Health Disparities and Inequalities in Australia: Analysis and Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of health disparities and inequalities in Australia. It highlights the significant improvements in the health of the Australian population while acknowledging persistent health inequalities, particularly among indigenous populations. The report delves into the complex factors contributing to these disparities, including socioeconomic status, access to quality healthcare, cultural factors, and the impact of historical policies. It examines specific challenges such as the health of aging populations, rural health issues, and the impact of multi-morbidity. The report emphasizes the need for new policies to address trauma, improve healthcare access, and promote culturally sensitive healthcare practices. It also discusses the role of government initiatives in establishing healthcare centers, deploying healthcare professionals, and promoting health awareness to reduce health disparities and improve overall health outcomes for all Australians. The report references various studies and sources to support its findings and recommendations.

Health and Wellbeing

Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Main points............................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................5
References.............................................................................................................................................6
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Introduction
The health of the Australian population has increased manifold in the twentieth century.
Despite the improvements made by Australia in the health care sector, the twenty-first
century is facing remarkable health inequalities. Health inequality can be defined as
differences in the health status that results from economic, social and geographic influences
that are unnecessary, unfair and avoidable. There still exist large morality inequalities
between population subgroups. Health inequalities are complex in nature. They are caused by
the unequal distribution of material resources necessary for health (Carnevale, 2012). Low
income and unemployment influences health. The persisting inequalities in health can only be
overcome by certain social and economic resources. They are work and meaningful
employment, education, adequate housing, healthy foods and access to health and community
service infrastructure. However, the health inequalities affecting the indigenous people are
complex. In addition to the above-mentioned factors, they are also influenced by
colonization, racism and land loss.
Main points
The health disadvantage of aboriginals in Australia is recognized long before. The factors that
attribute to their poor health status are complex and multi-faceted. The major factors affecting
indigenous health are socioeconomic status, socio-cultural status, access to quality health care
service and environmental factors. Very little progress has been made in reducing the health
disparity between the indigenous and non-indigenous people of Australia. The low health
status of the indigenous people of Australia is based on demographic, behavioral, socio-
economic and cultural factors. The indigenous people are not homogenous groups (AIHW,
2018). The health status of indigenous and non-indigenous groups should be analyzed
separately. A major contributing factor to the health gap that exists between the indigenous
and non-indigenous Australians is the removal of the indigenous people from their families
under assimilation policy. The indigenous population that has been removed under
assimilation policy do not show any improvement in their health status as compared to those
not removed from their families despite receiving better socio-economic and behavioral
status. New policies are required to remove the trauma and grief associated with past policies
that are needed for reducing the gap in the health status between the indigenous and non-
indigenous Australians (Dalton Brown, 2016). The reduce the gap and ensure that more
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indigenous persons avail the health care facilities more indigenous health care professionals
had to be recruited in the core health care sector. The language problem is the primary reason
behind the existing health disparity. The nurses and doctors attending indigenous patients
should be more careful, kind and treat them with respect so that they can repose their
confidence in them. The indigenous persons should be treated with love and respect by all the
hospital staffs. Ambulances should be painted with the diagrams of indigenous cultures so
that they can relate their culture. The indigenous people should be made aware that all
diseases cannot be cured by using traditional means. Due to the development of recent days,
complicated diseases western medicinal system is the last rescue. They should also be made
aware of and encouraged to visit hospitals for regular health checkups. Regular health
checkups will help them keep fit and disease-free for long. They should also be made aware
regarding the ill effects of liquor consumption, smoking and the diseases associated with
them. More indigenous people die of cancer than non-indigenous people (Godding, 2014).
They mainly die of lungs cancer and prostate cancer. It has been found that the incidence of
hepatocellular carcinoma is 5.9 times higher in indigenous peoples than in non-indigenous
peoples.
In Australia, the death rate of people living in remote areas is much higher than that of the
people living in urban areas. The death rate is higher in the remote areas due to lower
socioeconomic status among the people. People of higher socioeconomic status can opt for
better western treatment facilities for curing diseases but that is not the case with people
having a low-income group. Lower income group peoples find it difficult to make both ends
meet. Moreover, in rural areas, sufficient health care facilities are not available. There is no
multi-specialty hospitals equipped with modern machinery. The people of rural areas have to
depend on health care centers. Even health care centers present are not sufficient for the
existing population (Guest, Kable, Boggess & Friedewald, 2014). Doctors are not always
available in the health care centers for treatment. The health care centers are not opened for
long during the night hours causing hardships to the patients. There is a lack of sufficient
health care staffs in the hospitals that result in patients left unattended for long. As there are
fewer staffs to manage more people the quality of care delivered is also compromised. The
staffs have to work long hours to provide them with the essentials. The government should
take initiative to open more health care centers required for the treatment of rural people.
More doctors and nurses had to be deployed in those health care centers to take care of the
patients. The nurses should be well trained to deal with patients of rural areas. The nurses
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should treat them with care, respect, and dignity (Moxey, McEvoy, Bowe & Attia, 2010). The
relation of trust should be built between the patients and the nurses so that they can have
confidence in them and can disclose their disease and difficulties to them. The health care
centers should be kept open for long during night hours. The nurses should try to give a
familiar environment to the patients. It has been found that the mortality rate among rural
people is more than urban people. Poor health among rural people can be caused by multiple
reasons that are poor access to health care facilities, poor nutrition, high smoking rate, and
high obesity. The rising cost of living that includes food, utility, and housing results in poorer
health outcome of the population. Poor health conditions are long term and eventually result
in earlier death. The Australian indigenous population faces a high multi-morbidity rate
(Zhao, You, Wright, Guthridge & Lee, 2013).
Older people are a considerable part of Australia’s population. Australian health
policymakers have adopted many approaches to address the growing needs of aging people.
The health care needs of aged people are growing day by day. The health policymakers
should divert their attention towards the growing burden of non-communicable conditions.
Primary care and health service benefit should be provided to the aged population of
Australia. The financial initiative should be taken so that both the public and private sector
come forward to cater to the needs of the aged people of Australia. Australians should take
experience from other countries regarding the health care facilities provided to their aged
population (Temple & Williams, 2018). The health care sector has to pay special attention to
the aged people as they need maximum care and attention. The Australian health care system
is a two-tier system. One subsidizes primary care and funds hospital care. The other provides
coverage for private hospital care. In Australia, the Commonwealth retains most of the
revenue. The states have the responsibility to provide for health care services so they have to
rely on the commonwealth for fund transfer. Aging population influence the health care
system in multiple ways. Australians above 65 years of age witness hospitalization rate that is
more than four times as compared to their younger counterparts. A person above 65 years of
age visits a general practitioner ten times in a year. The health services required by aged
persons are more complex because of the high level of multi-morbidity. The rate of multi-
morbidity is more among persons living in the remote and poorest areas of Australia (Triffitt,
2015). In most of the cases, multi-morbidity is often combined with hypertension and
osteoarthritis. The patients with multi-morbidity increases pressure on the general practitioner
as they require extensive care and support. Along with aging disability is another issue that
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requires extensive care. People with disability face problem in accessing health care services.
Disability is related to chronic problems and requires more care to be taken (WHO, 2019).
Diseases like cardiovascular disease, neurological conditions, and musculoskeletal disorder
are the major causes of the non-fatal burden of disease in the country. The health care needs
of the disabled persons are such that they need coordination of social support and medical
services. The main issue with the Australian health care system in responding to the needs of
the aged population is their avoidance of unnecessary admission and long stay.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned issues could be solved by providing better health care facilities. The
existing disparities could be ended by fulfilling the specific needs of each group. The state
can take the necessary steps in ending the prevailing disparities. More state-owned health
care centers should be established so that the population with lower income can derive benefit
from them. The health care staff should be trained well to deal with the patients.
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References
AIHW. (2018). Older Australia at a glance, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people -
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/older-people/older-australia-at-a-glance/contents/
diverse-groups-of-older-australians/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people
Carnevale, A. (2012). Healthcare (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University,
Georgetown Public Poicy Institute, Center on Education and the Workforce.
Dalton-Brown, S. (2016). Healthcare in Australia. Cambridge Quarterly Of Healthcare
Ethics, 25(03), 414-420. doi: 10.1017/s0963180116000062
Godding, R. (2014). The persistent challenge of inequality in Australia's health. Retrieved
from https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2014/201/8/persistent-challenge-inequality-
australias-health
Guest, M., Kable, A., Boggess, M., & Friedewald, M. (2014). Nurses’ sharps, including
needlestick, injuries in public and private healthcare facilities in New South Wales,
Australia. Healthcare Infection, 19(2), 65-75. doi: 10.1071/hi13044
Moxey, A., McEvoy, M., Bowe, S., & Attia, J. (2010). Spirituality, religion, social support
and health among older Australian adults. Australasian Journal On Ageing, 30(2), 82-88.
doi: 10.1111/j.1741-6612.2010.00453.x
Temple, J., & Williams, R. (2018). Multiple health conditions and barriers to healthcare
among older Australians: prevalence, reasons and types of barriers. Australian Journal Of
Primary Health, 24(1), 82. doi: 10.1071/py17038
Triffitt, M. (2015). The Consequences of Inequality for Public Policy in Australia. Australian
Economic Review, 48(1), 76-82. doi: 10.1111/1467-8462.12095
WHO. (2019). WHO | Australia’s disturbing health disparities set Aboriginals apart.
Retrieved from https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/4/08-020408/en/
Zhao, Y., You, J., Wright, J., Guthridge, S., & Lee, A. (2013). Health inequity in the
Northern Territory, Australia.
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