Issues Related to Aboriginal Children 2022

Running head: ISSUES RELATED TO ABORIGINAL CHILDREN
ISSUES RELATED TO ABORIGINAL CHILDREN
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ISSUES RELATED TO ABORIGINAL CHILDREN1
Part A
The World Health Organisation’s Alma-Ata Declaration followed aboriginal
community-controlled healthcare services initiated comprehensive primary health care (PHC)
in Australia in 1978. It was developed in response to poor access to healthcare services and
discriminatory behaviour within the mainstream healthcare sector. The pioneering Aboriginal
community-controlled healthcare services include the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress
that had resulted due to public meetings of the local community people for seeking advice
and actions related to their rights. According to Freeman et al. (2016), there is more than 150
Aboriginal community-controlled healthcare available for the entire population of the
community as per the report of 2016. As per the study of Gupta et al. (2012), childhood
obesity is a severe public health issue that poses health challenges in Australia. The disorder
is more significant among the Aboriginal children because of the gap in the weight status
between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups, which is broadening over time. This
poses a serious threat of metabolic disorders at later stages of life. Klish (2007) opined that
obesity is the second contributor that causes a gap in the health status of the two groups,
which is more prevalent among people residing in non-remote settings that comprise 81% of
the entire Aboriginal population in Australia. Various complex socio-environmental factors
such as financial distress, food insecurity, substandard living condition, inadequate housing
facilities, urbanisation and lack of adequate healthcare services play a key role in the
development of obesity among the children. According to the Data from the Western
Australian Children’s Diabetes Database, it was found that the diagnosis rate of diabetes type
2 among Aboriginal children was 18 times more as compared to non-Aboriginal children
(AIHW, 2017). In addition to this, another study based on the New South Wales Population
indicated that the target population has a higher risk of acquiring kidney disorders in case
they have excess weight or obesity. Xu & Xue (2016) opined that childhood obesity involves

ISSUES RELATED TO ABORIGINAL CHILDREN2
insulin resistance, hypertension. Liver disease, hyperlipidaemia, and cause reproductive
complications among adults.
Part B
Marks, Barnett and Allender (2018) opined that childhood obesity is associated with
multiple chronic disorders, and the trend is increasing in a dramatic manner among the
Aboriginal children in recent times. Thus, it is exceedingly important to address the
contemporary health issue; approaches need to develop related to health promotion and
evaluation. One of the strategies is school-based childhood obesity prevention efforts that
involve modification of the physical activity and dietary behaviour of the children (Sherriff et
al. 2019). As per the evidence, it was found that the effectiveness of such strategies is mixed
and contextually relevant in the Aboriginal community. One of the critical aspects of the
success of such intervention is the readiness to change based on the awareness level of the
community. According to Gittelsohn et al. (2018), multi-level multi-component (MLMC)
intervention is being tested for addressing the issue of childhood obesity. These are found to
be more effective than school-based intervention as they involve reaching the community as
well as their caregivers in diverse contemplating settings with policy and practice. This is
likely to have a profound impact on the indigenous children in terms of behaviour,
environmental change, and the issue itself. The intervention such as B’more Healthy
Communities for Kids, Health and Local Community trials, and Children’s Healthy Living
were found to be effective among the indigenous society because they focused on multiple
levels of socioeconomic issues such as food and physical environment in order to prevent
childhood obesity. Another study by Kagie et al. (2019) stated that multi-component nutrition
intervention is useful in promoting healthy dietary behaviour among indigenous
communities, especially among children and adolescents. This involves the promotion of
awareness about the nutritional approach, especially keeping in mind the indigenous