Koolin Balit Health Plan: Priorities, At-Risk Groups, and Health Determinants

This report analyses the Koolin Balit health plan for Aboriginal Health in Victoria, its priorities, at-risk groups, and health determinants. It emphasises the impact of social and economic, environmental, and biological determinants on the health of indigenous pregnant women and young women.

Introduction:
This report will emphasise on the Koolin Balit health plan which is an initiative of the
Victorian Government, for Aboriginal Health over the next decade i.e. 2012-2022. This plan
draws an outline to the roles and responsibilities of the Health & Human Services
Department, along with other aboriginal communities and volunteers, to attain government’s
dedication and refine the health services. This plan will have six main priorities to focus on:
 A healthy start to life.
 A healthy childhood.
 A healthy transition to adulthood.
 Taking care of older people.
 Addressing the risk factors.
 Managing care better with effective services.
This report will mainly lay its focus on some of the at-risk groups in the Aboriginal area like,
the indigenous pregnant women and young women and the children and young adults in the
Aboriginal area. The three determinants of health i.e. social and economic, environmental and
biological will also be discussed in detail and critically analysed (Roberts et al., 2018).
Health determinants and their influence on the individuals group
With the execution of this plan the Victorian Government, along with the department of
health, various government departments, various professional, philanthropic, and research
organisations etc, aims to provide a better and a healthy life to the people of the Victorian
Aboriginal (Roberts et al., 2018). Even the Commonwealth is the key associate, especially in
the primary healthcare. The key objectives of the government in this plan will be:-
 To minimise the gap in the life expectancy of the people living in the Victorian
Aboriginal.
 To minimise the gap in the infant mortality rates and low birth weights between the
general public and the Aboriginal public.
 To provide an improved access to healthcare services to the people residing in the
Aboriginal area.

The plan emphasises on some key priority areas and the target groups:
 A healthy start to life: Indigenous and pregnant women
 A healthy childhood: Children and young adults
 A healthy transition to adulthood: Young adults of the Aboriginal
 Taking care of older people: The older people of the society.
 Addressing the risk factors: People who are obese, smokers, consume alcohol,
 Managing care better with effective services: People suffering from chronic diseases.
The enablers that will help achieve this plan are:-
 Upgrading the data and the healthcare services.
 Powerful and well organised Aboriginal organisations.
 Aesthetic reactions to problems.
The plan also emphasises on the health determinants that are mainly social and economic,
environmental and biological. The Social and economic status of an individual also affects
his health. The more the difference between the rich and the poor people’s income status,
more is the difference in their health (Semenza, Suk & Tsolova, 2010). The physical
environment is the access to clean air, water, and food to an individual which determines his
well being. An easy access to these will bring them closer to living a healthy life. The
biological determinant plays a role in determining the lifetime, health and the possibility of
developing any kind of illness or disease depending on his genetic history (Semenza, Suk &
Tsolova, 2010).
Description of the priority area and at-risk groups: - one of the priority areas that would be
focussed upon in this report is the healthy start to life. It is very well known that the healthy
start to life is the base of a healthy living of an individual throughout his life span. As many
as 16% of people in the age group of new born to 24 years suffer from some of the most
chronic diseases because of the poor gestational conditions (Semenza, Suk & Tsolova, 2010).
Therefore, the role of the young adults of the Aboriginal becomes more prevalent in this
regard, in order to make sure a good health at the very beginning of life. Hence the issue
regarding breastfeeding amongst indigenous mothers becomes a major concern and needs to
be looked upon efficiently and smartly (Sim & Mackie, 2012).
The at-risk groups, in this case, are the indigenous pregnant women and the young women. In
line with the proofs and facts, it can be concluded that the indigenous women are not very

favourable of breastfeeding to their child as compared to the non indigenous women which
make up for a foundation of a healthy start to the life of non-indigenous children as compared
to the indigenous children, as they do not get the benefits of breastfeeding (Gleeson &
Alperstein, 2006). The advantages of breastfeeding to infants are many, as it gives the very
start of a healthy life to an infant, which helps them fight many diseases and build better
immunity throughout their life (Palacio, Suarez, Tamariz & Seo, 2017). It also aides them
from many deadly infections and ailments, the measures to address this priority area include
caring for the pregnant women, educating them about healthy life styles and asking them to
stay away from smoking and drinking habits, and also educating them about the benefits of
breastfeeding to the expecting mothers (Palacio, Suarez, Tamariz & Seo, 2017).
Discussion:
This part of the report will emphasise on the possible determinants that are closely associated
with the at-risk groups (i.e. indigenous pregnant women and young women), and the related
outcomes for the concerned groups. In relation to the above mentioned at-risk groups, the
determinants can be chosen as education, early life, and social support (Malcarney, Pittman,
Quigley, Horton & Seiler, 2017).
In terms of the growing numbers of pregnant women in the Aboriginal and the new mothers
who are in the process of obtaining the antenatal care benefits in the early stages of their
pregnancy and motherhood, the early life determinant can be associated with it (Malcarney,
Pittman, Quigley, Horton & Seiler, 2017). Training the new mother or the pregnant women,
about the advantages of breastfeeding, not only helps them in being sure of a healthy start to
their child’s life but also ensures in maintaining a healthy motherhood for them too.
Maintaining a positive and productive lifestyle during and after pregnancy is very important
for both the mother and the child, and it can surely be achieved by specific health programs,
which help in giving a positive environment for the healthy growth of the infant (Malcarney,
Pittman, Quigley, Horton & Seiler, 2017). Various local initiatives which emphasise the
provisions regarding the physical and mental health, the overall health of the infants and their
mothers in the Aboriginal during pre natal and post natal time, should be included in the
factors concerning the education and social support (Radin, 2010).
It is the responsibility of the Victorian Government to upgrade the bridges between the health
improvement programs and related social initiatives to make sure that “Closing the Health
Gap Implementation Program”, with an efficient implementation of the tasks which mainly

focus on easy access to the superior antenatal care in the Aboriginal (Radin, 2010). The
Government Department should work on the suggested healthcare schemes to bring about an
enhancement in the better lifestyle of the mothers during and after pregnancy period. The
schemes take into consideration the following points:
 Healthy Family Air is an initiative which has been planned in accordance with the
quit smoking campaign amongst the new parents of the Aboriginal, during the
pregnancy phase.
 Koori Alcohol Plan is also designed to create and spread awareness about the effects
of hazardous drinking habits amongst the expecting parents of the Aboriginal and the
unfavourable effects of drinking on the infants (Stewart, Hardcastle & Zelinsky,
2014).
 Victorian Aboriginal Nutrition along with the physical activity strategy needs to be
executed efficiently to ensure welfare and health of the Aboriginal mothers and their
infants with regards to the nutritional health.
These determinants are important as they are significant for any particular group because of
their aptness and relevance.
Conclusion:
This report has been able to summarise that the health plan regarding the Koolin Balit
is able to provide a straightforward path for the achievement of the leading outcomes for the
health of the people in the Aboriginal. It has been able to clearly show through the specific
analysis of the health services for the people of the Aboriginal area, with regard to being
answerable and liable for the steps that have been taken. The research shows that the health
outcomes vary greatly across the population groups and a similar scenario has happened with
the Aboriginal Population, as they follow a discrete lifestyle which adversely affects their
good health and prosperity. The report has emphasised on the influence of the health services
on the Aboriginal population with regard to the close association of the government and the
other partners, for the purpose of improvement of a healthy living style amongst the
Aboriginal population, specially the pregnant women and young women. It can thus be said
that this report has been able to serve the purpose of demonstrating the “how and why” of the
related effects, that have taken place by the help of the unexpressed determinants.

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