3804NRS Community Nursing: Social Determinants of Health in Mount Isa

This essay provides a comprehensive assessment of primary healthcare in Mount Isa, Australia, focusing on social determinants of health and their impact on vulnerable populations, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It analyzes data related to education, employment in mining industries, and population demographics to highlight healthcare disparities. The essay discusses the role of community nurses in bridging the gap between healthcare services and the community, emphasizing the importance of cultural sensitivity and engagement with Aboriginal Health Workers. Furthermore, it explores health promotion planning and the government's role in promoting health equity through strategic frameworks and multidisciplinary approaches. The conclusion underscores the need for a holistic approach to primary healthcare that considers social, economic, and environmental factors to improve health outcomes for all residents of Mount Isa.

Running head: PRIMARY HEALTHCARE IN AUSTRALIA IN MOUNT ISA
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Authors note:

1PRIMARY HEALTHCARE IN AUSTRALIA IN MOUNT ISA
Executive summary
The following assignment consists of two parts, Part A and Part B. The Part A consists of three
social determinants, by the data taken from Appendix B, in a tabular form. The social determinants
consists of the percentage of Aboriginals and Torres strait Islander people present in Mount Isa in
comparison to the Queensland state and the country. Other social determinant consists of education
and Industrial employment. The Part B consists of detailed discussion on the given social
determinants and its impact on the vulnerable groups. The role of community nurses and
government’s role to promote health with respect to primary health care units has been explained in
depth. Furthermore, in conclusion it has been added that primary healthcare has to be a holistic
approach so that the people from different backgrounds, communities, aboriginal health workers
(AHWs) can come together and spread awareness and better health promotion.

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Table of Contents
Part A.....................................................................................................................................................3
Part B......................................................................................................................................................5
1. Introduction.....................................................................................................................................5
2. Discussion.......................................................................................................................................5
1. Social determinants.....................................................................................................................5
2. Vulnerable group.........................................................................................................................7
3. Engagement and needs assessment.............................................................................................7
4. Health promotion planning.........................................................................................................8
3. Summary and conclusion................................................................................................................9
References............................................................................................................................................10

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Part A
a. Category of data b. Summary and
comparative
statement/measures
c. Inference
statement
1. People (Australian
Census Data, 2016)
The people of Mt Isa have the
maximum amount of population
from the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander, which is 16.6%
in Australia.
By the data it can be
understood the concentration
of the aboriginal people in
Australia has a high
concentration of Aboriginals
and Torres Strait Islander
people. Hence, it can be
inferred that it should be
given a special consideration
as the population from this
community might not have
the accessibility to the
primary healthcare.
2. Highest education
(Australian Census
Data, 2016)
Mount. Isa has 12.7% of the
highest level of education while
in Queensland has 18.3% and in
Australia is 22%.
The degree and diploma
holders of Mount Isa region is
very less as compared to that
in Queensland. The impact of
education is very important
when it comes to the overall
community development.
3. Industry of
Employment
(Australian Census
In case of Industry employment
maximum people work in the
Mining industries may result
in many Occupational health

4PRIMARY HEALTHCARE IN AUSTRALIA IN MOUNT ISA
Data, 2016) mining industries from Mt Isa.
Which includes 27.6% in total
combining the Copper mining
as well the silver and zinc
mining industries.
related diseases.

5PRIMARY HEALTHCARE IN AUSTRALIA IN MOUNT ISA
Part B
1. Introduction
The nursing practice in Australia plays and important as well as a vital role when it
comes to the livelihood of the patients under supervision as well as the people in the
community. Hence, it is important to acknowledge that there is a varied amalgamation of
different population and cultures across Australia and it is also important to understand the
needs of various requirements of services allocated in this country. The primary healthcare
includes the basic needs which involves the essential medications, and it needs the
participation of the community as well as the individuals. The central importance to universal
availability as well as health access has to be understood in this scenario which would result
in reducing inequity (Marmot & Jessica, 2014). In the following paragraphs the social
determinants of health, vulnerability of certain sub groups in the community, engagement
and assessment of the activity as well as the health promotion planning has been described in
details.
2. Discussion
1. Social determinants
The social determinants of health care includes various factors for instance:
Social
determinants
of health
Employment/
Occupational
health
Primary
health care
support
system
Lifestyle
factors
education

6PRIMARY HEALTHCARE IN AUSTRALIA IN MOUNT ISA
 The socio economic factors like education or the levels of education, employment
opportunities, and the employment income.
 The environment the person is exposed to
 Health status, and life style
 Healthcare support system.
The social determinants is not confined to a particular population but different communities,
across Australia which as a whole influence the health conditions of each individual. According
to the World Health Organisation (WHO) social determinants also influence several distribution
of resources, economic conditions and inequities among different groups of communities and
people ("World Health Organisation", 2019). From the given data in Appendix B about mount
Isa, it can be understood that the population percentage among people in Mount Isa contributes to
16.6% aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as explained in Part A table. According to
report provided by Wang and Hoy (2013), the investigation form 1996 to 2010, points out to the
fact that Australian aboriginals are exposed to various cardiovascular deaths and also to kidney as
well as renal diseases. The indigenous people of Australia especially those who stay in remote
areas are susceptible to the higher mortality risk. The role of education is an inevitable factor
when we consider the social determinants of health among the people of this country. The
education not only has the potential to influence the health development but also it is an
important factor for reducing the social inequities (Cohen & Syme, 2013). From the above
discussion in Part A it can be understood that education not only increases the chances of
income and better employment but can also affect the livelihood and economic development of
the country The education can be directly related with the employment of the population gradient
in Mt. Isa. From the data in the table it could be understood that the most of the population that is
26.6 % are engaged in the industrial mining industries in comparison to 0.1% in Queensland and
Australia. By this it could be understood that the maximum population of Mt. Isa are exposed to

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the occupational health hazards than to the healthcare or the education employment ( Ravesteijn,
Kippersluis & Doorslaer, E., 2013). Mining has a potential bio toxic effect on the workers and
due to the accumulation of the toxic heavy metals.
2. Vulnerable group
The population of Australia is culturally dynamic and there are various linguistic as well as
the cultural differences. Hence, as a practicing nurse it is imperative to understand the different
stratified layers of cultures and people across the Australian continent. It is clear by the
discussion above that there are people present in the rural population in Australia where
Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders may be still devoid of the basic primary healthcare.
There is a need to understand the cultural sensitivity as well cultural safety by the health
practitioners (Freeman et al., 2014).
3. Engagement and needs assessment
As per the discussion in Part A it could be understood that there are certain social
determinants like the education, concentration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples in Mount Isa and their industrial occupation it could be understood that, the basic
primary healthcare might not be accessible to these people. There is a drastic rate of decline
there population and they are more vulnerable to certain diseases. The health system in
Australia is a complex system comprising of different which involves interaction of
governmental, public as well as non-governmental organisation. The nurse acts as a mediator
between the general population and the practicing physicians. The people from different
professional backgrounds should engage and contribute towards allied health services. The
involvement of Aboriginal Health Workers (AHW) and Health Workforce Australia along
with GPs and regional nurses has shown alignment with WHO PHU principles. Hence, a
holistic approach aligned with Strategic framework by the Australian Government would lead
to improved interactive healthcare measures and reduced inequity. The entire ambition of

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primary healthcare includes the need to reduce and remove the social inequities among
people across groups and communities, so that is everyone able to access the primary
healthcare facilities. In this scenario, the involvement of General Practitioner or GP and
regional nurse practitioner is an important longitudinal link between patients or consumers
and their accessibility to healthcare units. Patient centred medical homes or PCMH has been
successful in many reports and this multidisciplinary care unit can reduce the cost of hospital
expenditures as well it may reduce quick and adept response to consumers.
4. Health promotion planning
The health promotion in Australia is an important prospective when it comes
involvement to the maintaining standards of Primary healthcare in Australia (Bennett, 2013).
The involvement of General Practitioners, nurses and people from different communities
should come together. Equity and Equality are two different contexts in reference to the
healthcare systems in Australia (Kelaher et al.,2014).Incorporation of Aboriginal Health
workers, GPs , nurses, community or regional nurses and anaesthetists within a care team
according to consumer needs will not only ensure proper healthcare but also collaboration
between different sects of people. The problem of inequity does not lie in the healthcare
system but the poor health amongst Indigenous Australians lies in social, educational, cultural
and medical causes. The primary healthcare nurses have specific responsibilities and ethical
responsibilities. There are numerous health promotion policies. Some are initiated by the
Australian Government, the National Strategy Framework Strategy which was initiated on
May 2010 ("Department of Health | National Strategic Framework for Chronic Conditions",
2019). The government’s main aim is to promote health, treatment, prevention of diseases
and early intervention of non communicable diseases like cancer (Fisher et al., 2016). The
types of service includes multidisciplinary professions like nurses who are general practice
nurses or community nurses, midwives and pharmacists. The aboriginal health workers are

9PRIMARY HEALTHCARE IN AUSTRALIA IN MOUNT ISA
incorporated in this type of framework so that they can spread awareness and have the
knowledge of preventable diseases. The median of this framework is to develop the
healthcare facilities among all Australians specially Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander
people. This framework has been developed targeting old, children, parents and people
dwelling in rural circumstances who may not get proper healthcare units. Framework also
enables the Nurses to participate in educational services that will also lead towards
acknowledgement of improved healthcare system in Australia. As our world is progressing
more toward urbanisation as well as globalisation, the sustainable socio-economic growth has
become extremely imperative in these circumstances.
3. Summary and conclusion
From the above discussion it could be concluded that in Part A as discussed the social
determinants of health play an important factor, when it comes to primary health care in
Mount Isa and how these social determinants might influence the concentration of population
belonging to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The education, industrial
employment play an important factor in terms of primary healthcare. The primary healthcare
in Australia is more about holistic healthcare where people from this particular backgrounds
can participate together along with nurse and GPs. Hence, this holistic approach not only is
concerned with health but also mind, body, environment and social economic factors.

10PRIMARY HEALTHCARE IN AUSTRALIA IN MOUNT ISA
References
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Primary health care in Australia, About primary
health care - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. [online] Available at:
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/primary-health-care/primary-health-care-in-australia/
contents/about-primary-health-care [Accessed 23 Feb. 2019].
Bennett, C. C. (2013). Are we there yet? A journey of health reform in Australia. Medical Journal of
Australia, 199(4), 251-255.
Cohen, A. K., & Syme, S. L. (2013). Education: a missed opportunity for public health
intervention. American journal of public health, 103(6), 997-1001.
Department of Health | National Strategic Framework for Chronic Conditions. (2019). Retrieved
from http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/nsfcc
Department of Health and Human Services (2019). Determinants of Health | Working in Health
Promoting Ways.Retrieved from
https://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/wihpw/principles/determinants_of_health
Fisher, M., Baum, F. E., MacDougall, C., Newman, L., & McDermott, D. (2016). To what extent do
Australian health policy documents address social determinants of health and health
equity?. Journal of Social Policy, 45(3), 545-564.
Freeman, T., Edwards, T., Baum, F., Lawless, A., Jolley, G., Javanparast, S., & Francis, T. (2014).
Cultural respect strategies in Australian Aboriginal primary health care services: beyond
education and training of practitioners. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public
Health, 38(4), 355-361.

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Kelaher, M., Sabanovic, H., La Brooy, C., Lock, M., Lusher, D., & Brown, L. (2014). Does more
equitable governance lead to more equitable health care? A case study based on the
implementation of health reform in Aboriginal health Australia. Social Science &
Medicine, 123, 278-286.
Michael Marmot, Jessica J. Allen, (2014). Social Determinants of Health Equity. American Journal
of Public Health, 104(4), 517-519.
Ravesteijn, B., van Kippersluis, H., & van Doorslaer, E. (2013). The contribution of occupation to
health inequality. In Health and inequality (pp. 311-332). Emerald Group Publishing
Limited.
Wang, Z., & Hoy, W. E. (2013). Decreasing rates of natural deaths in a remote Australian Aboriginal
community, 1996–2010. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, 37(4), 365-
370.
World Health Organisation. (2019) About social determinants of health. Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/social_determinants/sdh_definition/en/