HSW709 Week 4 Alternative Assessment: Aboriginal Activity Day

This assignment, completed for HSW709, addresses the planning of an Aboriginal Activity Day Program for older Aboriginal people in a regional area. The student outlines a program incorporating musical and cooking activities, such as lemon myrtle biscuits and damper, to promote cultural engagement. The planning is supported by community development principles and theories like 'candidacy' and 'kanyini'. The assignment also analyzes the Aboriginal Health Worker (AHW) Project, highlighting the need for clear roles, qualifications, and support for AHWs within the NSW health system, emphasizing the importance of cultural knowledge and community connections. The student further discusses ethical dilemmas, including responses to racist jokes and inappropriate behavior in a group setting, emphasizing the importance of respectful communication, setting boundaries, and addressing discrimination. The paper references relevant literature to support the arguments presented.

Running head: WEEK 4 INTENSIVE
HSW709 Alternative Assessment to Two day Intensive 2020
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

WEEK 4
Part A
i) Planning an Aboriginal Activity Day
With presence of highly diversified groups in the nation in context to socio-economic
background, culture, sexuality, spirituality and geographical, Australia requires significant
and specific health care plans to meet the medical needs of the population, especially the
most vulnerable out of them, that is, the older section of the population from the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander community. The older individuals are highly important in the
community and providing a culturally safe place for teachings is associated with improved
way of living and evidently, better health outcomes (Betterhealth.vic.gov.au 2020).
The following arrangement can help providers to recognize moves they could make to
convey increasingly comprehensive and culturally suitable services for the older individuals.
The activity pack for the elderly will include musical instruments playing activity and
cooking activities to help them engage. The cooking activity will include baking of lemon
myrtle biscuits and cooking of damper, both of which are native to the community and will
help them relive their cultural delicacies, ensuring better engagement of the older individuals,
who have more knowledge regarding the procedures of the cooking these two items. The
cooking activity will be conducted in campfire setting.
Furthermore, the instruments which will be included in the activity pack for the
individuals to play are clap sticks, the traditional drum called ‘Warup’, boomerang, with the
artefact of traditional headdress of ‘Dhari’.
These interventions or activities are based upon the theory of ‘candidacy’, which
helps to explore the older people’s eligibility to care activities, which is jointly negotiated
between the health services and the individuals. Another theory is of ‘kanyini’, a Central
Australian philosophy, explained by the word ‘holding’. This theory provides description of

WEEK 4
these older individuals from the indigenous community and their obligations to hold to the
traditional customary acts (Peiris et al. 2012).
ii) Sustainability Project
The identified project for the concerned stakeholders of individuals from the
indigenous community is Aboriginal Health Worker (AHW) Project, which aims at
reviewing the role of health workers from the Aboriginal community in the health
system of NSW (Health.nsw.gov.au. 2020).
This undertaking tried to educate the advancement of arrangements and procedures to
reinforce and support the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker
workforce to convey care in light of the known weight and circulation of malady in
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populace.
 There is a need to give clear jobs and duties regarding the assortment of
AHW's in NSW Health. At present, there is no base extension or on the other
hand capability structure for AHWs. This absence of lucidity impacts on their
capacity to act in their job and have a comprehension of the reason for their
work. Better meaning of jobs and duties will improve execution; give more
clear limits and better occupation fulfilment
 Aptitudes and experience identifying with Aboriginality are not officially
perceived, especially network information, contact and promotion. AHWs
frequently feel that the significance of their Aboriginality, social information
what's more, connectedness to their networks is underestimated.
 A superior comprehension of AHW jobs and duties will give chance to more
readily group work and bolster structures. There is a need to build up a
conventional procedure for NSW Health in understanding the jobs also,

WEEK 4
obligations of AHWs and the one of a kind and significant abilities they bring
to the association and their customer base.
 Due to the progressing weight of sickness for Native individuals in NSW,
there is a need to distinguish an appropriate capabilities system for all NSW
Health AHWs with clear least capabilities structure and explanation pathways.
There should be an evaluation as to the chance of grasping the National
Aboriginal Primary Health Care capabilities structure for all AHWs. All NSW
Health AHWs ought to be allowed the chance to have their current instruction,
aptitudes and experience mapped against the concurred least capability and
upheld for additional minimum qualification whenever required. A structure
for section level traineeships additionally needs to be created.
 Further examination needs to happen as to the necessary extent of training
in both the NSW general wellbeing and Aboriginal Network Controlled
Health Sector in respects to prescription organization for those Aboriginal
Health Experts who have embraced the Endorsement IV Aboriginal
Primary Health Care (Practice) capability. The current NSW Poisons and
Therapeutics Act doesn't permit AHWs to regulate meds. There is no
conventional capability system for all AHWs over the NSW Health Sector.
The assortment and expansiveness of instruction for AHWs is tremendous,
from some having no capabilities to others holding Masters degrees. An
unmistakable least capabilities system for the scope of AHW jobs would
help with the comprehension among the multidisciplinary group of the
extent of AHWs and give more chances for AHW vocation movement.

WEEK 4
Reviewing all these major points, it can be concluded that the concerned project is a
green response with an approach of emphasizing stronger accountability towards the
concerned population of Aboriginal Health Workers.
Ongoing political and monetary improvements and related changes in the training and
conveyance of wellbeing and social consideration have driven directors and experts to
perceive the significance and connections between critical thinking and dynamic aptitudes.
Specifically, evaluating the effect of political, financial, socio-social, natural and other
outside impacts upon human services arrangement, proposition and authoritative projects is
turning into a conspicuous phase of wellbeing administration vital improvement and
arranging components (Robertson 2015). Undertaking this type of key investigation is to
analyze the key issues that the association needs to address.
Political action is felt in all financial and socio-economic zones. Presently, action,
alongside social and financial exercises, emphatically impacts the people, compelling a
specific pace and specific heading of advancement. The impact of governmental issues on the
administration of open associations is a present subject and a continuous worry of both chiefs
and scientists in different fields, for example, political theory, human science, law and
authoritative sciences (Health Knowledge. 2010). The difficulties of open area the board,
influenced by the outside world of politics, require the reception of perspective changes, to
give equalization to this relationship. These progressions are, indeed, the consequence of
settling issues such as political effect on dynamic procedures inside open establishments or
the relationship of reliance between the level of political association and professionalization
of establishments (Chitescu and Lixandru 2016).
The chosen Aboriginal Health Workers project has highlighted several policies that
needs to be revised and the associated funding to improve the economic condition of the
aboriginal health workers.

WEEK 4
Part B:
In context to “Racist jokes are forms of discrimination that are disguised as humour.
Anyone challenging them can be seen as spoiling the fun rather than addressing racism.
Ceiron was telling a racist joke in a group session and in your challenging him (too directly
for this stage of the program you later feel) you are seen as being a spoil sport. This led to a
one-on-one argument and he started escalating and becoming more outrageous. What might
you do…?”
My primary goal would be to communicate with Ceiron in polite tone and point out
his behaviour candidly. I would ask him if he really intends to classify an entire ethnicity or
group in derogatory ways. It is evident that such jokes might be unintended and the person
saying it may not want to derogate any such community. However, if the person shows actual
intention of hate or disgust towards the concerned community, which resulted in uttering of
racist comments by him, then this should be highlighted as a severe concern, which needs to
be addressed immediately.
I would start by appealing to principles and quote phrases such as ‘Ceiron, I always
thought you were a fair-minded person, and it shocks me when I hear something of this kind
from you’. This strategy of appealing to the better instincts of the person would be an
effective strategy to make them realize that what he said might be completely momentarily
and not an indication of his though process.
However, if I get to derive that Ceiron might be actually saying his actual thoughts,
then I would set limits to the conversation, as the person cannot be completely controlled to
get rid of the habit. I would do so by saying ‘Ceiron, this is a group discussion and I would
not allow you to pass such racist comments in my presence, otherwise, I might leave. It’s true
that I cannot control what you say somewhere else, but while conversing in the group

WEEK 4
discussion, I request you to respect my wishes and not pass any further racist comments in
future’.
The conversation can turn out either way, that is, Ceiron might realize his mistakes
and ceases to pass such comments momentarily, or he might accept his nature of being racist,
and in both the cases, he would be asked and expected to not pass any further more racist
remarks.

WEEK 4
References
Betterhealth.vic.gov.au. 2020. Aboriginal health - barriers to physical activity. [online]
Available at: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/aboriginal-health-
barriers-to-physical-activity [Accessed 7 Apr. 2020].
Chitescu, R.I. and Lixandru, M., 2016. The influence of the social, political and economic
impact on human resources, as a determinant factor of sustainable development. Procedia
Economics and Finance, 39, pp.820-826.
Health Knowledge. 2010. The impact of political, economic, socio-cultural, environmental
and other external influences. [online] Available at:
https://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/organisation-management/5b-
understanding-ofs/assessing-impact-external-influences [Accessed 7 Apr. 2020].
Health.nsw.gov.au. 2020. [online] Available at:
https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/workforce/aboriginal/Publications/ahw-project-phase1-
report.pdf [Accessed 7 Apr. 2020].
Peiris, D., Brown, A., Howard, M., Rickards, B.A., Tonkin, A., Ring, I., Hayman, N. and
Cass, A., 2012. Building better systems of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people: findings from the Kanyini health systems assessment. BMC Health Services
Research, 12(1), p.369.
Robertson, B., 2015. Community Development in an Uncertain World: Vision, Analysis and
Practice by Jim Ife. 2013: Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978‐1‐107‐
62849‐6. International Journal of Social Welfare, 24(3), pp.307-308.