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Closing the Gap Policy

   

Added on  2020-02-24

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Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENTNursing assignmentName of the studentUniversity nameAuthor’s note
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1NURSING ASSIGNMENTThe closing the gap policy was introduced by the Australian government with an aim toreducing the discrimination faced by the Australian aboriginal and Torres island people. Themotive behind the implementation of the policy was to provide equal opportunities to theAboriginal and Torres islander people. Thus, the policies aimed at reducing the disadvantageswith respect to poor life expectancy, increased rate of mortality in children, reduced exposure tocompulsory education levels. The policy was passed in response to the drafting of the ‘Socialjustice report’, 2005 and ‘close the gap social justice campaign’.The Aboriginal Australians were also known as the indigenous Australians. They werethe first inhabitants of the main land Australia and had a unique culture and language of theirown. These people held strong spiritual connections towards their land and made their livingthrough agriculture and farming. However, the colonisation of the Australian mainland by theBritishers had diverse effects of the culture and survival of the indigenous Australians. TheBritish under the leadership of Thomas Cook took possession of the land inhabited by theindigenous Australians. Additionally, they also removed the white children from their aboriginalancestries. This resulted in a situation of political unrest and discrimination towards theaboriginal Australians. In March 2008, the aboriginal and Torres island people agreed to sign atreaty with the Australian government to gain equal health standards between the aboriginal andTorres island group (Michael et al. 2017).The council of Australian government (COAG) laid down a number of policies to meetthe target health requirements of the aboriginal and the Torres islander people. The targets hadbeen broken down into a number of components. The policies aimed at reducing the mortalityrate of indigenous children below within a decade. As mentioned by Browne, Hayes & Gleeson(2014),the policy was also put into action in order to ensure that free and basic education is
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2NURSING ASSIGNMENTprovided to the children of indigenous origin. The education was seen as an importantconsortium through which equal employment opportunities could be provided to the aboriginaland the Torres island group. The gap recorded between indigenous and non-indigenous life expectancy at birth hadbeen noted as 11.5 years for the males and 10 years for the females. As per the data recorded,the expected life expectancy at birth of the indigenous Australians was recorded at 69.1 years formales and 73.7 years for females. This was 10.6 and 9.5 years lower than that of the non-indigenous Australians respectively. Moreover, above 65 % of indigenous deaths were found tooccur before the age of 55, compared to only 19% in the non-indigenous Australians (WorldHealth Organization 2013).The government plans to close the gap with regards to the availability of the basicamenities such as a positive and healthy environment for optimum growth and prosperity ofindigenous children. In this regard, the Population Health Research Network (PHRN) wassetup by the Australian government to collect important and vital health related information fromacross the nation. This helped in the drafting of important policies for bringing aboutimprovement within the health context of Australian aboriginal and Torres islander children.Thus, the SANT data link was established in 2009 to conduct important population basedresearch and provide relevant data links to the government for further policy making and analysis(World Health Organization 2013).The close the gap policy has significant contribution in the life of the events of theaboriginal and the Torres island people. The main aim of the campaign was to close the gapbetween the aboriginal and the Torres island people with regards to life expectancy and better
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