Improving Aboriginal Health Care Access

This assignment explores the critical issue of unequal access to health care services for Aboriginal people. It reviews existing literature on the topic, highlighting the importance of cultural safety and traditional medicine practice in primary health care within Aboriginal Australia. The assignment also discusses policies and strategies aimed at improving indigenous health outcomes, including the role of nursing professionals in contributing to these efforts.

Running head: INTRODUCTION TO INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA
INTRODUCTION TO INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

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Introduction to indigenous Australia
The 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 care
needs the nurses should be acquainted with the history of their colonization and culture. This
essay describes about the importance of learning about the aboriginal history in the nursing
context. In accordance to that the paper will also throw light upon the health care beliefs and the
current government policies regarding the aboriginal population.
The chosen profession of this essay is the nurses. The nurses and the midwives seeking
employment 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 needs
of the individuals belonging to culturally diverse background. Nursing encompasses autonomous
and 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 challenging
task for the departments of health and the health care professionals (Stansfield and Browne
2013). In order to provide a comprehensive care to the residents of the Torrait Strait Islanders
and the aboriginals, what is needed is to understand their cultural diversity and their traditional
way of living. Nurses and the health care professionals are entitled to provide a culturally safe
care to the aboriginal community (Wilson and Cardwell 2012).
The SCS130 course- Introduction to the indigenous Australia helps in exploring the
cultural and the historical factors that shaped the lives of the aboriginals living in the colonial
settlement and how they became a national issue. The course has helped us to engage with the
indigenous sources. This course helps to critically analyze the main impact of the indigenous

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knowledge on the profession of nursing. The non aboriginal health cares workers need to
understand how the aboriginal health care professionals interpret their illness or how do they use
their traditional methods of illness (Stansfield and Browne 2013). It is necessary for the nurses
and the other health care professionals to understand how the aboriginals respond to the
westernized types of treatments.
It has been found that the life expectancy of the aboriginals is much less than that of the
general population. This condition reflects the history of the aboriginals as well as the different
social determinants of health. According to Wilson and Cardwell (2012) aboriginal individuals
display ill health, overcrowded housing, polluted water, poverty, inadequate schooling. In order
to deliver proper health care to the aboriginals’ one should understand the reasons behind the
conditions. 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 the
multigenerational legacies of colonization, the importance of the local history, to respect the
traditional beliefs of health practices, to develop a sense of acceptance towards their culture to
provide a culturally safe care (Douglas 2013). Nurses have to develop skills in providing primary
and 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 course
would help to develop knowledge of regarding the indigenous health and the well being. It helps
to understand the physical, biological, psychosocial factors that influence the health and the well
being of the aboriginals. The study helps to understand the use of the bush medicine, provision of
the traditional healers among the aboriginals (Oliver 2013). Bush medicines like herbal
preparations, rest, aromatherapy, restricted diet and external remedies like smoke, steam, heat
and ochre are used. According to the Oliver (2013) the traditional health beliefs of the

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indigenous people are interconnected with land, religion and the kingship obligations. Literatures
suggest that supernatural interventions were considered as a part of reality of the aboriginal
culture. The death of a child, old people were considered to be normal, whereas the other
unnatural deaths are considered to have a supernatural influence. Oliver (2013) shows that some
of the traditional medicines really posses some therapeutic properties and a knowledge of the
health beliefs would assist a nurse in perceiving the extent of superstition and the usefulness of
the traditional medicines. The study of the aboriginal Australia in the course module will help a
nurse to understand the current health care initiatives that has been taken to cover the health gap
of the indigenous people. The council of the Australian government have established the closing
the gap policy for reducing the life expectancy gap, the mortality among the aboriginal children,
closing the gap with respect of aboriginal education and employment (Pmc.gov.au, 2018). The
study helps one to understand the Indigenous Australian's health programs regarding the
cessation of the tobacco usage and drugs to promote a healthy living. The learning also provides
with the information about the NSW aboriginal health plan (Pmc.gov.au, 2018). A vivid
knowledge of the initiatives and the actual fact sheets would help a nurse to indentify the gaps
and the loops left in the health care sector centering the aboriginals.
The aboriginal history consists of the Indian act 1876, with the incidence of loss of land
and the traditional livelihood of the aboriginals and recent colonization via negative stereotyping
(Anderson and Kowal 2012). As per the history, residential school system was established by the
federal government and the children were kept in the boarding schools
(Australianstogether.org.au, 2018). The aboriginal kids were prohibited to speak in their own
language and were abused socially, emotionally and sexually. There was a loss of trust, language
and the legacy. There was a destruction of self esteem, tradition and reliance on the federal

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government. Many adults turned to alcohol and drugs due to the destruction of self esteem and
for the removal of the mental trauma (Anderson and Kowal 2012). In order to understand the
perceptions of the aboriginals of Australia it is necessary to have a clear understanding of their
history of colonization (Australianstogether.org.au, 2018). A clear knowledge of the aboriginal
culture is necessary to adapt their treatment plans and the education programs. According to the
aboriginal history, the aboriginal people are faced with inequality, racism and violence from time
immemorial (Douglas 2013). Hence it is evident that most of the aboriginals still hesitate to
approach the non aboriginal health care. A nurse should try their best to approach a holistic way
of approaching the aboriginal patients in order to create a non hostile environment for them. The
social and the economic impact behind the control of the aboriginal population have long been
accumulated generations after generations. The population who were not directly impacted by
the invasion was also perturbed by the legacy left behind (Douglas 2013). The devastating
effects passed from generations to generation. For examples one during the colonial rule the
aboriginals were not allowed in the public spaces, barred from educational institutions, forced to
work in the homes of the non- aboriginals (Anderson and Kowal 2012). Population
displacement, prejudices, disposition of the land has always haunted the aboriginal community.
All these can be held responsible for their poor health status, economy, and housing.
Deliver of care to the aboriginals involves maintenance of cultural safety and ethics. The
western health care professionals face difficulties in service delivery to the aboriginal people due
to the health care disparity between the aboriginal and the western health care beliefs
(Chattopadhyay and De Vries, 2013). The concept of the cultural safety empowers the nurses to
provide a safe care to the patients. These involve protection, participation and partnership
(Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, 2018). In general the

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dominant cultural group takes up health care practices that might not be suitable for the
aboriginals. Cultural safety is important in midwifery practice as it encompasses the relationship
between the midwife and a woman (Chattopadhyay and De Vries, 2013). It as to be remembered
that most of the aboriginals families are extremely community and family oriented. It is the duty
of a nurse to accept all the cultural differences in the women and would appropriately respond to
the cultural expectation of the woman (Gerlach 2012). Culturally safe care puts the woman at the
centre of the midwifery care by determining her needs and establishing the collaborative
relationships build on trust. A culturally safe care strategy includes incorporation of optimal
communication, acknowledging the cultural preferences of the women (Gerlach 2012). For
example, aboriginal women might find it difficult to comprehend difficult English. Hence in
such cases slow and simple English can be used. Sentences can be broken down into small
fragments for them to understand. In many cases foreign language interpreters can be used
(Gerlach 2012). It can be seen that in many cases individuals with different culture avoid eye
contact or direct contact with the eyes can be considered as an act of disrespect towards the
elders (Thackrah and Thompson, 2013). A culture might prohibit the involvement of the male
health care professionals as women from diverse cultural background might not find it
comfortable in sharing the birthing information or other gynecological problems with any
opposite gender. Their emotional stress can be mitigated by appointing female nurses or
midwives. The ethics in aboriginal health care involves autonomy, where patients can take
decisions (Chattopadhyay and De Vries, 2013). Nurses should advocate the patients do decide
the care for them. The aboriginal culture is distinctive in its practice of oral communication
(Humanrights.gov.au, 2018). The Australian human rights commission works for the age
discrimination, the asylum seekers and the refugees, disability rights, children rights, sex

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discrimination. It addresses all the legal rights of the aboriginal in terms of health care,
professional and other social issues. Sympathetic and respectful communications helps the
aboriginal people to rely on the non aboriginal care (Australianstogether.org.au, 2018).
The essay could successfully depict the aboriginal history and its importance in the
profession of nursing. It also helps to understand how the aboriginal culture compliment the
health care challenges that they face. Finally it also helps to point out the issues of ethics and
awareness of cultural differences and diversity.

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References
Anderson, H. and Kowal, E., 2012. Culture, history, and health in an Australian Aboriginal
community: The case of Utopia. Medical anthropology, 31(5), pp.438-457.
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Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. (2018). Australian Institute
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Australianstogether.org.au. (2018). Australians Together | What about history?. [online]
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Brown, A.E., Middleton, P.F., Fereday, J.A. and Pincombe, J.I., 2016. Cultural safety and
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imperative. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 16(4), pp.639-645.
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