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HS2101 - Indigenous Health Studies for Nursing and Midwifery - HS3101

   

Added on  2019-11-08

9 Pages2732 Words219 Views
1Running head: NURSINGNursing Name of student:Name of university:Author note:

2NURSINGMedia content has been found to exert a strong influence on the thoughts, attitudesand beliefs of the audience to a large extent. Studies have indicated that media portrayals thatare negative and give rise to concerns regarding diverse and minority groups create a stir inthe society. Growing prejudices can be an impact of such media items and ultimately giverise to changes in health and wellbeing of the individuals (Korda & Itani, 2013). Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander people have been known to face discrimination across thecommunities in Australia, and the impact of determinants of health on this group is far-reaching. One health and wellbeing issue of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoplethat has drawn the attention of health practitioners and the concerned authorities is thesuicidal rate. Suicidal chances and the underlying health determinants have been widelydiscussed in media items in the last few years (Carey et al., 2017). The present papercritically analyses two media items on the contemporary Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander's health and wellbeing issue of suicide. The two items selected are published inonline news portals and discusses the considered topic. While the first paper is perceived toinaccurately present information regarding the issue while the second item is perceived topresent information in a positive manner. According to Armstrong et al., (2017) suicide rates among the Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander people is a traumatic and disrupting impact of Australian colonisation on thecommunity. The increased suicide rate has been the result of discrimination done against thisgroup of people and the strategies adopted to prevent access to basic health and relatedservices. Research indicates that this group of people have been long excluded from the widespreading benefits of social, economic and political life. Underlying significant psychologicalprocess have led to internalisation of community, historical and socio-economic factors thatbecome the reason behind the self-destructive behaviours. Such suicidal tendencies stem upfrom the collective circumstances and individual experiences. It is to be noted in this regard

3NURSINGthat major clusters and peaks of suicides in distinct areas have been prominent, especially forremote populations. As per the recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data on suicidein Australia, an average of 100 people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin hascommitted suicide every year in the time between 2001-2010. In the year 2010, suicide wasthe reason for 4.2% of registered deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.Reduction of suicidal behaviour is a priority for the government at present (health.gov.au,2017). The first media item selected for this discussion paper is titled as “Culture key tosuicide prevention among Indigenous Australians, experts say, ahead of global discussion”and had been published on the online news portal ABC News, dated April 2017 (Noonan,2017). The authors have addressed the community at large through this article. As per theauthors, the key to reduction of suicides of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander lies in thechange in the culture of this group. The idea behind this statement is that a deep emphasis onthe cultural and ethical practices and norms of the indigenous people would help in reducingthe tendencies of suicide. Suicide is a difficult issue, and it is very difficult for pubic healthauthorities to curb the increasing intensities. The author further comment that Indigenous people are to find ways in which theycan bring about changes in their culture and the beliefs and attitudes arising from the culturalbackdrops. Cultural activities of this population have drawn attention as being the sole reasonfor higher suicidal rates among this population. Culture is the tool for hope and changingcultural activities would be beneficial. History of the communities of this group is to bebalmed for this negative mental health status. The solution to reducing suicide rate lies incultural strength. As per the eminent professors of the country, the shared colonisation of thepast is not to be ignored in the past. It is a shortcoming that has contributed greatly to suicidaltendencies, though a section of the population might disagree with this idea.

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