Issues Related to Aboriginal Children's Health and Well-being

This report addresses the critical health issues faced by Aboriginal children in Australia, focusing on childhood obesity, diabetes, and access to healthcare. It begins by highlighting the historical context of Aboriginal community-controlled healthcare services and the impact of the Alma-Ata Declaration. The report explores the alarming rise in childhood obesity among Aboriginal children, citing socio-environmental factors such as financial distress, food insecurity, and inadequate housing. It presents data on the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and kidney disorders within this population. The report then examines strategies for addressing childhood obesity, including school-based interventions and multi-level, multi-component interventions. It emphasizes the importance of community involvement and culturally relevant approaches. Finally, the report discusses the crucial role of nurses in meeting the needs of Aboriginal individuals and communities, emphasizing assessment, identification of healthcare dimensions, and implementation of health policies. The report underscores the need for adaptable healthcare practices and advocates for person-centered wellbeing plans to improve health outcomes.

Running head: ISSUES RELATED TO ABORIGINAL CHILDREN
ISSUES RELATED TO ABORIGINAL CHILDREN
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1ISSUES RELATED TO ABORIGINAL CHILDREN
Part A
The World Health Organisation’s Alma-Ata Declaration followed aboriginal
community-controlled healthcare services initiated comprehensive primary health care (PHC)
in Australia in 1978. It was developed in response to poor access to healthcare services and
discriminatory behaviour within the mainstream healthcare sector. The pioneering Aboriginal
community-controlled healthcare services include the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress
that had resulted due to public meetings of the local community people for seeking advice
and actions related to their rights. According to Freeman et al. (2016), there is more than 150
Aboriginal community-controlled healthcare available for the entire population of the
community as per the report of 2016. As per the study of Gupta et al. (2012), childhood
obesity is a severe public health issue that poses health challenges in Australia. The disorder
is more significant among the Aboriginal children because of the gap in the weight status
between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups, which is broadening over time. This
poses a serious threat of metabolic disorders at later stages of life. Klish (2007) opined that
obesity is the second contributor that causes a gap in the health status of the two groups,
which is more prevalent among people residing in non-remote settings that comprise 81% of
the entire Aboriginal population in Australia. Various complex socio-environmental factors
such as financial distress, food insecurity, substandard living condition, inadequate housing
facilities, urbanisation and lack of adequate healthcare services play a key role in the
development of obesity among the children. According to the Data from the Western
Australian Children’s Diabetes Database, it was found that the diagnosis rate of diabetes type
2 among Aboriginal children was 18 times more as compared to non-Aboriginal children
(AIHW, 2017). In addition to this, another study based on the New South Wales Population
indicated that the target population has a higher risk of acquiring kidney disorders in case
they have excess weight or obesity. Xu & Xue (2016) opined that childhood obesity involves

2ISSUES RELATED TO ABORIGINAL CHILDREN
insulin resistance, hypertension. Liver disease, hyperlipidaemia, and cause reproductive
complications among adults.
Part B
Marks, Barnett and Allender (2018) opined that childhood obesity is associated with
multiple chronic disorders, and the trend is increasing in a dramatic manner among the
Aboriginal children in recent times. Thus, it is exceedingly important to address the
contemporary health issue; approaches need to develop related to health promotion and
evaluation. One of the strategies is school-based childhood obesity prevention efforts that
involve modification of the physical activity and dietary behaviour of the children (Sherriff et
al. 2019). As per the evidence, it was found that the effectiveness of such strategies is mixed
and contextually relevant in the Aboriginal community. One of the critical aspects of the
success of such intervention is the readiness to change based on the awareness level of the
community. According to Gittelsohn et al. (2018), multi-level multi-component (MLMC)
intervention is being tested for addressing the issue of childhood obesity. These are found to
be more effective than school-based intervention as they involve reaching the community as
well as their caregivers in diverse contemplating settings with policy and practice. This is
likely to have a profound impact on the indigenous children in terms of behaviour,
environmental change, and the issue itself. The intervention such as B’more Healthy
Communities for Kids, Health and Local Community trials, and Children’s Healthy Living
were found to be effective among the indigenous society because they focused on multiple
levels of socioeconomic issues such as food and physical environment in order to prevent
childhood obesity. Another study by Kagie et al. (2019) stated that multi-component nutrition
intervention is useful in promoting healthy dietary behaviour among indigenous
communities, especially among children and adolescents. This involves the promotion of
awareness about the nutritional approach, especially keeping in mind the indigenous

3ISSUES RELATED TO ABORIGINAL CHILDREN
community in Australia. The development of general guidelines related to food content
encompasses teaching the children about the best practice and bridging the knowledge gap in
terms of delivery of nutrition education to the vulnerable population can be helpful in
reducing the prevalence of obesity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
Part C
The role of nurses in meeting the needs of both individuals and communities is critical in
nature. This is applicable in both local and global contexts that can be promoted by
collaboration and support of the stakeholders, community group, multidisciplinary health
team and private volunteer organisations. According to World Health Organization (2017),
the nurses offer healthcare services and thus, play a vital role in prevention of illness and
disease, disability, promotion of health promotion and management of care as well as
conducting follow-up in various kinds of setting. These roles demonstrate that healthcare
professionals are responsible for the promotion and safeguarding the health of the population
through the implementation of knowledge obtained from nursing, health and social services.
According to the opinion of Foster et al. (2018), the role of nursing is conducted through
critical elements of practice, such as:
 Assessment of the needs of the population
 Identification of multiple dimensions of healthcare aspect in the communities
 Offering solutions for addressing the physical, emotional, social and environmental
aspects of illnesses, childhood obesity
 Effective implementation of health policies and plan
 Utilisation of outcome for further research that has a direct or indirect on the care
delivery process

4ISSUES RELATED TO ABORIGINAL CHILDREN
The aboriginal community in Australia is dynamic in nature and suffer from various kinds
of disadvantages. Therefore, the nurses need to adapt modified contexts that will enable
equitable access to healthcare service and eliminating any discriminatory actions that affect
the provision of quality care to the population. According to Murray-Parahi et al. (2018), the
application of the clinical skills and ability of critical thinking can be made for analysis of
various driving factors of childhood obesity-related to complex situations thus, advocating
person-centred and wellbeing plan based on the current scenario of the family. The use of a
multi-dimension approach that involves child, family member, and community is one of the
most essential and effective forms of interventional strategies that can be applied in order to
reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity among the Aboriginal children in Australia.

5ISSUES RELATED TO ABORIGINAL CHILDREN
References
AIHW. (2017). A picture of overweight and obesity in
Australia https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/45f6ecc6-0caf-4af4-9ffc-
a44c885b33d2/aihw-phe-216.pdf.aspx?inline=true
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