Inaccessibility to Healthcare and Hospitals: UNCC100 Essay

This essay, written by a student, addresses the critical issue of healthcare inaccessibility faced by indigenous populations, specifically Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, within the Australian healthcare system. The essay highlights the discrepancies in healthcare access, citing lower life expectancies and increased health issues among these groups compared to the non-indigenous population. It attributes these disparities to a combination of cultural barriers, geographic distance, and socioeconomic factors. The author, drawing from a medical background, emphasizes the importance of upholding the principles of the Catholic Social Thought (CST), particularly the dignity of the human person and the common good, to advocate for equitable access to healthcare services. The essay references various studies and statistics to support its claims, including data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and research on similar challenges faced by Aboriginal populations in Canada. It concludes by underscoring the need to address social determinants, reduce disparities, and ensure that all individuals, regardless of their background, have access to essential healthcare facilities and services.

Running Head: INACCESSIBILITY TO HEALTHCARES AND HOSPITALS
INACCESSIBILTY TO HEALTHCARES AND HOSPITALS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1INACCESSIBILTY TO HEALTHCARES AND HOSPITALS
The Catholic Society Thought (CST) is based on the teaching of dignity of a human
person and the realisation of common good. These principles create a path for a sustainable
society in which everyone can coexist peacefully irrespective of their creed, caste, age, gender,
region or ethnicity with the similar aim of progressing as a whole. Making these principles the
foundation of our life is making us become more tolerant and adjustable to the betterment of any
group of people who are not given the facilities, which the other privileged class can acquire.
The major concern in Australia regarding the disobedience of CST is that the indigenous
population, including the Aborigines also known as Torres Strait islanders, are not getting access
to medical care or being given the facility of using proper healthcare centers and hospitals. Due
to cultural barriers and geographic distance, it is difficult for the indigenous population to attain
medical assistance, which is causing a decrease in life expectancy and a severe increase in health
issues. Healthcare inequity is prevalent among aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders,
and it prevents their access to universal healthcare facilities. In 2011, the Australian Bureau of
Statistics (ABS) indicated that ‘for the aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in 2005–
2007, life expectancy was estimated to be 11.5 years which is less than that of the non-
indigenous population for males (67.2 years compared with 78.7) and 9.7 years less for females
(72.9 years in comparison with 82.6) (Li, 2017).
According to Cameron et al., (2014), the Aborigines in Canada face the same issues when
it comes to accessing the healthcare centers. Especially with Aborigines as they are the
backward class, they receive much fewer facilities than their non-aboriginal counter-parts. The
social determinants, which affect the negligence in accessing the healthcare centers and hospital,
are the socio-economic status, illiteracy, regional location, age, sex, lifestyle and community
roots. The Aborigines of Canada do feel the inequality in terms of accessing healthcare services

2INACCESSIBILTY TO HEALTHCARES AND HOSPITALS
compared to the other Canadians, and they consist of 3% of the population of the country
(Cameron et al., 2014). The main social determinant of health is accession, which is not common
in this community. In the same study, 35% of the people said that they are having complications
in accessing healthcare services. In Canada, the system of healthcare is accessible to every
citizen under the healthcare act, as they are giving equitable services to all communities but that
implies that it will not give the same no of services but equal resources. Aborigines find it
difficult to gain access to these facilities, and it causes serious concerns regarding health.
Coming from a medical background and pursuing a degree in paramedics, it becomes an
agenda for people like us to take actions about such issues, which affects the humans of a certain
community. It is necessary to follow the principles of CST, which mentions the dignity of
humans and the common good as it paves a path for equal services and facilities for people who
have no privileges. CST is also a solution to erase social, economic and cultural barriers, which
comes in the way of a peacefully coexisting society. The dignity of every individual has to be
kept intact without considering where they are coming from or what their deeds are, as it has no
connection to the facilities and support they are getting from the government. All humans
deserve the basic human rights irrespective of their caste, creed, gender, sexuality, capability and
other such materialistic characteristics. Issues like poverty, illiteracy, oppression and injustice
make it impossible for people to live with dignity (Caritas.org.au, 2019).
The realisation of common good applies to all humans in the world, working together to
create a bigger impact for the society and helping the section of the strata who are less
privileged, thriving to preserve the culture and security of people who are at risk. As I am
studying paramedics, issues like these are of a major concern in which there is a need to increase
healthcare facilities for people who cannot access due to economic or social reasons. In addition,

3INACCESSIBILTY TO HEALTHCARES AND HOSPITALS
the removal of extra benefits given to the privileged class needs to be reduced as it creates an
imbalance in the society. Every human has the right to get access to facilities, which are obtained
by other people. The dignity of a human person is to be maintained, and common good should be
the focus.

4INACCESSIBILTY TO HEALTHCARES AND HOSPITALS
Reference
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Access to health and services for Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people, Summary - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Retrieved 27 September 2019, from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/indigenous-
australians/access-to-health-and-services-for-aboriginal-and-t/contents/summary
Cameron, B. L., Plazas, M. D. P. C., Salas, A. S., Bearskin, R. L. B., & Hungler, K. (2014).
Understanding inequalities in access to health care services for aboriginal people: A call
for nursing action. Advances in Nursing Science, 37(3), E1-E16.
Caritas.org.au. (2019). Dignity of the Human Person - The dignity of every person is the
foundation of CST. Retrieved 27 September 2019, from
https://www.caritas.org.au/learn/cst/dignity-of-the-human-person
Edlund, M., Lindwall, L., Post, I. V., & Lindström, U. Å. (2013). Concept determination of
human dignity. Nursing Ethics, 20(8), 851-860.
Li, J. (2017). Cultural barriers lead to inequitable healthcare access for aboriginal Australians
and Torres Strait Islanders. Chinese Nursing Research, 4(4), 207-210.