 2021). As Aunty Letti has been referred to a nephrology specialist in town, it took her
some while to reach the correct location in the hospital as they were culturally shamed by the
warded man on which the administrator also commented “these people out bush are never on
time”. However, after examination, Letti also has to undergo with the condition, renal failure
and prescribed dialysis three times a week. It would be difficult for Letti to travel so many
times to the hospital asked for help. To improve the health condition of Aboriginal people
like Letti, it is necessary to plan a culturally safe and patient driven approach at all levels and
elements of the healthcare unit varying from national healthcare policy and local services of
primary healthcare (OECD, 2015).
Q4. “Identify and describe how a culturally safe environment could be ensured for
Aunty Letti through her hospital admission and treatments?”