Analysis of Health Disparities and Racism in Aboriginal Australians

This assignment explores the significant health disparities between Aboriginal and non-Indigenous Australians, focusing on key contributing factors such as social determinants (education, income, employment, housing), lifestyle choices, and access to quality healthcare facilities. It examines how these factors are interconnected and influence health outcomes. The assignment also delves into the impact of racism as a major determinant of health and a driver of health inequalities, analyzing its effects on mental health and well-being. It emphasizes the importance of addressing racism to achieve positive health outcomes and the role of governmental authorities and health organizations in mitigating its impact. The assignment includes references to relevant research and studies supporting the analysis.

Running head: ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS
ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS
Response to question 1:
Some of the major factors contributing to disparity in health outcomes between an
aboriginal and non-indigenous Australians include the social determinants, the risk factors
related to health and access to proper health facilities. Social determinants include- the education
level, the income level, the employment level and the quality of housing that is available to the
aboriginal Australians (D'Antoine & Bower, 2019). The risk factors related to health includes-
the poor lifestyle of the aboriginals such as they have less physical movements, they smoke a lot
and also suffer from higher blood pressure. Moreover access to poor health facilities includes-
their ability access high quality health services as compared to non-indigenous ones (McNamara
et al., 2018). The above mentioned factors are also interrelated because the level of education,
income, employment will also determine their lifestyle and also their accessibility to high quality
of health care services.

2ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS
Response to question 2:
Racism is often considered as the main determinant of health and also the driver of health
inequalities. Even in today’s world racism in both intentional and unintentional ways affects the
wellbeing of the society. In fact it is one of the major reasons why most countries are unable to
become a healthy as a whole (Apha.org, 2020). This is so because the race of the people is still
considered as important criteria of how people are valued, viewed and treated in the society. The
valuation of the people in accordance to the race has a negative impact on the mental health of
the individuals in majority of the cases. Majority of the individuals who face derogatory
comments on their race, have the possibility of facing anxiety and panic with the detrimental
impact of the same (Paradies et al., 2015). As a result, it massively affects the mental stability of
the individuals. On the other hand, the efficient reduction of the racism from the part of the
governmental authorities contribute to the development of the good health of the individuals. As
a result, the success of the health organizations in achieving positive health outcomes is
primarily reliant on their ability in nullifying the scope of racism. As the racism directly affects
the mental health of the individuals, Willie (2016), claimed that effects of racism gets immensely
amplified in the health setting in comparison of other societal settings.

3ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS
References (For Question 1):
D'Antoine, H., & Bower, C. (2019). Folate Status and Neural Tube Defects in Aboriginal
Australians: the Success of Mandatory Fortification in Reducing a Health
Disparity. Current developments in nutrition, 3(8), nzz071.
McNamara, B. J., Banks, E., Gubhaju, L., Joshy, G., Williamson, A., Raphael, B., & Eades, S.
(2018). Factors relating to high psychological distress in Indigenous Australians and their
contribution to Indigenous–non‐Indigenous disparities. Australian and New Zealand
journal of public health, 42(2), 145-152.

4ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS
References (For Question 2):
Apha.org. (2020). The Impact of Racism on the Health and Well-Being of the Nation. Retrieved
24 March 2020, from https://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/webinars/racism-and-
health
Paradies, Y., Ben, J., Denson, N., Elias, A., Priest, N., Pieterse, A., ... & Gee, G. (2015). Racism
as a determinant of health: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS one, 10(9).
Willie, C. V. (2016). Mental health, racism and sexism. Routledge.