Impact of Assimilation Policies on Indigenous Elders Health

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the health status of Indigenous Australian elders, exploring their pre-invasion health, current health challenges, and the impact of assimilation policies. It delves into the historical context of assimilation, examining its effects on human rights, racism, and the prevalence of chronic diseases like cardiovascular and kidney diseases. The report also discusses end-of-life care and the 'Close the Gap' campaign, highlighting the role of registered nurses and midwives in improving health outcomes and addressing health disparities. It emphasizes the importance of cultural sensitivity, education, and access to healthcare to address the complex health issues faced by this population. The report underscores the ongoing challenges in achieving health equity and the need for continued efforts to improve the well-being of Indigenous Australian elders.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island
Culture

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................1
Step 1 Indigenous Australian elders' pre-invasion health status............................................1
Step 2 Indigenous Australian elders' current health status.....................................................1
Step 3 Analysis and explanation of Assimilation Policy of 1961 on health status of Indigenous
Australian elders.....................................................................................................................1
Step 4 Discussion of links between Assimilation Policies and present health status ............2
Step 5 How a Registered Nurse/Midwife can 'close the gap'.................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

TASK 3
Step 1 Indigenous Australian elders' pre-invasion health status
Indigenous Australian elders are the individual who resides in the country before British
invasion (Robertson, 2018). Their health status was considered to be a good one as they were
able to adapt in their physical, social, cultural and spiritual environment. They lived a healthy
lifestyle pre-invasion and only a few individuals suffered from bacterial infections, hepatitis B
and intestinal parasites. Their deaths were generally due to traumatic experiences and other
illnesses such as tooth attrition, anaemia, arthritis and periodontal diseases (Aboriginal Health,
2018). These were present in a comparatively smaller groups of elder individuals and started to
spread after the invasion. Prior to invasion lifestyle of aboriginal elders were based on balance
and sustainability.
Step 2 Indigenous Australian elders' current health status
The current health status of Indigenous Australian elders' denotes critical condition as the
individuals are suffering from multiple diseases and illnesses (Paradies, 2016). There have been
several cases of hospitalisation of these individuals and majority of people are suffering from
cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, kidney infections and psychological distress. As
compared to Indigenous Australian perspective of health, there is not much difference in
perception of health as it refers to emotional, physical, spiritual and cultural wellbeing (An
introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural protocols and perspectives,
2012). In accordance with present health status of Torres Islanders it can be said that, Indigenous
Australian do not have a healthy standard of living. However elder groups are undergoing
psychological and physical health problems.
Step 3 Analysis and explanation of Assimilation Policy of 1961 on health status of Indigenous
Australian elders
Assimilation Policy was initiated with the aim to unite Indigenous and Non-Indigenous
Australians, as a one community. The policy aim at setting same standards of living, care and
assistance, to prevent Torres Islanders from illnesses and diseases (Assimilation Policy, 2018).
The assimilation policy was focused in including Aboriginals into white society by using process
of removing children from their families. The main intent of this policy was to destruct
Aboriginal society. The Australian government took various measures, to make sure that
everyone accepted this policy but Australian community had many difficulties in accepting
1

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people. Colour, linguistic and culture assimilation is a
practice done by Australian community.
Step 4 Discussion of links between Assimilation Policies and present health status
Human rights and Racism
Indigenous Australians have faced many issues since the beginning of time. The issue of
mental stress is generally faced by elder groups of Torres Islanders. Government of Australia had
introduced Assimilation Policy to ensure that concept of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
gets eliminated by uniting different types of people in one group that is Australian community.
Racism for Indigenous elders is the major cause of depriving health status of Indigenous elders
(McDermott and et.al., 2015). Majority of individuals are undergoing psychological distress
which is the major cause of increasing mental illness. This include 27% of individuals of age
over 15 who have been facing discrimination for 12 months by public, in workplaces as well as
justice and law settings. Aboriginals and Torres Islanders' Affairs Act 1965 provided assistance
to this community and look after their best interests.
Even after the implementation of Human rights in Assimilation Policy of 1961,
Australian community still discriminates Indigenous Australians at a high level. This occurs at
workplaces, educational institutes and there have been physical attacks as well. Human rights are
equal for every citizen in the country. This has caused mental illnesses in elder groups and has
led to increase in health concerns like high blood pressures, trauma and anxiety (Waterworth and
et.al., 2016). Assimilation Policy had implemented common rights for Indigenous Australians,
but they have been continuously denied even after being entitled to protection as per fundamental
constitutional rights. Punishment Island was an act that removed harsh conditions that were
present in those areas.
Presently, Indigenous Australian elders are suffering from health issues like, high rates of
diabetes, social, emotional distress as well as excessive intake of alcohol, drugs and tobacco.
This is due to lack of rights against racism for these individuals. There have been cases of deaths
because of racial discrimination. They are unable to live peacefully and due to these issues it is
difficult for them to manage daily activities (Willis, Reynolds and Keleher, 2016). However,
Australian government has succeeded in providing facilities to ensure proper treatments to
elders who are suffering from diseases and illnesses.
2

Equal access to health care have cured many individuals, but this has not helped in
decreasing the mortality rate. Therefore, Assimilation Policy has not proved to be effective as
country's community is not willing to accept Indigenous Australians. There have been policies
created to stop the continuous racism. The lack of human rights of Aboriginals has caused
deterioration of their health, both physically and mentally as elders are more likely to be
impacted negatively.
Chronic kidney and cardiovascular diseases
Indigenous Australians are undergoing severe health concerns like, chronic kidney and
cardiovascular diseases. Assimilation Policy includes many rights that ensure healthcare services
are provided for elders that suffer from illnesses. The policy aim at organising programs to
ensure regular check-ups for elder people that suffer from diseases. The major causes of
depriving health of Torres Islanders are that 17% of them live in unhealthy environment, have
lack of access to clean food and water which increases the chances of kidney failures (Takata and
et.al., 2018). There are various health risks that can lead cause infections, obesity and diabetes
because of poverty, alcohol intake and tobacco use.
Government is working for providing safe environments for living so that risks of kidney
diseases can be decreased. Human rights have been created so that welfare of Indigenous
Australians is safeguarded and they can be physically healthy, while living in a disease free
environment. Donors are required so that kidney transplant can be done for those that require it,
but there is no guarantee that matching donors can be found. If treatment is not provided on time.
and this can lead to death. Diagnosis can be done beforehand, so that treatments can be provided
to those that suffer from kidney diseases (Trzesinski and HealthInfoNet, 2015). The community
can avail various healthcare facilities for those that require necessary treatments and the
government can help in providing those services, effectively.
Cardiovascular diseases have become extremely common in Indigenous Australians and
is one of the main causes of deaths in country, especially in elders. Rates of hospitalisation have
been increasing throughout recent years with 1.6 times more chances than non indigenous
Australians. These individuals suffer from irregular blood pressure, that too, at an early age.
They regularly smoke, and this damages their heart, which causes many illnesses. Obesity is
another factor that causes issues in cardiovascular system which occurs due to high intake of
3

unhealthy food, an improper diet and excessive alcohol consumption, by Indigenous Australian
elders.
Assimilation Policy has given right to education, information and healthcare, so that these
individuals can be more aware about such diseases and are able to access proper get treatments.
Challenges in Australian community still prevails, because there are individuals Aboriginals to
be provided with proper infrastructure and health facilities, regardless of the policies
implemented by country's government (Carey And et.al., 2017). This has negatively impacted
their health and wellbeing as they are unable to get themselves cured on time. They have to face
many difficulties in their life, including trauma, sudden death due to heart attack or cardiac
arrest. These illnesses are caused due to malnutrition in elders as they are unable to have proper
food intake. This is due to lack of health education in their community. Overall, Indigenous
Australian elders are prone to risk of cardiovascular diseases and already have symptoms related
to heart problems.
End of life and sorry business
End of life is a process in which elders that are suffering from diseases and are not in a
condition to live, are provided healthcare services so that medical professionals can decide the
method through which they can end patient's life. Assimilation Policy 1961 has given Indigenous
Australians an opportunity to enjoy rights and privileges that Australia's entire community does.
They have similar responsibilities, customs, beliefs and are all treated equally (Mooney and
et.al., 2016). There are special measures taken by government of country to ensure that there is
proper assistance while dealing with such end of life. In case an elder is not in a terminal
condition and there are no chances of curing them, medical professionals decide methods and
procedures which are included in Palliative care. They will ask permission from the patient's
family members as well as take consent from the suffering one. Once there is a mutual
agreement, end of life is done (Gair and et.al., 2015). In case of death among Torres islanders, it
is noted that deceased individual' name is not spoken as it is a sign of respect and permission has
to be taken from the community in case of conducting ceremonies of Sorry Business.
Elders play an important role at the time of ceremonies for funerals of a deceased person
as they are aware about rituals and have knowledge of how funeral proceedings have to be done
(Doyle and et.al., 2016). Deaths can cause trauma among family members, close friends and
welfare services such as healthcare insurance, temporary assistance for needy families are
4

provided through Assimilation Policy ensures that livelihood of Aboriginals are maintained even
after deaths in households.
Sorry business is a ritual that is followed by Indigenous Australians, where a mourning
period is observed for an individual that has passed away. Assimilation Policies state that there
has to be respect maintained in this duration so that no one's sentiments get hurt and there is
peace in the environment (Bodkin-Andrews and Carlson, 2016). These deaths can affect the
health of family members and friends as it causes mental or psychological distress. Indigenous
Australians have different methods of communicating deaths in their community and culture has
to be respected by every citizen . Elder individuals might require assistance when hearing about
death as they may not cope well with the news.
Step 5 How a Registered Nurse/Midwife can 'close the gap'
Close the gap is a campaign initiated by Australian government, and its main purpose is
to decrease the difference in rate of deaths and poor health conditions between Indigenous and
non-indigenous Australians (Lawton and et.al., 2015). As a registered nurse, I have learnt that
pre-invasion health status of Aboriginals was comparatively good, but deterioration of their
health began after the invasion. There are many Aboriginal elders that suffer from numerous
diseases, which include blood pressure and cardiovascular illnesses (Parker and et.al., 2015). My
focus will be on managing culturally safe practices in order to gain trust of Indigenous Australian
Elders . I will motivate myself to learn about Indigenous Australians and their culture so that I
can understand their sentiments, which will enable me to make them comfortable during
treatments.
In my opinion, lack of healthcare facilities in rural areas, is the reason behind increasing
deaths because Torres islanders are unable to access health care services (Ring and et.al., 2016).
My focus will be on addressing elders that experiencing chronic illnesses and requires special
care. However, I can close the gap by educating Indigenous Australians about sanitation, healthy
diet and clean environment. I will try to provide rehabilitation facilities to individuals who are
suffering from alcohol and drug addiction, so that chances of health risk can be decreased. I will
also spread awareness about the Assimilation Policy and benefits provided by Australian
government. This will help elders to avail their rights and privileges that is offered to them. This
will help them to fight against racial discrimination and harassment that is done to them. I will
aim at treating psychological, emotional or mental distress.
5

Most importantly, I have to educate myself about Indigenous Australians. This will allow
me to help and treat major diseases, which will aid in closing the gap as well. I can use my
leadership skills to influence people around me, so that more medical professionals will be able
to help in saving patients that suffer from illnesses. This will lead to decrease in deaths of
Aboriginals to a high extent (Hunt and et.al., 2015). I will also encourage these people to
participate in regular check-ups, so that early diagnosis can be done. Overall, I will impart my
knowledge among nurses and midwives, so that they can understand culture of Indigenous
Australians. We can work together so that every Indigenous Australians can be given the primary
health care that they require. It will help in closing the gap which will be focused on life
expectancy, educational achievement and employment outcomes.
6

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bodkin-Andrews, G. and Carlson, B., 2016. The legacy of racism and Indigenous Australian
identity within education. Race Ethnicity and Education. 19(4). pp.784-807.
Brimblecombe, J. and et.al., 2015. Development of the good food planning tool: a food system
approach to food security in Indigenous Australian remote communities. Health & place.
34. pp.54-62.
Carey, T.A. And et.al., 2017. The Australian Psychological Society's Apology to Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander People. Australian Psychologist. 52(4). pp.261-267.
Doyle, K. and et.al., 2016. The link between improved mental health outcomes for Indigenous
Australians and relationships: what is the role of mental health nurses? International
journal of mental health nursing. 25(5). pp.397-398.
Gair, S. and et.al., 2015. Racism unmasked: The experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students in social work field placements. Australian Social Work. 68(1). pp.32-
48.
Hunt, L. and et.al., 2015. Nursing students' perspectives of the health and healthcare issues of
Australian indigenous people. Nurse education today. 35(3). pp.461-467.
Lawton, P.D. and et.al., 2015. Survival of Indigenous Australians receiving renal replacement
therapy: closing the gap? The Medical Journal of Australia. 202(4). pp.200-204.
McDermott, R.A. and et.al., 2015. Community health workers improve diabetes care in remote
Australian Indigenous communities: results of a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled
trial. BMC health services research. 15(1). p.68.
Mooney, J. and et.al., 2016. Cultural perspectives on Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian
students' school motivation and engagement. Contemporary educational psychology. 47.
pp.11-23.
Paradies, Y., 2016. Colonisation, racism and indigenous health. Journal of population research.
33(1). pp.83-96.
Parker, P.D. and et.al., 2015. Will closing the achievement gap solve the problem? An analysis
of primary and secondary effects for indigenous university entry. Journal of Sociology.
51(4). pp.1085-1102.
7

Ring, I.T. and et.al., 2016. Are Indigenous mortality gaps closing: how to tell, and when. Med J
Aust. 205(1). pp.11-12.
Robertson, D., 2018. Evaluating the Aboriginal child’s mind: assimilation and cross-cultural
psychology in Australia. History of psychiatry. p.0957154X18782638.
Takata, K. and et.al., 2018. Associations of Cardiovascular Risk Factors with Antioxidative
Capacity of High-Density Lipoproteins in Indigenous Australians. Heart, Lung and
Circulation. 27. p. S408.
Trzesinski, A. and HealthInfoNet, A.I., 2015, May. Online resource to empower Indigenous
communities to reduce harmful substance use. In HealthInfoNet, Australian Indigenous.
In ‘13th National Rural Health Conference (pp. 24-27).
Waterworth, P. and et.al., 2016. Factors affecting indigenous west Australians’ health behavior:
Indigenous perspectives. Qualitative health research. 26(1). pp.55-68.
Willis, E., Reynolds, L. and Keleher, H., 2016. Understanding the Australian health care
system. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Online
Aboriginal Health. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.naccho.org.au/about/aboriginal-health/>
An introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural protocols and
perspectives. 2012. [Online]. Available through:
<https://ntgpe.org/workingwell/pdf/racgp_cultural_protocols.pdf>
Assimilation Policy. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/sa/SE00796>
8

9