Diabetes Health Issues and Strategies for Indigenous Australians

This report examines the critical issue of diabetes health within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in Australia. It begins with an introduction highlighting the prevalence of diabetes in these communities and emphasizes the role of health professionals, such as nurses and doctors, in addressing the issue. The report explores cultural barriers that hinder healthcare access for Indigenous Australians, emphasizing the impact of these barriers on health outcomes. It then details current strategies implemented by the Australian government, including the Australian National Diabetes Strategy 2016-2020, and its goals to prevent and manage diabetes. Finally, the report proposes new strategies, such as awareness campaigns and educational programs, to improve diabetes management and health outcomes within these communities. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, reinforcing the importance of addressing diabetes within this population and emphasizing the need for tailored interventions.

DIABETES HEALTH ISSUE
IN ABORIGINAL AND
TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER
AUSTRALIANS

Table of contents
■ Introduction
■ Role of health professional in addressing diabetes health issue with Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Australians
■ One barrier to health care access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
affected by Diabetes
■ Current strategies addressing Diabetes issue
■ New strategies that can address health issue within Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Australians population
■ Conclusion
■ References

Introduction
■ Diabetes is one of the fastest growing disease in Australian.
■ Most of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people suffer from this disease
(Campbell & et.al. 2018).
■ This presentation will lay emphasis on role of health professions in addressing
diabetes issue, one barrier to health care access for Aboriginal people, Current
strategies for addressing Diabetes issue and new strategy that can be used to
address this issue.

Role of health professional in addressing
diabetes health issue with Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Australians
■ Health professionals play a vital role in addressing diabetes within Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people.
■ Health professionals such as nurses and doctors need to initiate and sustain contact with
Aboriginal people within in their locality or at workplace (Hill & et.al. 2017).
■ This will help the health care professionals to understand their needs, barriers faced by
them and will also help them to significantly address all the social and health care issues
faced by them. It will also help the indigenous people to understand the health care issues
that can be faced by them, ways they can cure their diabetes and different ways in which
they can access health care services (West & et.al. 2017).
■ Healthcare professionals can help these people to understand various strategies made by
government for them through which they can handle and cure their diabetes and the can
also get to know different measures that they should follow so that they can control their
diabetes either by bringing changes within their lifestyle or eating habits etc.
■ So it can be said that healthcare professionals such as nurses and doctors can provide
health care interventions related to diabetes to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Australians in a beet manner.

One barrier to health care access for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
affected by Diabetes
■ Cultural barrier is one of the main barrier for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
who are suffering from diabetes in terms of health care access (Chamberlain & et.al. 2015).
■ Cultural barriers force inequity in healthcare services for indigenous people. Due to this barrier
these people face lots of difficulties and have negative experience in health care access.
■ These people face racial or ethnic differences whenever they need to access healthcare
services. Cultural barrier is a main barrier as because of this barrier Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Australians lack in cultural and relevant appropriate education due to which they do not
have much knowledge about health care services and ways they can access such services.
■ Diabetes is such a health issue that do not come into knowledge so easily. Additionally, they
also lack in appropriate knowledge related to diabetes and health care services due to which
they face lots of difficulties in access health care services (Titmuss & et.al. 2019).
■ Many Aboriginal people even have no idea about their nearby healthcare services.

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■ No doubt that Australian government have made many strategies for indigenous
people so that they can access these healthcare services.
■ But even though they do not have any about such government strategies as
well.
■ So if one main barrier faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
is their cultural barrier due to which they lack in education, relevant knowledge
which makes it difficult for them to access healthcare services.

Current strategies addressing
Diabetes issue
■ Australian government had conducted a survey on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people and found that diabetes is one of the main health issues which is faced by
them.
■ So on the basis of this survey Australian government had built an "Australian National
Diabetes strategy 2016-2020" (Stewart, Sanson‐Fisher & Eades, 2016).
■ Government had divided Australian into two groups first is Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people and another group is of non-Aboriginal people.
■ From the survey Australian government found that every one individual out of five who
are above 25 years of age have diabetes.
■ In order to prevent diabetes from spreading especially in Aboriginal people Australian
government had decided seven goals to be achieved (Maple-Brown & Chitturi, 2016).

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Seven goals:
■ Goal 1: To prevent type 2 diabetes from developing.
■ Goal 2: To promote early detection and awareness of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in people.
■ Goal 3: To reduce occurrence of diabetes related complications, so that that overall quality of life
of people with diabetes can be improved.
■ Goal 4: To reduce the impact of gestational or pre-existing diabetes in pregnant woman.
■ Goal 5: To reduce the impact of both the type of diabetes i.e. type 1 and type 2 diabetes in
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Vasant & et.al. 2016).
■ Goal 6: To reduce the impact of diabetes in other priority group of people.
■ Goal 7: To strengthen care and prevention through evidence, research and data.

New strategies that can address health issue
within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Australians population
New strategies that can help in addressing diabetes within Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Australians population are:
■ Different kinds of awareness camps can be organised by the health care
professional or Australian government so that awareness regarding diabetes
can be increased especially within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
(Schierhout & et.al. 2016).
– Awareness camps such as seminars, health care camps where free check-
ups will be provided to Aboriginal people. This will increase awareness
regarding diabetes, types of diabetes, risk facts related to it etc.

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■ Another strategy through which diabetes issue within Aboriginal and Torres Strait
people can be addressed is by educating them.
– Various kinds of educational camps can be organised where information
related to diabetes will be provided to Aboriginal people.
– This will help them to build understanding abut this health issue.
■ Government can develop partnership with various local clinics as well (Diouf & et.al.
2016).
– So that they can build communication with Aboriginal people and conduct
monthly health check-ups or within 3 to 6 months.
– So that regular status of improvement can be recorded and on the basis of this
data different measures can be taken.

Conclusion
■ From the above presentation it has been summarised that Diabetes is one of
the fastest growing disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
■ Health care professionals such as nurses and doctors play a vital role in
addressing this issue.
■ It has also been summarised that there are various strategies that has been
built by Australian government that can help in addressing diabetes among
Aboriginal people.

References
Books and Journals
■ Campbell, S., & et.al. (2018). Paths to improving care of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander women following gestational diabetes–CORRIGENDUM. Primary health care research &
development. 19(1). 105-105.
■ Chamberlain, C., & et.al. (2015). The prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus among Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander women in Australia: a systematic review and
meta‐analysis. Diabetes/metabolism research and reviews. 31(3). 234-247.
■ Diouf, I., & et.al. (2016). Trends in maternal and newborn health characteristics and obstetric
interventions among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers in Western Australia from 1986 to
2009. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 56(3). 245-251.
■ Hill, K., & et.al. (2017). Social disparities in the prevalence of diabetes in Australia and in the
development of end stage renal disease due to diabetes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in
Australia and Maori and Pacific Islanders in New Zealand. BMC public health. 17(1). 802.

Continue…
■ Maple-Brown, L., & Chitturi, S. (2016). Optimising diabetes care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander communities. Endocrinology Today. 5(2). 16-22.
■ Schierhout, G., & et.al. (2016). Improvement in delivery of type 2 diabetes services differs by mode of
care: a retrospective longitudinal analysis in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health
Care setting. BMC health services research. 16(1). 560.
■ Stewart, J., Sanson‐Fisher, R., & Eades, S. (2016). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health:
accuracy of patient self‐report of screening for diabetes, high cholesterol and cervical
cancer. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health. 40(S1). S3-S6.
■ Titmuss, A., & et.al. (2019). Emerging diabetes and metabolic conditions among Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander young people. Medical Journal of Australia. 210(3). 111-113.
■ Vasant, B. R., & et.al. (2016). Wide variation in absolute cardiovascular risk assessment in Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people with Type 2 diabetes. Frontiers in public health. 4. 37.
■ West, M., & et.al. (2017). Defining the gap: a systematic review of the difference in rates of diabetes-
related foot complications in aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Australians and non-indigenous
Australians. Journal of foot and ankle research. 10(1). 48.

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