HLSC120 Assignment: Indigenous Health Disparities and Factors

This essay delves into the significant health disparities experienced by Indigenous populations globally, with a specific focus on the Torres Strait Islander community. It meticulously examines the multifaceted factors contributing to these disparities, including social issues such as substance abuse, mental health challenges, and the enduring impacts of colonization, language barriers, and racial discrimination. Economic factors, such as lower literacy rates, unemployment, and limited access to healthcare due to financial constraints, are also analyzed. Furthermore, the essay explores the influence of political determinants, including inequitable policies and historical government actions, which have created barriers to accessing healthcare. By synthesizing these factors, the essay offers a comprehensive understanding of the complex interplay that results in poorer health outcomes and reduced life expectancy for Indigenous communities, emphasizing the urgent need for targeted interventions and policy changes to address these critical health inequalities.

Discuss why Indigenous peoples globally experience health disparities which impact
their health and life expectancy. Identify factors that have influenced these disparities
(for example, social, political or economic). Illustrate your discussion by elaborating on
one Indigenous community of your choosing.
.
Student name: Raman deep kaur
Student ID: S00254227

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Health inequality is a major concern over the world. It is seen that indigenous
people receive health inequalities in comparison with non-native community. The study
reported the lifespan between Native and Torres Strait Islander people and non-
Indigenous Australians was ten years in 2012 (Harfield et al., 2018). This essay will
describe on the reason of health discrimination among Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people and explanation of affecting factors (social, economic, political) that
trigger this discrepancy.
The social issue is common in raising health inequalities among Indigenous and
Torres Strait Islander community. These factors are triggered by some issues, like,
substance use, alcohol use, mental health related problems and experience of violence
in childhood (Markwick et al., 2015). Many studies have showed that some other
reasons, including, ongoing effects of colonization, language problem, loss of land, the
racial discrimination, the destruction of spiritual and cultural identity, forced removal of
children trigger the discrepancy among Aboriginal Torres Islanders(Butler et al., 2019).
Furthermore, chronic diseases are highest contributor related to these health
discrepancies among Torres Strait Islander community. As an illustration,
cardiovascular disease is the primary origin of death among Indigenous Torres Strait
Islanders. These circumstances differentiate duration of lifetime between Torres Strait
Islander People and non-native Australians (Lee & Ride, 2018). Besides that, racial
discrimination among native and non-native community is another most important factor
that provokes health discrepancy among them. In addition, Indigenous people have
cultural perception that native Primary Health Care Service providers can support best
care to their own community (Kite & Davy, 2016). Cultural identity plays a major role to

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make differences among them. The Aboriginal communities are often criticised by
others from their community itself. Thus, this cultural identity stimulated ethnic people to
involve in unhealthy living mechanisms.
The Islander people experience some discrimination regarding health care. Other
factor that is responsible to cause these differences is the economic issues. They have
less literacy rate than other non-indigenous population in Australia. According to
Fogarty et al., (2018) their literacy varies greatly and the rate among native Australians
is 78.7% whereas it is 95.6% in non-aboriginal students in 2015. As a result, it
comprehends discrepancy regarding accession of medical care. They have less
educational qualifications, for which, they face unemployment issue and it raised
economically poor situation among Indigenous Torres Islander people (Fogarty et
al.,2018). Aboriginal Australians have lack of knowledge about the health care system
and they prefer to stick to their own perceptions. The non-Indigenous people have
higher unemployment rates along with they have less source of income that induces
economically poor situation and indicates the differences in terms of healthcare
services. Most importantly, the medical service cost is in equal, moreover, Indigenous
people are much poorer, and they cannot avail the cost of medical treatments (Lovie-
Toon et al., 2018). Consequently, native people have reduced life expectancy and
poorer health outcomes resulting from health disparities.
Rules and regulatory decisions are prepared by State, Territory and Federal
Government, churches and Institutions for the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islanders in
Australia (Lee, 2017). The reason behind this health discrimination among Aboriginal
community is because of inequitable policies that are served. Under this policy,

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Indigenous women are deprived of proper healthcare. The paternalistic government’s
judgments produced barrier towards receiving proper accession of health compared to
others. The colonization has stated a dislocation of Torres Islanders, isolate and break
down their culture and value by the influence of missionaries, government legislation,
policies and acts (Griffiths et al., 2016). In addition, these political determinants of health
breech human rights may have negative impact on next generation. The burden of the
disease among Aboriginal Australians is predominantly increasing and the rate is much
higher than non-Indigenous.(Lee, 2017). The study revealed that native individuals who
live in remote areas are poor sufferer of health discrimination. Since they are
disconnected from the mainland because of colonization and the communication system
has not developed properly; all are leading to predisposition facts of health outcomes
variance for different community.
In conclusion, it can be stated that there are reasons which cause health care
differences in Indigenous population, especially, Torres Strait Islanders in comparison
with non-Aboriginal Australians. The contributing factors, which are concerned with this
problem, are social, economic and political issues. Racial discrimination is much higher
than normal people, and the economic issue, includes, low income, less educational
qualification and lack of appropriate knowledge. The legislation involved in social
isolation and accession of health services are the roots of health discrimination among
native individuals.

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References
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