Essay on Healthcare Disparities in Australia: Causes and Solutions

This essay provides an analysis of healthcare disparities in Australia, focusing on the factors that contribute to unequal health outcomes among different communities. It highlights the role of social determinants of health, such as access to education, healthcare, and employment, as key drivers of these disparities. The essay also examines the impact of health risk factors like smoking, alcohol consumption, and lifestyle choices on the health status of specific population groups, including indigenous communities. Additionally, it addresses the importance of access to affordable and effective healthcare services in mitigating these disparities. The essay references data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics to support its arguments, emphasizing the need for comprehensive healthcare policies to address these inequalities.

Running head: HEALTHCARE ASSIGNMENT
HEALTH CARE ASSIGNMENT
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Australia is termed as one of the few extremely culturally diverse countries around the
world, in which more than 120 ethnic communities live together (Australian Institute of
Health and Wellness, 2019). These communities are different due to their diverse language,
culture and ethnic background, within which, more than 3% belong to the aboriginal
communities. Australian government has implemented multiple schemes and policies for the
cumulative healthcare for the integrated population groups in the society, however poorer
health outcome has been observed for specific communities (Australian Institute of Health
and Wellness, 2019). This essay would discuss it in detailed.
As per Australian Institute of Health and Wellness or AIHW (2019) more than
400,000 people visit a general practitioner every day, and there are multiple reasons for
poorer health outcomes for specific communities in Australia. As mentioned in the AIHW,
few of the crucial reasons for such decreased health outcome are social determinants, health
risk factors, and access to accurate and appropriate health services. The Australian Bureau of
Statistics (2019) has mentioned in the report that social determinant of health is one of the
leading reason behind the occurrence of 34% gaps in health outcome among the indigenous
and non-indigenous population. As per Markwick et al. (2014), social determinants of health
such as access to education, healthcare, proper food, shelter and employment are critical in
determining the health outcome for Australian population. The discrepancy of education
attainment could be observed from the fact that less than 2% of indigenous population has
achieved higher education. Further, due to these aspects, the rate of deaths in lower
socioeconomic groups has been increased extremely (Australian Institute of Health and
Wellness, 2019).
Another reason for disparity in health outcomes could be observed due to the fact that
health risk factors are also the reason behind the critical health outcomes of few communities
or population group in Australia. As it was seen that majority of the indigenous or

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communities that belong to lower socioeconomic status, or are unable to achieve the social
determinants of health and hence, their health status could be the reason behind their health
outcomes (Australian Institute of Health and Wellness, 2019). They are associated with
smoking and alcohol consumptions as well as it was seen that they are leading sedentary
lifestyle, has increased their improper diet and food habits and hence, this are the reasons due
to which, they suffer from poorer health outcomes. However, in this reason, role of access to
healthcare services could not be eliminated as they are unable to achieve the affordable and
effective healthcare services (Australian Institute of Health and Wellness, 2019). Therefore,
these are the reasons due to which few groups and populations are suffering from critical
health outcomes.

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References
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2019). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Census:
Education. Retrieved from
https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyReleaseDate/
3DBA1B3973A0286ACA258148000D0DB8?OpenDocument
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Australia's health 2016, Chapter 4
Determinants of health - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/australias-health-2016/contents/
determinants
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Australia's health 2018: in brief, All is not
equal - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/australias-health-2018-in-brief/
contents/all-is-not-equal
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Social determinants Overview -
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/behaviours-risk-factors/social-determinants/
overview
Markwick, A., Ansari, Z., Sullivan, M., Parsons, L., & McNeil, J. (2014). Inequalities in the
social determinants of health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: a cross-
sectional population-based study in the Australian state of Victoria. International
journal for equity in health, 13(1), 91.