Health and Society: Addressing Indigenous Health Inequity in Australia

This report addresses health inequity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, focusing on childhood obesity as a key health issue. The report explores two primary reasons for this inequity: disparities in education and unequal government service allocations, particularly in healthcare access. It then examines a primary healthcare intervention by the World Health Organization (WHO), highlighting its impact on improving health outcomes and reducing disparities through collaboration with the Australian government. Finally, the report discusses how cultural knowledge and sensitivity in healthcare can affect access to primary healthcare services, using cultural beliefs and practices related to food and healthcare interactions as examples. The report emphasizes the importance of culturally appropriate healthcare to improve access and outcomes for Indigenous Australians, and provides a strong evidence base to support the arguments.

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Assessment 3
Extended ResponseTemplate
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Question 1

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Discuss two different reasons for inequity between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous
Australians in relation to your identified health issue.
Australia is recognized as a country which contains two significant diversities of
communities. In as much as there exist many ethnic groups, the groups are categorized into
either indigenous or non-indigenous Australians. The Indigenous Australians include the
Aboriginal communities which had settled in Australia even before the era of British
colonization. However, during the colonial period in Australia, many settlers came and
claimed land making them fall under the category of non-indigenous Australians
(McNamara et al. 2018, 149). There is a considerable gap that exists between indigenous
and non-indigenous Australians. The difference is measured under various indices
including but not limited to life expectancy, mortality, and morbidity of people of different
age limits. The indigenous groups in Australia are known to cope with poor health
conditions due to the very many factors compared to non-indigenous Australians (Möller et
al. 2015, 145e). The discussion under the question will include the causes of inequity
between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australians and how the disparities have led to
a discrepancy in the levels of childhood obesity in the two categories of citizens.
Education: - Education is one of the areas in which inequity between the indigenous
and the non-indigenous Australians have been subjected. The relationship between the
indigenous Australians and the Australian government has been understood to be in an
entangled form. For that reason, the Australian government did not take its time to support
aspiring students from the communities engulfed under the veil of indigenous Australians.
The registration of the children from this group to school was reported to stand at a figure
that ranged between 70% and 85% depending on the years (Jamieson et al. 2016, 1376).
However, the registration of the non-indigenous citizens was said to stand at 100% with a

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possible fall taking it to not less than 95%. Education profoundly influences the health
status of citizens through choices and behavior. Without sufficient knowledge, the parents
of children fail to understand some of the dietary requirements for the prevention of obese
conditions. Parents also tend to lack better places of employment due to lack of knowledge
and expertise. The unemployment situation does not allow them to offer the best for their
son s and daughters. Schools also include gaming activities which enhance the fitness of
body thus preventing cases of obesity.
Government Service Allocations: - The health conditions experienced in the
residential areas occupied by indigenous Australians is deplorable. It is for that reason that
the health status in entire Australia is regarded as third world healthcare in a first world
country. Islands characterize the geographical locations of the indigenous citizens. The
weak relationship between them and the government is also depriving them of getting
allocations in terms of healthcare services (Hyde et al. 2018). Therefore, the effect of this
situation is the lack of enough preventive medicines to help curb the highly spreading
obese conditions. Their lack of access to modern medication increases the use of traditional
drugs which may not have positive results in the prevention of their overweight diseases.
The geographical location is also faced with adverse poverty conditions. Therefore, they do
not care about what they eat as long as they can satisfy their hungry needs.

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Question 2
Provide one example of a Primary Health Care intervention that is addressing this health issue for
Indigenous Australians. Explain the impact this intervention is having on reducing inequity.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been of much importance to the
restoration and improvement of the health status of the indigenous Australians. In their
definition of health, the World Health Organization (WHO) does not only base their
argument on the absence of illnesses. However, they recognize the fact that a healthy
situation includes the comfort of both the physical body, the mind and the social wellbeing
of an individual or a group of people (Yilmaz et al. 2017, 159). It is this definition that is
used as a pillar and guidance to the operations of the organization. With adherence to their
interpretation of health and goals to the subjects, the World Health Organization has
brought very many strategies that have been used to change the health status of the native
Australians. The approaches range from the connection of the group to their government to
direct offering of relevant services by the organization to the aboriginal Australians.
The World Health Organization declared that the improvement of the health status
of the indigenous Australians (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders) was a supremacy that
needed to be satisfied first. The organization approached the Australian government to
discuss the social determinants of health that could be limiting factors the health of the
groups under question. Some of the significant determinants realized was inclusive of
education, the empowerment of women and youths, employment opportunities and poverty
(Tucker et al. 2015, 65). To achieve better health status of the indigenous Australians, both
the government and the World Health Organization had to come together and seal a deal on
how they will perform their duty of improving health and sustaining life. The collaboration
of the Australian government and the World Health Organization has brought significant

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impacts on the health status of the indigenous group.
The first impact of the collaboration was the renewal of recognition of the
indigenous group as citizens of Australia. As earlier discussed, one of the causes of
disparity in the health conditions of Australians is biased allocation of government
resources. The biased distribution emanates from the poor relationship that the Australian
government has had with the indigenous Australians. However, the intervention of the
World Health Organization has helped the group to be recognized (Browne et al. 2016,
544). Based on the recognition, the government is reported to have started giving aid in the
form of medical care, incentives and any other type of help that would improve the life of a
human being. The government in recent years was busy building learning institutions and
health facilities. The motive has increased the number of elites who get good jobs and can
sustain their families.
The ‘primitivism’ of the indigenous Australians always make them follow most of
their traditional ways of treating diseases even in the present day world. Through reach-
outs, the natives have been enlightened on the need for proper diets which will prevent the
chances of attracting obese conditions. Officials of the World Health Organization have
taken much of their time to acknowledge the residents on the importance of physical fitness
with regards to childhood obesity. Both the government and the organization have been at
the forefront of the fight against poverty (Betancourt et al. 2016, 246). They have offered
relief food and services to the financially disadvantaged families, and most importantly,
they have created initiatives aimed at performing check-ups and reducing the cost of
medications. The efforts have thus become responsible for the declining rate of childhood
obesity among indigenous Australians.

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Question 3
Discuss how cultural knowledge and sensitivity in health care may affect access Primary Health
Care services. Provide one example based on your chosen health issue.
The administration of primary healthcare needs a critical level of engagement.
Primary healthcare includes but not limited to holistic and patient-centered care. These
forms of care are significant for a patient especially the obese patients as they can help the
victims heal physically, mentally and social even in the least cases of interaction of the
medicines. Although adherence to culture is another factor that has been viewed to be a
hindrance to the effective administration, when primary caregivers observe the patients’
cultural beliefs, their conditions could improve substantially due to lack of disturbance.
The cultural obstacles to the effective administration of primary care can be categorized
into two major groups; the minor and the major ones (Clifford et al. 2015, 92). Minor ones
can be avoided and include the differences in language which may make the caregiver and
the patient not to understand each other. However, significant obstacles need critical
adherence.
People who are admitted to hospitals as patients may be adherents of different
religions and denominations. Therefore, each one of them may be following the dos, and
the don’ts depending on their faiths. Forms of primary care of obese patients include the
interaction between caregivers and patients. The interaction may involve the availability of
physicians at any time of patients’ need. Some beliefs, based on either religion or societal
cultures of the patients may hinder primary care (Gould et al. 2017, 114). For example,
talking about obesity, some people based on their religion, believe that anybody from a
different gender should not be involved in their treatment. There is a deficit of physicians
in every country of the world and to add, the physicians are posted in different areas in

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serve. Anybody can be subjected to obese conditions and if a man patient refuses that a
lady doctor cannot give them primary care, then in the absence of a doctor who is a man
will subject the patient to the adverse effects of his situation.
Another culture involves the type of food that adherents should or should not take.
One major cause of obesity is known to be the type of food that people make. Foods which
contain a lot of fat and cholesterol are not ideal for obese patients. Therefore, in the
treatment of obesity, some patients may be advised to take some form of meals while
others restricted from taking special meals (Sanders et al. 2015, 718). The staunchness of a
person is adhering to the cultural and religious beliefs will make them ignore the doctors’
prescriptions and pieces of advice. Some consequences come by failure to take the
prescribed medication. The general effects combined would be the deterioration of the
health status of a person based on his/her current sickness. If a patient is advised to stop
eating meat for some time while their culture requires them to eat meat after every two
days, then if they resolve to eat meat, their obese conditions would worsen. Other people
do not allow physicians to touch their body as they recognize themselves as ‘unclean.’ The
belief thus bars the physicians from feeling the conditions of the body which translates to
wrong or presumed results (Azzopardi et al. 2017, 770). Therefore, people should be
enlightened about their conditions concerning culture and medication and the benefits of
primary care.
Reference List

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