Mental Health Essay: Addressing Challenges for Indigenous Australians

This essay delves into the mental health challenges confronting Indigenous Australians, examining the systemic disadvantages they face in accessing health and community services. It highlights the impact of cultural issues, including discrimination, lack of education and employment, and the loss of ...Read More

Mental Health Essay

Table of Contents
Essay................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction.................................................................................................................................2
Explaining why Indigenous people in Australia are still disadvantaged with regard to health/
community services.....................................................................................................................2
Consider a number of cultural issues that impact on acceptance of health and community
service.........................................................................................................................................2
Engage indigenous communities, elders and individuals in the development and evaluating of
service provision and consultation & negotiation procedures....................................................2
Why is it necessary to ensure greater accountability on the part of funding bodies, government
agencies and health/ community providers.................................................................................3
Awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and cultures can be incorporated
into work practices......................................................................................................................3
Awareness of how your own cultural realities might impact on your work practices................3
Workers can develop effective and respectful communication..................................................4
People can reflect cultural safety in workplace and professional relationships..........................4
Working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities...4
Service providers can take cultural issues (including the focus on self-determination) into
consideration and increase participation in services...................................................................4
Indigenous people can be encouraged to participate in evaluating services and negotiating
their needs regarding desired outcomes......................................................................................5
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6
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Essay
Introduction
Mental health refers to emotional, psychological and social well being. The present report
is based on indigenous Australians who are facing difficulty while seeking for any kind of
services including mental health facilities. It will also focus on the reason behind that these
individuals are still disadvantaged with regard to health or community services.
Explaining why Indigenous people in Australia are still disadvantaged with regard to health/
community services
Indigenous Australians can be described as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
individuals living in Australia descended from groups that existed in Australia and surrounding
islands before British colonisation. However, it has been analysed that government authorities
several effective actions for them to facilitate easy access to health or community services in
order to solve their problems (Howard-Wagner, 2018). Moreover, the government conduct
national apology for them and provide them right in respect of improving their situation.
Meanwhile, social & cultural issues consist discrimination, lack of education or employment and
cultural disconnection is responsible for disadvantaged situation of these people in Australia.
Consider a number of cultural issues that impact on acceptance of health and community service
At the other hand, access intake of alcohol, drug abuse and high rates of violence in
people of this community is also responsible for facilitate discrimination towards them by other
people. Basically, due to lack of cultural & spiritual identity, loss of language and lack of funds
due to not getting employment because of discrimination impacts on gathering of mental health
services. Moreover, the negative mind set of people has not changed towards Indigenous
Australians due to which everyone discriminate then including care providers which results into
complications in medical condition of them (Kruger and Tennant, 2016). The resources required
are sufficient amount of funds and other needed things of daily use for this community.
Engage indigenous communities, elders and individuals in the development and evaluating of
service provision and consultation & negotiation procedures
In context of engaging indigenous communities, it is essential to government authorities
for preparing some effective legal rules in terms to provide values to culture of Indigenous
Australians in every sector like education, corporate, health care etc. It consist to set clearly the
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purpose and relevant scale to involve these people which facilitate to improve financial condition
of them. However, it consist the strategy to make government bodies much active regarding
complaints of Indigenous Australians so that discrimination can be reduced in society for them.
Moreover, the cultural safety encapsulates the relationships that is required to be fostered in
communities of society as well as fulfil the need for cultural renewal and revitalisation which
improve acceptance of indigenous Australians by society.
Why is it necessary to ensure greater accountability on the part of funding bodies, government
agencies and health/ community providers
The ensuring criteria regarding accountability of government agencies to make sure that
they have been taken effective and appropriate actions to improve acceptance of Indigenous
Australians in country (Briskman, 2016). It can be determined that steps ate much efficient or not
as per actual requirements which facilitate to make improvements to make lives if these selected
individuals more comfortable.
Awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and cultures can be incorporated into
work practices
If it is talked about both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, than these could be
considered as the Indigenous Australian. History of Aboriginal is showing that, these people got
split off from Eurasian population in between 62000 and 75000 BP. Along with this, Torres
Strait Islander were found in the year in between 1606.
On the other hand, based on a specified study it is being analysed that Aboriginal
Australians are one of the oldest living populations among the world and their culture is
continuously being followed. Away with this, the culture of Torres Strait Islander is complex,
which majorly be consist with a few Australian, Papuan and Austronesian elements, just like the
languages. Including this, both of the communities works hard for living which majorly impacts
upon their mental conditions (Short, 2016). Since government did not took much effective
decisions this has impacted upon their health conditions as well.
Awareness of how your own cultural realities might impact on your work practices
The culture, which I am following is a western culture and apart from this, there are some
extent derived as well just from Britain. Including this, it also has a little touch linked with the
cultural related to Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander as well. Away with this, the culture that I am
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following is somewhat hard working which could help me in working within the health and
social care sector. Language which I prefer i.e. English, is continuously helping me in
communicating with others at a workplace. On the other hand, I have also analysed that our
culture pushes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander away which is directly affecting their overall
conditions of health in a bad way.
Workers can develop effective and respectful communication
While performing different range of tasks, within a hospital, it is vital for workers to
communicate properly with both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is because, there
health conditions is devotedly decreasing because of the discrimination that people are doing
with them. One of a crucial factor over here is education. Since both Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people are not educated enough like other Australian people. All the issues could be
resolved through proper communication.
People can reflect cultural safety in workplace and professional relationships
It can be said that, people of whatever culture they follow, it directly reflects upon their
working style and on professional relationships as well. Let's take an example of an Aboriginal
worker and a Torres Strait Islander whose cultures differ from each other. Both of them would
take decisions as per their own mentality, which will directly impact upon safety (Caffery and et.
al., 2017).
Working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities
Working in partnership with both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, is not an
easy task to perform within a hospital or at any other place. It can be said that, it might get
difficult for other Australian people that are not following these types of culture.
Service providers can take cultural issues (including the focus on self-determination) into
consideration and increase participation in services
Service providers is required to be analyse cultural aspects of an individuals by making
proper communication and considered them to increase participation of patients in context of
providing mental health facilities to them. It will improve will power and comfort zone of a
person which provide support to boost up patients outcomes in terms of Indigenous Australians.
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Indigenous people can be encouraged to participate in evaluating services and negotiating their
needs regarding desired outcomes
The legal rules can be applied for welfare of Indigenous Australians and make them
aware about their actual rights which can be used to gain desired services in proper way.
However, it is important to provide them information about their rights as citizen and encourage
them to negotiate their needs to gain better outcomes by making their live more comfortable.
Conclusion
With the help of above mentioned report, it can easily be said that both the communities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face discrimination not only at the hospitals but at
working place as well. It is summarised that, government would require to take a range of actions
in regards to bring equality among these two communities and with other Australians. Some
actions can be generating laws, offering them with high educational benefits and many more.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Howard-Wagner, D., 2018. Governance of indigenous policy in the neo-liberal age: indigenous
disadvantage and the intersecting of paternalism and neo-liberalism as a racial
project. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 41(7), pp.1332-1351.
Kruger, E. and Tennant, M., 2016. Ten years of hospitalisation for oral health-related conditions
in Western Australia: an unjust dichotomy. Australian Journal of Primary
Health, 22(2), pp.153-158.
Briskman, L., 2016. Decolonizing social work in Australia: Prospect or illusion. In Indigenous
Social Work around the World (pp. 111-122). Routledge.
Short, D., 2016. Reconciliation and colonial power: Indigenous rights in Australia. Routledge.
Caffery, L. and et. al., 2017. Association between patient age, geographical location, Indigenous
status and hospitalisation for oral and dental conditions in Queensland,
Australia. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 23(1), pp.46-52.
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