Mental Health In Australia

PLEASE SEE RUBRIC FILE FIRST BEFORE WRITING ESSAY/REPORT ON IT. FOCUS ON HIGH DISTINCTION MARKS. SEE WHICH PART CONTRIBUTE MORE MARKS AND FOCUS ACCORDINGLY. USE GOOD STRUCTURE SKILLS TO write a report on given topic.. choose peer reviwed recent scholarly aricles only for reference( recent, within 10 years) reference should be aPA 6th style. use In text reference as well. Choose one problem, use atleast 6 social determinants of health for that from the list given. explain that this is my health problem and this is how my social determinants of health have effect on it, identify one health promotion programme must include that how programme motivate ATSI community to reduce risk factor. do not use primary health care, national and international strategies.

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA
MENTAL HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA
Name of the student:
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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Discussion:.......................................................................................................................................2
National health priority and impact of social determinants of the health:.......................................2
1. Income and Social Status:.....................................................................................................3
2. Social Support Networks:.....................................................................................................3
3. Education and literacy:.........................................................................................................4
4. Working Conditions:.............................................................................................................4
5. Physical Environments:.........................................................................................................5
6. Personal Health Practices and Coping Skills:.....................................................................5
Health promotion:............................................................................................................................5
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction:
With the global burden of disease, the indigenous Australian population have a markedly
higher burden of the disease as well as injury compared to the non-indigenous population. Most
of these burdens are significantly contributed to higher rates of mental health diseases. The
Australian government department of health suggested that 67% of Indigenous individuals in
Australia aged 15–24 psychological distress such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress
disorders (Stone & Waldron, 2019). The social determinants of health play a fundamental role in
subjecting the population high psychological distress. Balaratnasingam and Janca (2017),
highlighted that the majority of the indigenous population are homeless and experience lack of
employment which attributed to high mental health issues. This paper aims to critically discuss
mental health as an Australian Health Care System’s national health priority areas, how social
determinants of health impacted the health and wellbeing and one current health promotion that
addresses the issues in following paragraphs.
Discussion:
National health priority and impact of social determinants of the health:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health incorporate a range of mental illness
conditions that significantly attributed to their poor mental health and higher suicide rates
compared to the population belong to the non-indigenous counterpart of Australia.
Approximately two-thirds of Aboriginal individuals in Australian had a health condition where
29% of the population reported to be diagnosed with a mental health condition (25% of males as
well as 34% of females) (Www.aihw.gov.au, 2018). Consequently, the world health organization

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suggested that 2866 people committed suicide in Australia in 2016 where the majority of them
were adolescents or young adults. Therefore, reducing suicide and mental Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples is now a community priority for all Australian governments. However,
many researchers highlighted that social determinants play a crucial role in the high rate of
mental health issues amongst the aboriginal population. The impact of social determinants on the
development of mental health is the following:
1. Income and Social Status:
Young et al. (2017), highlighted a strong correlation between lower economic status and
mental health issues amongst the aboriginal population. In 2016, approximately 2 out of 5
individuals aged between 15 to 40 years were fully engaged in the work or full-time study which
further contributed to high mental health issues (Www.aihw.gov.au, 2018). The underlying
reason is that lack of income and affordability of necessary resources subjected patients to high
psychological distress such as anxiety and depression (Campbell et al., 2016). Due to living in
the low sociodemographic area and low income, the population are less likely to have the ability
to access the health care and social services compared to the aboriginal population that further
contributed to high substance abuse, mood disorders followed by high suicidal rates.
2. Social Support Networks:
Young et al. (2017), highlighted that lack of social support networks directly contributed
to the mental health issues amongst the aboriginal population. Majority of the indigenous
population have little to no access to the proper housing and health care services to mitigate
possible health risks. In 2016, approximately 4% of Indigenous individuals of Australia aged 10–
24 were classified as homeless and the majority of the population have limited access to the
health care services, due to issues with transportation and demography (Www.aihw.gov.au,

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2018). Consequently, the population at high risk of developing mental illness failed to seek
health care services. Hence, indigenous population aged 10 to 24 years are the important
contributors to the burden of suicide, self-harm, anxiety disorders, road traffic accidents and
alcohol use disorder.
3. Education and literacy:
A range of literature suggested that education and literacy levels influence the probability
of individuals to be susceptible to mental health. Due to the high level of racism and lack of
comprehensive social policy, indigenous population receive no opportunities for education. The
small amount of population receives an education in non-indigenous ways and language which
attributed to early dropout, misuse of a substance followed by mental health issues (anxiety,
mood disorders (Rheault et al., 2019). In recent five years, Aboriginal students are still
performing below non-Aboriginal students. Consequently, they have limited access to the
employment opportunities which leads to depression.
4. Working Conditions:
Nasir et al. (2018), highlighted that while a substantial part of the population experience
lack of employment, many individuals are partially or fully engaged in the job. Two-thirds of
Indigenous individuals aged 15–24 faced personal stressors in their lifestyle where common
reason is unemployment, Toombs et al. (2019), suggested that the majority of the individuals
belong to the aboriginal culture experience racism and severe discrimination by employer and
co-workers which impacted the mental health of the population. Fenwick et al. (2018), suggested
that approximately 38% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian employees
experienced racial discrimination along with mental and physical harassment over the past year
in the workplace. 1 in 3 individuals reported receiving unfair treatment due to the fact that they

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were Indigenous. Consequently, a large part of the aboriginal population is not willing to
participate in the labour force. Apart from unwillingness, the absentees, frequent job burnout and
high mental health issues are also common amongst the population.
5. Physical Environments:
Housing, overcrowded living and neighbourhood conditions are extensively acknowledged
as important social determinants of health and health inequalities in Australia. Young et al.
(2018), highlighted that due to lack of employment and low-income status, the indigenous
population more likely to experience overcrowded living conditions compared to the population
living in the non-indigenous population. Andersen et al. (2018), suggested that women
undergoing overcrowded living conditions were more likely to suffer from depression compared
to men experiencing the same. The prime reason can be violence, lack of access to the resources
that subjected them to high psychological distress. However, men living in the overcrowded area
more likely to suffer from withdrawal or aggression that affected their mental health.
6. Personal Health Practices and Coping Skills:
Mittiga et al. (2016), highlighted a strong correlation between Personal Health Practices,
especially coping Skills and mental health issues amongst the aboriginal population. Due to lack
of adequate literacy and cultural obligations, the young population frequently involved in
substance abuse, smoking and alcohol consumption compared to the non-indigenous
population. 31% of the population aged 15 to 35 are involved in the smoking and consuming
alcohol from the early age that contributed to high reckless behaviour, lack of social inhibition
and high substance-induced psychosis followed by suicide (Www.aihw.gov.au, 2018).

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Health promotion:
While limited studies have been conducted in the past 50 years regarding the mental
health specific to the indigenous population, researchers highlighted that suicide rates are higher
in indigenous Australia due to the presence of severe mental illnesses. In 2011, the leading
contributor for the burden of disease for the indigenous population of 10 to 24 years was suicide,
accounting for approximately 13% of the burden of the disease in Australia (Www.aihw.gov.au,
2018). On the other hand, from the early years, adolescents of the indigenous population
significantly engaged in smoking and substance abuse as part of a cultural ritual that contributed
to the mental health issues (Radford et al., 2016). In this context, yarn safe is one such youth-led
indigenous mental health campaign that synchronized by headspace Alice spring that intended to
improve mental health of young indigenous people who will receive the services. The Yarn Safe
was established in collaboration with a group of 12 indigenous individuals from across Australia
(Headspace.org.au., 2020). According to the principle of primary health care services, health
professionals must provide accessibility to the health care services to the population irrespective
of gender, race and ethnicity through compassion and empathy. Moreover, health professionals
must comply with other principles such as community participation, health promotion,
appropriate use of technology and advancement, intersectoral collaboration. In this context, for
complying with the first principle, accessibility Yarn safe provides mental health support to the
aboriginal young population and for complying with the community participation, promote the
importance of mental health issues (Rickwood et al., 2016`). The health professionals of yarn
safe campaign also acknowledge the challenges of accessing specialist health services and
provide support to the young adults and adolescents of the rural and remote area who have no
access to the health care services. Yarns et al. (2016), suggested that the majority of the

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indigenous population receive no opportunities for education and the young population
frequently involve in substance abuse, smoking and alcohol consumption compared to the non-
indigenous population. Perera et al. (2019), reported that the majority of the indigenous
population subjected to trauma from a very early age which made them susceptible to the mental
illness. Colonization, stolen generation and unresolved trauma subjected them to high
psychological distress at a very young age. Hence, this health promotional campaign provides
health literacy amongst aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young population. Moreover, unlike
many other mental health campaigns, in order to comply with the third principle of primary care
process such as Health promotion Yarn Safe encourages young individuals through literacy for
seeking help from the headspace centres not only through face to face medium but also e-
headspace online, telephone counselling services. The use of technologies such as e-e-headspace
online, clinical assessment tools is common examples complying with the fourth principle such
as appropriate use of technology (Headspace.org.au., 2020). The common mental health services
provided by the campaign include support for the depression and pressure, support for the
racism, support for drugs and alcohol, support for resolving the trauma in the relationships and
support for seeking and receiving proactive help. The support provided for the common mental
health issues includes depression assessment and treatment, bipolar assessment and treatment,
psychotic disorder and assessment, self-harm, substance use, eating disorders and anxiety
disorder assessment and treatment. Unlike much other health promotional campaign, yarn safe
involves health professionals in the training and workshops (GP online training) with the
population from the indigenous population to gain an in-depth understanding of the mental
health from the indigenous point of view (Rickwood et al., 2016). Unlike many other health
promotional initiatives or programs, yarn safe has taken an active initiative to resolve unresolved

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trauma from the childhood of the young adults and adolescents belong to the LGBTQ
community and disabled (Yarns et al., 2016). The health professionals and support workers of
the campaign identify the key transition in the mental development during adolescent and their
interactions with the developmental disorders. Moreover, for encouraging the young adults, they
use a practical approach in the assessment and include a special need for the careful differential
diagnosis. For encouraging the population and promote wellbeing, the survival narratives and
success stories has been shared in the website and during therapy so that population can seek
assistance when required (Radford et al., 2016). Hence, these initiatives not only empower the
patients but also increase the awareness amongst the population by addressing the health
inequalities.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, it can be said that mental health issues have contributed to a
maximum global burden around the globe. Majority of the Aboriginal individuals in Australian
had a long-term health condition where a significant number of the population reported to be
diagnosed with at least one mental health condition. The social determinants of health play a
fundamental role in subjecting the population high psychological distress. The majority of the
indigenous population are homeless, experience lack of employment, lack of employment, poor
working condition and which attributed to high mental health issues. In this context, yarn safe is
one such as the mental health campaign for the indigenous youth suffering from depression that
follows primary health care. It empowers the population and creates awareness.

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