Improving Aboriginal Health Care Access
Added on 2021-04-16
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Running head: INTRODUCTION TO INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAINTRODUCTION TO INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAName of the StudentName of the universityAuthor’s note
1INTRODUCTION TO INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAIntroduction to indigenous AustraliaThe aboriginals of Australia had been subjected to disparities in terms of health care,economy, education and unemployment. In order to address their grievances and the health careneeds the nurses should be acquainted with the history of their colonization and culture. Thisessay describes about the importance of learning about the aboriginal history in the nursingcontext. In accordance to that the paper will also throw light upon the health care beliefs and thecurrent government policies regarding the aboriginal population.The chosen profession of this essay is the nurses. The nurses and the midwives seekingemployment in the primary health care may be presented with wide range of qualifications,experiences and scopes of practice. Yet much health care gaps are left while catering to the needsof the individuals belonging to culturally diverse background. Nursing encompasses autonomousand collaborative care to people irrespective of the race, case, creed and communities (Macaulay,2009). Provision of health care to the culturally diverse aboriginals has long been a challengingtask for the departments of health and the health care professionals (Stansfield and Browne2013). In order to provide a comprehensive care to the residents of the Torrait Strait Islandersand the aboriginals, what is needed is to understand their cultural diversity and their traditionalway of living. Nurses and the health care professionals are entitled to provide a culturally safecare to the aboriginal community (Wilson and Cardwell 2012). The SCS130 course- Introduction to the indigenous Australia helps in exploring thecultural and the historical factors that shaped the lives of the aboriginals living in the colonialsettlement and how they became a national issue. The course has helped us to engage with theindigenous sources. This course helps to critically analyze the main impact of the indigenous
2INTRODUCTION TO INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAknowledge on the profession of nursing. The non aboriginal health cares workers need tounderstand how the aboriginal health care professionals interpret their illness or how do they usetheir traditional methods of illness (Stansfield and Browne 2013). It is necessary for the nursesand the other health care professionals to understand how the aboriginals respond to thewesternized types of treatments. It has been found that the life expectancy of the aboriginals is much less than that of thegeneral population. This condition reflects the history of the aboriginals as well as the differentsocial determinants of health. According to Wilson and Cardwell (2012) aboriginal individualsdisplay ill health, overcrowded housing, polluted water, poverty, inadequate schooling. In orderto deliver proper health care to the aboriginals’ one should understand the reasons behind theconditions. It is understood that health encompasses physical, emotional and spiritual well being(Cameron et al. 2012). In order to accomplish that it is required to understand themultigenerational legacies of colonization, the importance of the local history, to respect thetraditional beliefs of health practices, to develop a sense of acceptance towards their culture toprovide a culturally safe care (Douglas 2013). Nurses have to develop skills in providing primaryand acute health care services in stages of life such as childhood, pregnancy and adolescence.Nurses are the one to promote a healthy ageing to the aboriginal population. Hence this coursewould help to develop knowledge of regarding the indigenous health and the well being. It helpsto understand the physical, biological, psychosocial factors that influence the health and the wellbeing of the aboriginals. The study helps to understand the use of the bush medicine, provision ofthe traditional healers among the aboriginals (Oliver 2013). Bush medicines like herbalpreparations, rest, aromatherapy, restricted diet and external remedies like smoke, steam, heatand ochre are used. According to the Oliver (2013) the traditional health beliefs of the
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