Mental Health in Indigenous People: Aetiological Factors and Nursing Interventions

This essay discusses the burden of mental health disorders in the Indigenous community of Australia and explores the aetiological factors contributing to mental illness. It also examines nursing-based interventions, such as the Indigenous Model of Mental Healthcare (IMMHC) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), for effective care and control. The essay emphasizes the need for improved healthcare services and awareness among Indigenous people.

Mental Health Essay

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
Contemporary literature..........................................................................................................1
Aetiological factors relating to mental illness in Indigenous people ....................................1
Nursing based intervention ....................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCE...................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous people of the Australia mainland and
most of from its islands, such as Torres strait islanders, Tiwi islands, Tasmania. Although they
are managing there health with the help of collective community approach and health care
knowledge (De Leeuw, , 2018). But there is the still higher burden of disease in indigenous
people due to the due to the ill health living condition. Indigenous Australians experienced a
burden of disease 2.3 times more then the rate of non- indigenous Australian. Due to the mental
health disorders, cardiovascular disease and so on. In this report this mental health contemporary
issue, according to which indigenous people are hospitalised for mental health issues twice then
the rate of non indigenous, is going to be discuss (Jones, Jacklin, and O'Connell, 2017). So the
different aetiological factors relating to mental illness in indigenous people is going to be assess.
Analysis of the evidenced based cultural sensitive nursing intervention is going to be done in-
order identify it for implementation when working with an indigenous consumers who are
experiencing mental illness. So the main purpose of this report is to study the mental health
illness of ingenious people and development or analysis of the effective care and control
intervention.
MAIN BODY
Contemporary literature
According to the research of Kayley Butten (2020) In indigenous people the most
effecting health issue is substance use and any mental disorder which is two time more then the
non-indigenous Australian. The higher burden of mental health, majorly the substance use
mental disorder is increasing the demand of evidence based nursing care practices. Adults and
youngsters of indigenous community is at higher risk due to the ill life style. Below is the brief
discussion on mental health disorder in indigenous people and its aetiological factors (Povey, and
et. al., 2016).
Aetiological factors relating to mental illness in Indigenous people
There are the various mental health illness causing factors which is the reason of higher
rate of mental illness in indigenous people of Australia, below is the brief illustration of causing
factors.
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Health factors- In order to life healthy life free of mental or physical illness people need
of follow healthy life style such as they have to take sufficient for sleeping per day. Then
another important part of the healthy life style is Daly diet which should be full of the sufficient
fruits, vegetables and all other nutrients. People should perform Daly workout and social
activities to make mind happy and fresh (Salmon, and et. al., 2019). But in context to the
indigenous people the leading causes of mental illness is the unhealthy life style, people are not
having the enough recommended diet, their is the lack of fruits, vegetables and physical activities
in their Daly routine (Yeung, 2016). Their sleeping timing is also not good some take five hours
for sleeping and some take 11 plus, which indicates the higher chances of stress in both group.
Nutrition status of the indigenous people is effected by the influence of socio-economic
disadvantage, geographical, environmental and social factors. So there is need for the
improvement of resource's facility's for indigenous community's and make them more aware
about the guidelines that how they can manage their health and collect essential resource's to
fulfil their Daly health needs.
Social factor - There are some another health impacting factors like social culture and
support system. Australians indigenous people social culture is not good enough to manage their
health and getting effected by the unhealthy substance like Drugs, alcohol etc. Health care
organization had developed the precautions and guidelines for the control of smoking status,
alcohol consumption, according to which they should drink weekly not Daly (Chibanda, and et.
al., 2017). They suggested to perform Daly physical activities, they were educated carer
responsibility, social support. But peoples are not following the guidelines ant still smoking, take
alcohol and drges. So there is the lack of understanding and knowledge in context to which
there is further more need for the health care awareness and positive effective social cultural
management. Some of the indigenous people social culture is good but some are not good for the
heath de to which they have to stop that. Temporal trend's of alcohol and drug use among
indigenous people, this trend was developed young adults between 1992 and 2004 mover the
60% of indigenous population is consuming alcohol on a regular basis. So the substance use
trend of the indigenous peoples is the leading factor of mental illness (Axelsson, Kukutai, and
Kippen, 2016).
Medical condition and Disability related factors- Mental and physical health is
interrelated and impact each other. Such as the inappropriate physical condition can contribute to
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the development of mental illness. According to the Anna Williamson (2018) medical condition
and disability related factor associated with the distress. Most of the medical condition like
stroke, diabetes, HBP, cancer, morbidity and physical function limitation are associate with
increasing prevalence of high distress. So the reporting mental disorders of the indigenous
peoples is strongly associated current high distress (MacLean, and et. al. 2017). Chances of the
high physiological distress increased with the numbers of physical health conditions, this is
evaluated by comparison of non medical and medical condition Aboriginal people. Distress
prevalence is strongly associated with the decreased physical functional ability, there is almost
46% of this in case of Aboriginal in compression to non-Aboriginal which is posing 29%
chances of mental illness due to their physical disability. From some study it has been analysed
that most of the difference in distress prevalence between Aboriginal and non-aboriginal
participants is associated to the physical health and disability (Brophy, and et. al. 2016). It has
been observed that physical morbidity and disability as a contributor to the evaluate distress in
every stage of education. physical health, education, socio-economic environment and social
support all these factors are highly associated with mental health disorder.
Socio-demographics associated with distress- According to some study's it has been
analysed that psychological distress shows variation by the influence of socio-demographic
factors which include age, gender, race, culture, religious contexts, household roles, education
achievement's and social economical status (Crowshoe, and et. al. 2018). Such as the poor
social-economical, education and employment level is link to the financial hardship, poverty,
debt, social isolation, crime, due to which aboriginal suffer from the high level of domestic
violence, which is the major reason of mental illness of indigenous people )(Povey, and et. al.,
2016). According to the Australian Bureau of statistics 2006 index of relative socio-economic
Disadvantage (IRSD) age, sex highest educational qualification, annual household income,
marital status is another most impacting reason of the mental stress and disorder. Because these
factors are important to be balanced in-order to life healthy and happy life and if these factors are
not stable and sufficient then this can cause, unhealthy life with lack of nutrition, stress influence
bad habits like smoking and alcohol, which further contribute in the in the higher case of mental
health issues. Due to the lack of education indigenous people behavioural remain unhealthy,
destructive and cause unemployment and then cause further more reason of the mental disorders
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(Davy,and et. al., 2016). There is further more need of the social service improvement in context
to provide free education, employment, and increase their awareness abut healthy life.
Nursing based intervention
In relation to the health care service for indigenous people mental health care and control
one of the most effective and important cultural evidenced based intervention is IMMHC, which
possess potential to have a substantial impact on health services delivery in the indigenous health
sector. In the Australian indigenous population mental health disorder disease burden is 16%.
IMMHC is develop with more improvement in the mental health care intervention, due to the
leading concern of mental disorder burden among the in indigenous people (Coates, . and
Hetherington, 2016). Results have acknowledged that interventions and services which is
currently available is not sufficient for the health needs of indigenous Australians (Na, Ryder,
and Kirmayer, 2016).
IMMHC- This model was developed in context to the management and services of
effective mental healthcare intervention to the indigenous people related to their mental health
issues. This is involving the documentation and delivery of the care practices by qualified
psychologists trained in the treatment package (Tse, S., and et. al., 2016). Under this
intervention process psychologist are receiving weekly cultural and clinical supervision and
fidelity will be assessed by video-taping a random selection of sessions over the duration of
intervention. IMMHC is assimilate both indigenous spiritual and cultural knowledge with
contemporary psychological therapies such as CBT.
CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy )
CBT is a form of psychotherapy, it is a process of teaching, coaching and reinforcing
positive behaviours. CBT helps people to identify cognitive patterns or thoughts and emotions,
which are linked with the behaviour. Aaron Beck was psychoanalytic psychotherapists, who
developed this approach of cognitive therapy as result depression research (Wohler, and Dantas,,
2017). According to the Beck observations of depressed clients revealed that they had a
negative bias in their interpretation of certain life vents, which contribute to their cognitive
distortions. This model of Beck called as cognitive therapy because of the importance it places
on thinking (Carr, Ruhanen, and Whitford, 2016). This care approach take place over the a
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couple of sessions which take 12 hours by design. There are the three types of the CBT which
effectively helps in the mental health care and control of indigenous people. Such as the
structured cognitive behavioural training, moral re-conation therapy , stress inoculation training.
For most of patients, psychological-based therapy is more feasible than treatment by
psychiatrists because of the chronic severe shortage of the latter in indigenous areas. In
additional, health care workers of indigenous mental health, such as the nurses and general
practitioners trained in basic CBT which contribute in the effective care delivery. SCBT has
been using for challenging the additive behaviour of indigenous peoples , such as the
substances, tobacco, alcohol, food and to manage diabetes and subdue stress and anxiety (Kral,
2016). Then MRT is given to the indigenous people who is is facing mental health problem, this
helps in the overcoming from the anti-social personality disorder, which helps to decrease the
risk of further offending (De Leeuw, 2018). Then in other hand stress inoculation training, is
the type of therapy which is using the blend of cognitive, behavioural and a some humanistic
training techniques to target the stressors of the client. This helps the people to better cope up
with stress or anxiety after stressful events. In order to get success in the patient care by CBT
there is some important element which has to be followed by the patient and caseworkers, that is
active according to which client have to be involved in the therapeutic process, then motivation
which is the responsibility of therapist to keep motivated their client towards a change in
behaviour, affect or thinking, then the third element is directive, according to which health care
professionals have to able for developing effective treatment plan and able to make client
understand their care plan and give their best contribution (Fiedeldey-Van Dijk, and et. al.,
2017).
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CONCLUSION
From the above study and analysis it has been concluded that in Australian indigenous
community there is the higher burden of the mental disorder which developed the need of more
health care concern and focus, the leading mental health disorder causing factors are related to
the socio-demographics of indigenous community under which they not getting the education
and proper awareness due to which their they disable to work and face higher mental stress
which causes the mental disorder. Then health and social factors are another mental illness
causing factor, this involves the unhealthy eating habit's, lack of healthy diet, bad habits like
smoking, alcohol and family issues like family member medical care stress and all. Then
another most effecting factor is medical condition or physical disability, due to which mental
health is also get effected. There is one best cultural use set of intervention know as the
IMMHC, Indigenous model of mental healthcare, which is involving the effective mental health
care practices by assimilating both Indigenous spiritual and cultural knowledge with
contemporary psychological therapies, such as CBT. cognitive behavioural therapy this
involves the psychotherapeutic treatment, which help people to learn how to identify and change
destructive thought.
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REFERENCE
Books & Journal
De Leeuw, S., 2018. Activating place: geography as a determinant of Indigenous peoples’ health
and well-being (pp. 187-202). Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Jones, L., Jacklin, K. and O'Connell, M.E., 2017. Development and use of health-related
technologies in indigenous communities: critical review. Journal of medical Internet
research, 19(7), p.e256.
Povey, J., and et. al., 2016. Acceptability of mental health apps for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Australians: a qualitative study. Journal of medical Internet research, 18(3),
p.e65.
Salmon, M., and et. al., 2019. Defining the indefinable: Descriptors of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Peoples’ cultures and their links to health and wellbeing. Lowitja Institute.
Axelsson, P., Kukutai, T. and Kippen, R., 2016. The field of Indigenous health and the role of
colonisation and history. Journal of Population Research, 33(1), pp.1-7.
MacLean, S., and et. al. 2017. Health and wellbeing outcomes of programs for Indigenous
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Brophy, L.M.,and et. al. 2016. Consumers and their supporters’ perspectives on poor practice
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focus groups. International journal of mental health systems, 10(1), pp.1-10.
Crowshoe, L., and et. al. 2018. Type 2 diabetes and Indigenous peoples. Canadian Journal of
Diabetes, 42, pp.S296-S306.
Davy, C.,and et. al., 2016. Access to primary health care services for Indigenous peoples: A
framework synthesis. International journal for equity in health, 15(1), pp.1-9.
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Carr, A., Ruhanen, L. and Whitford, M., 2016. Indigenous peoples and tourism: the challenges
and opportunities for sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24(8-9),
pp.1067-1079.
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Fiedeldey-Van Dijk, C., and et. al., 2017. Honoring Indigenous culture-as-intervention:
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Kral, M.J., 2016. Suicide and suicide prevention among Inuit in Canada. The Canadian Journal
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Coates, J. and Hetherington, T., 2016. Decolonizing social work. Routledge.
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Chibanda, D.,and et. al., 2017. Lay health workers’ experience of delivering a problem solving
therapy intervention for common mental disorders among people living with HIV: a
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Yeung, S., 2016. Conceptualizing cultural safety. Journal for Social Thought, 1.
De Leeuw, S., 2018. Activating place: geography as a determinant of Indigenous peoples’
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