Examining Inclusive Health Practices for Aboriginal Women Group

This report explores inclusive health practices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, highlighting the health disparities they face, particularly in maternity care. It examines culturally sensitive services, such as those provided by badjurr-bulok wilam, which offer accommodation assistance, appointment support, and education. The report also discusses the role of VACCHO in providing accredited vocational training for holistic women's health, and the importance of addressing barriers like racism and spatial factors that limit access to care. Traditional healers and community services play a vital role in addressing issues like trauma and substance abuse. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for culturally safe treatments, the 'birthing on country' approach, and awareness programs about risks like alcohol consumption during pregnancy, noting improvements in life expectancy and reduced smoking rates among pregnant Aboriginal women, alongside ongoing efforts to minimize social determinants of health.

Inclusive practice

INCLUSIVE PRACTISE: 1
Contents
Appropriate health services for Aboriginal women group...............................................................2
References.............................................................................................................................................5

INCLUSIVE PRACTISE: 2
Appropriate health services for Aboriginal women group
Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders have a separate identity among the Australian
inhabitants. It is reported that one among every five women in aboriginal community suffers
from low nutritional food and breast cancer. However, women face health disparity especially
in relation to maternity health. Appropriate cultural care would contribute to positive impact
on the outcome of Aboriginal women. Various health services reflected high incurring of cost
for aboriginal women. These women still uses public hospital with fewer dental, medical
pharmaceutical and other services. Many aboriginal women have lack of transport system to
treatment centres, isolation while going through treatments and limited child-care services.
provide proper treatment to the women suffering from the risk of breast cancer (The
department of health, 2009).
Health Services provided to Torres Strait islanders women group includes culturally
sensitive service. A team member of badjurr-bulok wilam ensures that they provide
assistance to women with accommodation, attend the appointments, avail them with absolute
care, advice, and provide education and training. Moreover, they provide secondary
consultation and work with multi-disciplinary team to ensure these women that they
understand their check-ups and diagnosis (Wilam, 2018). After the implementation of health
services, it has mitigated the risk of breast cancer, the mortality rate of aboriginal infants
decreased from 1121 deaths to 638 deaths in 2001 to 2014. Increasing possibility of early
commencement of menstrual cycle has damaged the reproductive system (Zhou, Chen, and
Li, 2015).
Another health services relate to education services. In 2000, VACCHO is an
education and training program registered and associated with Australian skills Authority.
VACCHO provides a health services that accredited various vocational and training services

INCLUSIVE PRACTISE: 3
to deliver holistic health of women. These health services provide free check-up for all the
age groups of women. It has positive impact in availing high nutritional value food and
improving nutritional status. The authorities are trying to provide proper access to primary
health services for aboriginals. The accessibility to health services should ensure that there
are no additional barriers of racism and discrimination, which can cause hindrance to their
health services. Several measures have not been able to access due to confinement of spatial
factors that considers location and distance (The department of health, 2009).
Heath services provided by Marjorie parker (aboriginal nurse) explains that
Aboriginal women request the service of traditional healers. Apart from improving, it is being
noticed that the fraction of low birth weight babies born to Torres islanders’ mothers has
increased by 13 percent, which is twice of non-aboriginal women (Arnhem Land Progress
Aboriginal Corporation, 2017). Traditional healers believe that Aboriginal healing need to be
shifted away from drug and alcohol abuse to resolve the deeper issues such as trauma and
dispossession. The health service aims to improve the well-being of the mothers and their
newly born child. Moreover, the inclusive practices strengthens the family and bring back the
cultural practise to intake nutritional food. According to ABS (Australian bureau of
statistics), more than 140 community services in Australia strive to provide health care
services to remote women population. To prevent and improve the interventions of illness
cause due to their lifestyle and during pregnancy (Roder, Zorbas, Kollias, 2014).
More health services provided appointing of Aboriginal doctors, midwives, staff and
nurses. Aboriginal doctors say that women should get assurance that they are getting the
treatment, which is culturally safe. This will lead women to access to access that services.
The midwives frequently have grouped the aboriginal women of Australia. Experts explained
how they treated the aboriginal women same as the other women regardless of racism and
ethnicity. (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2016).

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The above health services of “birthing on country” for the aboriginal women is
appropriate for aboriginal women because Indigenous women are not likely to access
pregnancy care in the first three months of maternity and there are many risk factors
associated to their maternity health such as low nutritional food, irregular menstrual cycle and
domestic violence. In addition to this, teratogen agent disturbs the development of foetus has
been increasing consumed by the pregnant women. The health service has made some
awareness program of drinking and in taking alcohol during pregnancy (creative spirits,
2018). The service program also includes the screening that is based on mammography
focusing to reduce the mortality rate among women who aged between 50-74 years. All the
pregnant women was informed about the risk of consuming alcohol that drinking alcohol is
highly variable. To treat the women suffering from the high risked pregnancy caused due to
alcohol intake, the treatment includes a comprehensive assessment, therapeutic options,
cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), detoxification, and several group sessions
(Mackenbach, 2015).
The impact of health service programs have shown a positive side such as the life
expectancy of Aboriginal Australians during delivering a baby has increased to 12 percent.
Moreover, the early arrival of menstrual cycle, which has been damaged due to smoked, has
shown a decrease in smoking rates from 51 to 40 percent for pregnant aboriginal women
(Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation, 2017).
The services have tried to minimise the gap among the social determinants of health
so that they can access high nutritional food. There is a sense of social exclusion, which lacks
the aboriginal women to access affordable food, employment opportunities, and reliable
income status.

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References
Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation (2017). Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal
Corporation. Retrieved from: https://www.alpa.asn.au/
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2016). Australian Cancer Incidence and
Mortality (ACIM) books: breast cancer. Australia: American College Testing (ACT).
Creative spirits, (2018). How to make hospitals work for Aboriginal people. Retrieved from:
https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/health/hospitals-doctors-health-
aboriginal
Mackenbach, J. P. (2015). Socioeconomic inequalities in health in high-income countries:
the facts and the options: Oxford textbook of global public health. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Roder, D., Zorbas, H. M., Kollias, J., (2014). Analysing risk factors for poorer breast cancer
outcomes in residents of lower socioeconomic areas of Australia. Australia Health
Rev, 38(1), 41-134.
The department of health, (2009). IMPROVING MATERNITY SERVICES IN AUSTRALIA:
THE REPORT OF THE MATERNITY SERVICES REVIEW. Retrieved from:
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/msr-
report~msr-report-keyissues~msr-report-inequality~msr-report-indigenous
Wilam, B. B., (2018). Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander women. Retrieved from:
https://www.thewomens.org.au/patients-visitors/clinics-and-services/support-
services/aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-women
Zhou, Y., Chen, J., Li, Q. (2015). Association between breastfeeding and breast cancer risk:
evidence from a meta-analysis. Breastfeed Med, 10(1), 82-175.