Assessment 3: Health Inequity and Indigenous Australians Report

This report addresses health inequities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, with a specific focus on childhood obesity. The report identifies education and socio-economic status as key drivers of this disparity, noting the impact of poor education on dietary choices and the limited access to healthy foods due to lower economic conditions among Indigenous communities. It further explores a family-centered primary health care intervention, emphasizing nutritional management and its positive impact on reducing inequity. The report highlights the importance of cultural knowledge and sensitivity in healthcare delivery, citing language barriers and cultural insensitivity as impediments to accessing primary health care services, using the example of obesity to illustrate these challenges. The report concludes by advocating for culturally competent healthcare to improve health outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

Health and Society
Assessment 3
Extended ResponseTemplate
Using you health issue from assessment item 2:
Answer all of the three questions below based upon this one health issue.
Each extended response should be approximately 500 words in length each.
The reference list for all three extended response should be provided under the references heading
of this template.

Question 1
Discuss two different reasons for inequity between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous
Australians in relation to your identified health issue.
In Australia, the problem of obesity is a serious area of concern and the
prevalence rate of this disease is very high among the Indigenous people while
comparing with the non-Indigenous people of the country. In this section, the
problem of childhood obesity among the Indigenous people in compared to the
non-Indigenous Australians will be discussed.
In Australia, the trend of obesity is enhancing day by day and the non-Indigenous
children are mostly affected by this growing problem. As a result, there is a
negative impact on the health of the non- Indigenous people in terms of quality of
life, life expectancy. Childhood is one of the critical stages of life where adequate
development with proper nutritional foods is required for a healthy life. The
Indigenous children are one of the major contributors to the overall obesity burden
of the country and they experience higher mortality and morbidity rate than that of
the non-Indigenous Australians. In 2012-13, almost one-third of the Indigenous
children population within the age group of 2-14 years were affected by obesity. In
the case of the children of the 15 years or above, almost 66% of children have the
problem of obesity (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2019). The main
reason for such high prevalence among the Indigenous population of Australia is
associated mainly with the level of education and poor socio-economic status of
the Indigenous people of Australia. Diet and individual healthy behavior of people
are associated with the problem of obesity. It is observed that the lack of proper
education regarding the importance of a healthy diet is one of the key reason for
the high prevalence rate among Indigenous Australians. It is quite evident that the
level of proper education regarding healthy behavior and obesity is high among the
non-Indigenous Australians than that of the Indigenous Australians. In addition to
this, poor housing is also associated with this poor behavior of the people. It is
observed that people generally attract to those products that are endorsed through
advertisement and those products are unhealthy in nature. Due to lack of proper
education, the Indigenous people consume those products as they are cheap,
unhealthy. The lower socio-economic status of the Indigenous people than that of
the non-Indigenous people is another reason for inequality among the two groups.
Although the socio-economic condition can affect both Indigenous and non-
Indigenous people, still the Indigenous people are the most disadvantageous
group (Thurber et al. 2018). Due to lower economic condition, Indigenous people
cannot afford a healthy diet such as vegetable and fruits in their daily diet. In
addition to this, it is observed that, the Indigenous people of Australia intake more
amount of sweetened beverages which promotes the risks of obesity among the
Indigenous people of Australia. In addition to this, the high unemployment rate
among Indigenous in comparison with the non-Indigenous also contributes to the
lower-economic condition of Indigenous people of Australia (Australian Institute of
Health and Welfare 2019). Due to the poor economic condition of those people,
they have severe insecurity regarding the availability of foods and this food
insecurity also enhances the risks of obesity and overweight among the

Indigenous people in compared to the non-Indigenous Australians (Thurber et al.
2018) .
Therefore, it can be concluded that the level of education and lower socio-
economic status of the Indigenous people are the major causes of inequality
between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

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.
Primary health care services for the Indigenous population is very crucial as they
are in the disadvantageous sides than that of the non-Indigenous Australians. In
recent times, it is observed that the family centered approach is greatly used by
the health care professionals so in order to manage the problems of obesity
among Indigenous Australians.
The approach of family centered care includes educational programs for family
members, training, employment, and this approach gained immense popularity. By
enhancing the participation of family members in the care plan of obesity of
children, the government of Australia emphasizes on the care process so that the
family members of the children can take care about their children in a proper
manner. As part of this, the primary health care providers also focus on the
nutritional management of obesity as an unhealthy diet is one of the major cases
of childhood obesity. By managing the nutritional status of the children, the health
care professionals suggest a healthy diet at a low cost (Thurber, Boxall & Partel
2014). This nutritional intervention used for the Indigenous people will allow the
children to have a healthy diet and this will help them to manage their weight. The
patient centered approach in the management of obesity of Indigenous people will
help the family of the obese child to take care of their child in a good manner. In
addition to this, the practice of a healthy diet in the Indigenous family will also allow
their children to have a healthy diet practice. According to the study of Kolahdooz
et al. (2014), it is observed that the nutritional intervention will provide benefit to
the children and to their family members as well. In another study by McCalman et
al. ( 2017), it is also reported that, in order to implement the nutritional
interventions among the Indigenous community, engagement of family specifically
parents is absolutely required and this study supported the family centered
approach in the management of this problem. The study result showed that
nutritional intervention is one of the most effective strategies for preventing obesity
among the Indigenous people of Australia. According to the study of Laws et al.
(2014), a healthy family can promote a healthy practice among their children and
that will help in reducing the incidents of obesity among disadvantageous groups
of society. The study concluded that a family centered approach in the
management of obesity is very effective in the early stage of development.
However, this study also mentioned that there are needs for better health facilities
for those Indigenous people in Australia. In another study by, Kohladooz et al.
( 2014), it was again reported that the use of healthy diet practice among the
socially disadvantageous people of the society had improved their quality of life
and simultaneously helped in the improvement of the obese condition.
Hence it can be concluded that the family centered approach along with nutritional
intervention may improve the condition of Indigenous people in Australia.

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.
During the delivery of care to the Indigenous people, the issue of cultural
knowledge and sensitivity plays a huge role. In such cases, culturally competent
health care service providers are required as they have adequate knowledge and
principles regarding multicultural values and principles.
The Indigenous Australians have a different set of values and principles regarding
any disease and physiological problems. In addition to this, Indigenous people
generally speak in their own language and the health care providers may face
difficulties in understanding that particular language, as a result, the Indigenous
people may have less amount of care than that of the non-Indigenous people of
Australia. Different cultures of the Indigenous people of Australia affects the
concepts of diseases, symptoms of diseases and the health-seeking behavior of
those people. In addition to this, it is reported that, the due to language barrier, the
Indigenous people may feel offended as the health care professionals cannot

understand their language and sometimes, it may happen that, the Indigenous
people refuse to take care facilities from the culturally incompetent health care
providers (Antonio, Chung-Do & Braun 2015). In some cases, it may happen that
the health care providers show fewer respects and care to the Indigenous people.
Such behavior also can impact the care process of Indigenous people. Moreover,
the lack of cultural knowledge among the care providers also creates a mentality of
racial discrimination and colonial discrimination among the care providers and that
further obstruct the care process of Indigenous people of Australia. The study of Li
(2017), showed that, the culturally competent health care providers are capable of
providing more appropriate care to the Indigenous people as they are aware of the
importance of cultural competency in the care delivery to the Indigenous people
and as a result those culturally competent health care providers are capable of
providing care free from disparities. A culturally competent health care providers
will not promote any culturally incompetent health care behaviors and they always
take initiatives for resolving this issue of cultural barriers in order to provide better
care to the Indigenous people. Therefore, adequate cultural knowledge among the
health care professionals will reduce the discrimination and disparities in the health
care deliveries as being cultural competent the health care professionals will
understand the value and beliefs of the Indigenous people during delivery of care.
In addition to this, the Indigenous people will also feel comfortable when receiving
care from the health care professionals as Indigenous people can express their
concerns without any hesitations that result in more active participation of
Indigenous people and that will cause reduced disparities in care (Antonio, Chung-
Do & Braun 2015, p.151).
Hence, it can be concluded that the issue of cultural incompetency is greatly
impacting the health care delivery and in order to provide better care to the
Indigenous people culturally competent environment is required.

References
Antonio, M.C., Chung-Do, J.J. & Braun, K.L. 2015, ‘Systematic review of interventions focusing on
Indigenous pre-adolescent and adolescent healthy lifestyle changes’, AlterNative: An
International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, vol. 11, no. 2, pp.147-163.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2019, Data sources for monitoring overweight and obesity
in Australia. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Viewed on-05/05/19, Retrieved from-
https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/248db8ea-1d6e-46f0-a6bd-88889e4a53bf/aihw-phe-
244.pdf.aspx?inline=true
Kolahdooz, F., Pakseresht, M., Mead, E., Beck, L., Corriveau, A. & Sharma, S. 2014, ‘ Impact of the
Healthy Foods North nutrition intervention program on Inuit and Inuvialuit food consumption and
preparation methods in Canadian Arctic communities’, Nutrition journal, vol. 13, no. 1, p.68.
Laws, R., Campbell, K.J., Van Der Pligt, P., Russell, G., Ball, K., Lynch, J., Crawford, D., Taylor, R.,
Askew, D. & Denney-Wilson, E. 2014, ‘The impact of interventions to prevent obesity or improve
obesity related behaviours in children (0–5 years) from socioeconomically disadvantaged and/or
indigenous families: a systematic review’, BMC public health, Vol. 14, no. 1, p.779.

Li, J.L. 2017, ‘Cultural barriers lead to inequitable healthcare access for aboriginal Australians and
Torres Strait Islanders’, Chinese Nursing Research, Vol. 4, no.4, pp.207-210.
McCalman, J., Heyeres, M., Campbell, S., Bainbridge, R., Chamberlain, C., Strobel, N. & Ruben, A.
2017, Family-centred interventions by primary healthcare services for Indigenous early childhood
wellbeing in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States: a systematic scoping
review, BMC pregnancy and childbirth, Vol. 17,no.1, p.71.
Thurber, K., Boxall, A.M., & ;Partel, K. 2014, Overweight and obesity among Indigenous children:
individual and social determinants. Deeble Institute. Retrieved from-
https://ahha.asn.au/system/files/docs/publications/deeble_issue_brief_no_3_overweight_&_ob
esity_among_indigenous_children.pdf
Thurber, K.A., Joshy, G., Korda, R., Eades, S.J., Wade, V., Bambrick, H., Liu, B. & Banks, E. 2018,
‘Obesity and its association with sociodemographic factors, health behaviours and health status
among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal adults in New South Wales, Australia’, J Epidemiol
Community Health, Vol. 72, no.6, pp.491-498.