Indigenous Health Strategy in Australia

This assignment analyzes the National Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in Australia. It examines core components like community-controlled healthcare, closing the gap between indigenous and mainstream health systems, workforce development, social well-being, data collection, research, and resource allocation. The assignment also highlights the 'Closing the Gap' program and its role in addressing indigenous disadvantage.

Culture of Ill Health Amongst the Aboriginals in Australia
Student’s name
Institution

Culture of Ill Health Amongst the Aboriginals in Australia
Introduction:
The Pacific Ocean is present across an approximate of 28% of the global geography [1]. The
expanse of the Ocean covers most of the parts of the globe that contribute to the coastal culture
[1]. The land area of the world in total is, in fact, lesser than the expanse of the area covered by
the Pacific Ocean [1]. Amongst the regions of land formed in association with the Pacific Ocean
are several islands across the globe [1]. The land areas covered by the Pacific Ocean thus include
islands across the continents of Australia, Asia, North America, and South America [1]. These
islands and coastal regions serve as primary habitation regions for a set of diverse and unique
indigenous communities [1]. The focus of the current essay is the definition of the indigenous
communities of Australian Continent along with describing the traditional medical practices of
these communities in brief [1]. Additionally, the article focuses on the evaluation of the various
efforts made by the government and the national strategies for the development and the
incorporation of novel medical facilities for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples in
Australia [1]. There is a vast diversity in the cultures of these regions [1]. The background for
this essay is the primary effort of the government to bridge the gap in the health services sector
between the non-indigenous and the indigenous populations of Australia [1].
Indigenous community: The definition of the term indigenous community is a much debatable
and vast concept [1, 2]. The specificity of description of these communities is not achieved due
to the diversity of culture and non-specificity of these communities [1, 2]. Most of the accepted
definitions of indigenous population place emphasis on the political existence of the people of
these communities [1, 2]. They are regarded as populations that practice political subordination

and are present as colonized communities [1, 2]. Certain definitions emphasize the various
dynamic characteristics that outline the social and cultural practices of these populations [1, 2].
Australia has one of the most prominent cultures of Aboriginal and indigenous populations along
the coasts of the Pacific Ocean [1, 2]. However, the national law and the governmental health
sector face a major challenge whilst extrapolating the national health care services, policies, and
awareness to these indigenous communities alongside the non-indigenous population [1, 2].
Prior to understanding the governmental endeavours towards the health of the indigenous
populations, it is of critical importance to determine the traditional practices of these populations
along with understanding the existent gap in the availability and degree of utilization of these
services by the indigenous communities [1, 2].
Traditional health care practices of the indigenous communities:
Most health professionals face a common challenge of provision of health care services to the
Aboriginal community [3]. The primary reason for this inconvenience is the cultural gap and a
considerable distance between the cultural and social setup of these mainstream population [3].
The systems of health belief are particularly different in these communities in comparison to the
mainstream culture [3]. In the setting of cross-cultural health service provision, the great
disparity in the health beliefs and the Western culture increases the difficulty in the ease of
nursing practice [3]. The Aboriginals possess a specific culture and belief system surrounding the
health and illness practice in the individuals [3]. The health beliefs in fact tend to have a major
role in the illness and health trajectories of the individuals of these communities [3]. Even in
illnesses that result in the death of various individuals, an important role is played by the health
beliefs of these individuals [3]. The rural regions of the Aboriginal populations are regarded

more in literature in comparison to the populations present in the urban and metropolitan nations
[3]. There are specific models for the causation of illness, intervention of the supernatural
beliefs, and the methods of treatment according to the traditional beliefs in the Aboriginals [3].
There is a great diversity of beliefs of health and illness held by these traditional communities
[3]. Throughout Australia, the Aboriginal communities have certain beliefs of the illness
trajectory and the treatment interventions in death and illness [3]. The illness causation is a
primary concept in the Aboriginal communities of Australia [3]. The traditional models of health
are directed at understanding the causation of illness in these populations [3]. The beliefs of the
Aboriginal communities on the illness causation trajectory is primarily intertwined with the
different aspects of kinship, acquiring land, region and geographical existence, lineage, and
obligations of familial and religion-based identities [3]. The systems of social and medical belief
systems of health care play an important role in the development of these strategies [3]. The
beliefs outline that the well-being of an individual is primarily based on the effective discharge
of the obligations that the person has towards the society and the religion [3]. It is of immense
importance to the person to effectively complete his responsibilities of spiritual and religious
nature in order to ensure the complete well-being of the individual [3]. The social and religious
obligations and responsibilities of the individual are important for the health of the individual
[3]. Therefore, the well being is affected by the lack of fulfilment of social, cultural, and
religious responsibilities of the individual [3]. The causation of the illness is majorly attributed to
the social relationships and spiritual responsibilities of the individual [3]. The belief system of
the Aboriginals and the medical health beliefs are outlined in the following important categories
based on the individual states of health: i) the strong individuals – the individuals who have
normal health and have the ability to deal effectively with the daily tasks of mental and physical

involvement; ii) the weak individuals – the minority of individuals who suffer from illnesses
such as headache, cold, or fever for a specific time period; iii) the wounded – physical wounds
and injuries and ailments such as cuts or bruises; and iv) the sick – the illnesses caused due to
influences of the supernatural forces or spiritual non-fulfilment [3].
The primary models of the Aboriginal traditional medical beliefs thus clearly outline that the
involvement of the supernatural is an important reason for the causation of serious illnesses in
most individuals [3]. The Aboriginals place great emphasis on the supernatural influence on
health and trajectory of illness [3]. The belief additionally reflects that most often, the
Aboriginals believe that there is little possibility of curing the disease without assistance [3].
Intervention of the supernatural: Supernatural forces and practices of sorcery are considered
some of the important causative factors for the development of the disease in these Aboriginal
communities [3]. Chronic illnesses, death of infants, lack of cure for a disease, and death due to
illness are primarily attributed to the supernatural force [3]. Morbidity and mortality are majorly
resulted from the involvement of supernatural forces [3]. The presence of traditional healers is an
important aspect of the Aboriginal system of medical care [3]. The scientific bases for most
healing practices are not fully determined [3]. Due to these practices and beliefs that involve
sorcery and supernatural belief systems, the provision of medical care in the mainstream clinical
setup is of immense difficulty [3].
The traditional medical system of Aboriginal health care is as follows:
1) Care for the prevention of diseases: The most important aspect of the Aboriginal medical
setup is the preventive care practice [3]. The prevention of diseases is associated closely with the
adherence of the socially approved patterns of fulfilment of religious responsibilities [3]. The

primary method of prevention of diseases is to adhere to the societal norms of religious, spiritual,
and behavioural implications [3]. Obedience to religious practices, taboos, and beliefs is an
important part of the prevention of the disease [3]. The formalities of kinship, observance of
rituals, and the obedience of all the religious practices is an essential part of prevention of the
disease [3]. The traditional practices of Aboriginal health care include several observations of the
disease development [3]. The traditional practices include bush medication, healing by
traditional healers, external practices of remedies, and by singing and chanting various hymns for
therapy [3].
Western medication and the Aboriginals:
The interaction of the Aboriginals with the western medications is an important aspect of the
medical care provided to the Aboriginals [3]. The primary principle of the western medication is
the recognition of the disease and the medical causation in order to treat the condition [3]. The
Aboriginal populations tend to divide the illnesses into causes of Aboriginal or Western origin
[3]. The strategy of western medicine occurs primarily by the area of the beliefs in the health
practices of the populations [3]. Cultural uncertainty and lack of knowledge may lead to disbelief
in most of these populations in the Western medical care system [3].
Interaction between the Aboriginals and the health practitioners: There are difficulties in the
interactions between the Aboriginals and the practitioners of health [3]. The health professionals
may tend to offer explanations to the health condition and causation of illness which is different
from the experience and the beliefs of the patients [3]. Such conflicts in belief often lead to
distrust in the medical practice and care [3]. The exploration of the perspectives of the patient is
of great importance to the individual and the health of the patient [3].

The lack of an appropriate framework for the conception of the disease condition forms an
essential aspect of distrust [3]. Therefore, the health care providers handling the individuals of
these populations are required to have a sense of respect and understanding of the belief systems
of the communities [3]. The belief systems, without being disregarded have to be modified in
order to ensure that the treatment works on the individual [3].
National strategies and policies including the ‘Closing the Gap’ program for the Aboriginal
health:
The National Aboriginal Health Strategy (NAHS), the strategies of national health in this
primary field of health care mainly focuses on the health sector reforms of the national policy [4,
5].The development of the inter-sectoral strategies is an essential intent of the NAHS reform [4,
5].The health portfolio of the Australian government has assumed the responsibility of the
management of the health program of the Aboriginal health care system since the year 1995 in
association with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) [4, 5].The
mechanisms of health care in Australia have henceforth incorporated the provision of a platform
for the collaboration of the planning involving inter-governmental policies that engage with both
the community of the Aboriginal sector and the non-health sector of the government [4, 5].The
primary elements present in the framework of the health plan include:
 Several agreements of multiple parties for the health care of the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples [4, 5]. This includes the responsibilities of the Australian
government, the governments of the State and the territory, and the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) [4, 5]. The health sector is controlled primarily by
the health sector [4, 5].

 The involvement of the various planning forums of joint sectors [4, 5]. These are
established at the level of jurisdiction with the responsibility of the development of the
State and the regional populations of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
Plans [4, 5].
The NAHS has played an important role in the guidance and the provision of the
framework of the health plans [4, 5]. The national framework focuses on the indigenous
social and emotional well-being in most individuals [4, 5]. The primary agenda of the
strategy of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait health plan include the following:
1) The development of the ability of the primary health care services in response to the
needs of the health of Aboriginal and Torres Islander peoples with specific importance to
the working populations [4, 5].
2) The improvement of various strategies of disease development and avoidance of risk
are important focuses of the health plan [4, 5].
3) The development of a base for the evidence of the policies and practices present in this
sector by means of strategic research along with the various improvements in the data
collection of the health related conditions [4, 5].
Additionally, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has developed the strategy of
‘Closing the Gap’ that focuses on identifying and committing to targets that address the
indigenous disadvantage and the various areas that demand action [4, 5].
Conclusion: The National Framework focuses on a community controlled healthcare plan
primary to these communities. Additionally, it emphasizes the closing of the gap between the
mainstream and indigenous health systems, development of a health workforce which is

competent, the social and emotional well being of the community, data, evidence, research,
finance, resources, accountability, and the overall environmental health are primary focuses of
the National health strategy for the indigenous communities. The national strategies and the
‘Closing the Gap’ program are key programs that focused on the indigenous health plan.

References:
1) Anderson, I, Crengle, S, Kamaka, ML, Chen, TH, Palafox, N, and Pulver, LJ. (2006).
Indigenous health in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific. Lancet 367, 1775–1785.
2) Maher, P. (1999) A review of ‘traditional’ aboriginal health beliefs. Aust. J. Rural Health., 7,
229–236.
3) National Indigenous Reform Agreement, Closing the Gap; Council of Australian
Governments. Retrieved from
http://www.federalfinancialrelations.gov.au/content/npa/health/_archive/indigenous-reform/
national-agreement_sept_12.pdf
4) Anderson, IPS. (2004). Recent developments in national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
health strategy. Australia and New Zealand Health Policy 1:3.
5) Dwyer J, Silburn K, Wilson G. (2004). National strategies for improving Indigenous health
and health care, consultant report no 1 for the review of the Australian Government's Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander primary health care program. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia;
6) Harrison, BT, Gibberd, RW, and Hamilton, JD. (1999). Med J Aust, 170(9), 411-415.