Culture, Cultural Competency, and Indigenous Health: Sociology Report

This sociology report delves into the concepts of culture and cultural competency, emphasizing their significance in healthcare and societal contexts. Part A defines culture as the shared behaviors and norms within human societies, highlighting the importance of cultural competency in effective communication across diverse groups. The report explores the connections between culture and cultural competency, emphasizing the ability to interact respectfully with people from different cultural backgrounds. Part B examines historical factors, specifically the assimilation policies pre-1967, and their impact on the health of Indigenous Australians, attributing poor health outcomes to social elimination, low income, and inadequate healthcare access. The report highlights the government's assimilation policies, which aimed to integrate Indigenous people into non-Indigenous society, and their lasting effects on Indigenous communities. The report concludes by referencing key sources on intercultural interactions and cultural safety.

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Part A
Culture:
Culture can be depicted as the social behaviour and norms developed in the societies of human.
Culture comprises of the beliefs, practices, objects, and different attributes common to the
individuals from society. It is the main concept in anthropology, including a number of
phenomena that are broadcasted by social learning in human societies. The culture of each field
(healthcare, art, education) is different from each other as it relies on the behaviour of people.
There are difficulties in understanding of different culture. This is not only because of the
variance in lifestyles and languages but also to various procedures they determine to
communicate the world and subsequently make their decisions.
Reflection on the connections between culture and cultural competency:
Culture competency depicts as the complex process which includes number of elements such as
knowledge, values, attitudes and skills. Along with that, it can be said that culture competence is
considered as the ability to communicate with people of different cultures. It is the term to be
respectful and receptive to the beliefs and practices of health of diverse population groups
(Taylor & Guerin, 2014).
In the context of the connection between culture and cultural competency, the absence of cultural
competence, which is subjective and dynamic, is simpler to recognize than its quality. Culture
includes language, considerations, correspondences, traditions, racial, ethnic, beliefs, values and
religious. Competence is the ability to within the culture effectively. I have been found that our
culture is taking changes in a slow way and through which, we find innovative techniques of
accomplishing things by our experience to other cultures. Cultural competency has been broken

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down into various terms such as systematic, organizational and clinical cultural competency
(Taylor & Guerin, 2014). In some psychology programs in Australia, the training of culture
competence involves the importance of understanding the proposition of a notion of power, and
the contemplation of how one’s culture influences on their provision of care and the way of
treatment from clients in the healthcare organization.
Part B
Impacted on the health Indigenous Australians due to historical factor pre-1967
The fundamental reasons for deprived aboriginal health can be credited to social elimination, low
income, poor living standards, and improper adequate nutrition. Access to health care services by
indigenous people is usually lesser due to suffering from much worse health in comparison to
Australians. Historically, indigenous people have had less consideration to impact social factor
and the decisions of public policy that influence their health and lives.
Assimilation into non-Indigenous Australia (1937-1960s)
The impact of this historical factor on indigenous Australians was huge for which, defence has
been given in a way to an official policy of “assimilation”, majorly of the comprised race of
aboriginal people. In outcome, it had been expected by indigenous people to become like non-
indigenous Australians. As late as 1953, the Commonwealth Government endorsed the Wards
Employment Ordinance, which developed Aboriginal people wards of the state and discriminates
against them in employment (Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, 2019). The assimilation
policy endured well into the 1960s and was established at a national Native Welfare Conference

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in 1961. Before 1960s Indigenous people were not considered as citizens of Australia but, 1960
were the decade of the major social amendment.

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References
Taylor, K. & Guerin, P. (2014). Intercultural interactions. In Health care and Indigenous
Australians: Cultural safety in practice (2nd ed., pp. 137-151). South Yarra, Victoria:
Palgrave Macmillan.
Taylor, K. & Guerin, P. (2014). Taking a history. In Health care and Indigenous Australians:
Cultural safety in practice (2nd ed., pp. 24-51). South Yarra, Victoria: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Victorian Aboriginal Health Service. (2019). History- PRE 1967. Retrieved from:
https://www.vahs.org.au/history-pre-1967/