Primary Health Care

This essay explores the social determinants of health and their impact on the health status of the Bulman community in Australia. It discusses the lack of education, unemployment, and cultural loss affecting their well-being.

Running Head: PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
Primary Health Care
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Introduction
Social determination of health are the circumstances responsible for determining the
health status of an individual (WHO, 2019). Remote communities of Australia often have
poor health status. The chosen remote community in this essay is the Bulman community.
Population of these community mainly consist of aboriginal population. Social determinants
responsible for their health deterioration are lack of education among the individual which
gives rise to high rate of unemployment and financial crisis. Loss of cultural background also
posed a negative impact on their mental health (Sarrah.Org, 2019).
Discussion
According to WHO (2019), Social determinant of health are the situation in which
individuals born, live and work. These conditions are moulded by the dispersal of money,
resources and power at local, national and global levels. According to CDC (2019), these
surrounding conditions of the individual effect the health threat and outcomes.
Social determinants of health assessment circle consist of ten social determinants
which helps in determining the health status of an individual. These determinants are
indicators of development and child health. Other indicators are genetic or biological
population. Cultural strengths, beliefs, values and background also helps in determining the
health status. Health resources and services and the way of accessing these are also
considered as the social health determinants (Clendon & Munns, 2018). Coping skill, health
practices in the framework of leisure and recreation which supports or helps in compromising
the health. Physical environment such as geographical factors or transportation obstacles to
care and social environment are also considered as social health determinants. Employment
of the individual, financial status of the population, working situation, availability of jobs are

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also responsible for health deterioration. Other indicators are education and access for
vulnerable population, social support and volunteer network (Clendon & Munns, 2018).
Remote communities of Australia have poor health status as compared to the other
population of Australia. One of these community is Bulman. Bulman is a community situated
in the northern territory of Australia. Bulman community is considered as closed community
and special permission is required in order to visit the community. Individuals of Bulman are
extremely isolated, especially during the rainy season all connections are cut (Wakerman &
Humphreys, 2019).
The social determinants of health identified in the Bulman community are the lack of
health service. People of this community do not get access to the health facilities such as
hospitals, which lead to further damage of their health. Due to the lack of health facilities
mortality rate of the population is also high as compared to the other population of Australia
(Sarrah.Org, 2019). Lack of medical facilities in Bulman communities increases the risk of
chronic disease. According to AIHW (2019), around 54% of the population living in remote
areas suffers from chronic illness and dues due to the lack of proper treatment. According to
AIHW (2019), mortality rate of remote communities is 1.3 times more than the population
living in other parts (major cities) of Australia. In addition, life expectancy rates of the
population also decreases due to shortage of proper treatment and diagnosis of any disease.
Other social determinant of health identified in case Bulman community’s individual
is the coping skills and poor health practices. They did not maintain the general hygiene and
also developed poor coping skill. Suicides rates among the population of Bulman are higher
as they are not able to cope up with their problems and stress. According to AIHW (2019),
the rate of suicides is 1.7 times higher in remote areas as compare to the population of major
cities. They do not follow the general health regime such as exercise (72% of the total

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population do not get exercise) and leads to obesity. Around 69% of the total population
living in remote communities are obese or overweight (AIHW, 2019). Risk factor associated
for other health disease in such population is addiction to smoking and drinking and poor
nutrition. Around 1 in every 5 people living in such areas smokes on a daily basis (AIHW,
2019).
Lack of proper education for the vulnerable population of the country is considered as
the social determinants of health. According to Australian Bureau statistics (2019), around
29.5% of the total population are literate. Due to the increased rate of illiteracy among the
Bulman population, they remain unaware about the risk factor associated with the diseases,
importance of personal hygiene, nutrition and adverse effect of smoking and drinking and
hence lead a low standard of life (Sarrah.Org, 2019).
Due to lack of proper education, they do not get jobs and rate of unemployment in the
population, which is considered as the determinants of health. Of all the Bulman population,
only 51.4 % of the Bulman population are employed as full time workers, 11.4% works as a
part time workers and rest 25.7% of the population were unemployed (Australian Bureau of
Statistics, 2019). Due to increased rate of unemployment, they do not get access to the basic
amenities of life ( goods, clean water, medical facilities),which pose a negative impact on
their mental as well as physical health and increase the risk of illness (Sarrah.Org, 2019).
Cultural strengths, values and background also help in determining the health status of
a population. Around 83.8% of the total population of Bulman are Australian aboriginal
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2019). Aboriginal Australian lost their cultural background,
values and beliefs which leads to a sense of sorrow and grief in them. Due to their loss
identity, they feel isolated from the remaining population. It increases emotional stress among

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them and due to the less developed coping skill, deterioration of their health starts (McGrail
& Humphreys, 2015).
Conclusion
From the above essay it can be concluded that, health status of population of Bulman
community are extremely poor. The social determination of health responsible for their health
deterioration are lack of proper education, increased rate of unemployment and poor financial
condition. They maintain poor general hygiene. They do not get access to the proper health
care facilities and due to the lack of proper treatment, rate of mortality among the Bulman
population increases and rate of life expectancy decreases. They have lost their cultural
identity and hence, they feel isolated which also pose a negative impact on their health.

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Reference
AIHW. (2019). Rural & remote Australians Overview - Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/population-groups/rural-remote-australians/
overview
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2019). 2011 Census QuickStats: Bulman - Weemol (L).
Retrieved from: https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/
census/2011/quickstat/UCL722009
CDC. (2019). Social Determinants of Health | CDC. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/socialdeterminants/index.htm
Clendon, J., & Munns, A. (2018). Community health and wellness : Principles of primary
health care. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com
McGrail, M. R., & Humphreys, J. S. (2015). Spatial access disparities to primary health care
in rural and remote Australia. Geospatial health, 10(2).
https://doi.org/10.4081/gh.2015.358
Sarrah.Org. (2019). Health Profile. Retrieved from https://sarrah.org.au/content/health-profile
Wakerman, J., & Humphreys, J. S. (2019). “Better health in the bush”: why we urgently need
a national rural and remote health strategy. The Medical Journal of Australia, 210(5),
202-203. Rtreived from:
https://www.mja.com.au/system/files/issues/210_05/mja250041.pdf
WHO. (2019). Social determinants of health. Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/

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