HLSC120 - Indigenous Health and Culture

Running Head: JOANA CASE STUDY QUESTIONS
Joana Case Study Questions
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JOANA CASE STUDY QUESTIONS 2
Question 1
Social determinants of health can be referred as the relationship between the health
outcomes and the social environment (Hill et al., 2017). The social determinants includes the
social economic status, poverty, school dropout, violence, mental illness, access to
community services among others. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are mostly
referred to as indigenous Australians who are characterized by poor health, low access to the
health services, short lifespan, Poor housing and a lot of discrimination from the non-
indigenous Australians. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are treated as people with
no minds and that they are highly discriminated, since they are believed to be not born from
the community.
In our case, Joanna being an Aboriginal and Strait islander person, after finding out that
she is pregnant, she becomes confused since she is very sure that she will not access the
proper medical services due to the believe that no one will understand her situation in the
health centres. Joanna left home after noticing her pregnancy to go to a new place, the non-
indigenous people believes that the new comers are the homeless people (Hill et al., 2017).
Due to this Joanna has to understand the people she is interacting with by following their
culture, join them in the communal works and make sure to learn from them. Education also
may proof them wrong, if one gets enough education, she will be respected and not
discriminated.
Question 2.
Long time ago, during time of colonization, there was a lot of devastation of the
Aboriginal and Strait islander people and introduction of diseases to them. This led some to
lose their lives and lands at young ages. They were not also being taken to schools to learn on
the modern ways to cope with discrimination. Like many other nations where the life

JOANA CASE STUDY QUESTIONS 3
expectancy is high, The Aboriginal Strait Islanders have lower life expectancy due to the
denial of access to the basic wants provided by the government. There have been a very big
gap between the indigenous and the non-indigenous people.
In the scenario of Joana, she meets a midwife who is willing to collaborate. The midwife
gives a lot of concern to her where she feels comfortable with the stay at the healthcare. The
midwife here reflects how the indigenous people should be taken care if they go to health
centres. The other people should learn from the scenario and stop their negative believes
towards the Australian and Torres Strait Islander (Andersen et al., 2017). The self-
determination can also lead to eradication of the discrimination. The self-determination
includes freedom, support, knowledge, financial responsibilities and stable support. Every
financial year the prime minister reports the closing gap between the indigenous and the non-
indigenous. The gap is expected to be no there by 2031.
Question 3
There has been a lot of racism in Australia especially to the Aboriginal people. They are
believed to be the people of low class with little education and are believed not to access the
good health services. Since the time of colonialism, there has been a huge gap between the
indigenous people and the non-indigenous people (Andersen et al., 2017). The government
and the humanitarian groups have tried but with no fruits.
In our scenario here, there is a lot of racism since the indigenous people, Joana is
expecting to be treated unfairly as it has been happening (Funston & Herring, 2016). Joana
could not go to the advanced hospitals since she feels that will not get the proper care. Instead
she goes to the local hospital where she feels comfortable and can access good health
services. In this, we can conclude that there is a lot of tension to the indigenous people and