Nurs3005: Indigenous Language Barriers and Healthcare Communication

This report, created for a Nurs3005 assignment, investigates the significant impact of language barriers on healthcare outcomes for Indigenous populations in Australia. It highlights the challenges faced by Indigenous individuals and healthcare providers due to linguistic and cultural differences, emphasizing the importance of effective communication. The report delves into key messages from research, including the prevalence of diverse Indigenous languages and the misinterpretation of medical terminology. It examines the consequences of miscommunication, such as inequitable access to services and misunderstandings about treatment. Furthermore, the report offers actionable recommendations to improve clinical practice and education, advocating for cultural competence, interpreter services, and policy changes to address the unique needs of Indigenous communities. The conclusion underscores the necessity of adapting healthcare approaches to accommodate linguistic diversity and promote equitable health outcomes. The report draws on various sources, including census data and research studies, to support its findings and recommendations.

Recommendations
•Effective communication with people belonging to CALD backgrounds
must be taken into consideration to an individual’s experience and ethnic
background for healthcare treament that is required to be provided in
efficient manner (Freeman et al. 2014).
•Adequate level of cultural ability, knowledge and awareness of one’s
personal record and experiences must be identified as vital towards sensitive
supervision of health emergency situational contexts for survivors of
violence or trauma as well as situations which involve families and potentail
domestic violence along with child safeguard issues (Jeong et al. 2015).
•Furthermore, the healthcare system of Australia must upgrade the skills and
competence level of midwives and healthcare professionals while dealing
with immensely sensitive situations and information through apposite
approaches for the Indigenous families as well as cultural context (Gibson et
al. 2015).
•The improved competence of interpreters engaged in healthb care
organizations would facilitiate these interpreters in ensuring that the
infotamtion coneveyed has been comprehended particularly while offering
literal interpretation of healthcare or medical terminology and thus should
constitute adequate knowledge of the local health system.
Conclusion
While several healthcare and individuals aim to effectively aid on
behalf of culturally and linguistically diverse communities promote certain
health system developments over several decades becaues of greater degree
of cultural knowldge and awareness. Thus to conclude it has been stated that
the situationof inadequacy has been profoundly been compounded by the
shifting linguistically diverse profile with the elevating requirements and
emerging communities with diverse and challenging requirements in crucial
social, cultural and economic environments.
Background
Relevant Key Messages
• It has been noted in 2014, the Health Performance Council (HPC) has recognized that Indigenous people comprising
cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds are among the population segment are perceived to be experiencing greater
level of deprivation in the availability of appropriate services and treatment or acquiring equitable health care results
(Freeman et al. 2014).
• The 2011 Census revealed that around 350,000 Australians in NSW have been reported to be born overseas (22%)
following to it over 220,000 adults have the linguistic competence to speak other languages other than English (Ware
2013).
• Furthermore, migrant adults belonging to the Non-English speaking backgrounds comprise around 15% of South
Australia’s populace and around 26% considering the inclusion of children of migrant parents (Gibson et al. 2015).
• It is significant to recognize that a comprehensive understanding of Indigenous language background has played a critical
role in enhancing the level of communication.
• In 2011, the Australian census has revealed that over 60,000 people belonging to Indigenous communities claimed to
speak in Indigenous language at home whereby over 18% claimed to have lack of competence of speaking English
language (Jeong et al. 2015).
• However Ware (2013) posited that a major proportion of Aboriginal communities possess higher level of complexities and
intricacies in communicating with specialised languages with common terms such as critical health complications such as
tumour, high blood pressure, cardiac arrest and bacteria or other forms of infections are often misinterpreted.
• As native Indigenous language speakers generally exhibit a tendency to interact in over 100 different traditional
languages.
• These native language speakers belong to the Kimberly region of Western Australia, northern part of South Australia as
well as Northern Queensland further including Torres Strait Island (Mirzaei et al. 2013).
• Furthermore, it has been noted that speakers of certain languages have shifted to vital and more dominant regional
languages such as Murrinh-Patha (Wadeya,NT), whereby other segment of Indigenous language speakers have shifted to a
creole language such as Kriol (Geia, Hayes and Usher 2013). However the Kriol language is recognized to be broadly used
as a major language in Kimberley region as well as the Barkly Tableland area of the Northern Territory and North West
Queensland.
• The individuals belonging to Indigenous communities further exhibit a considerable rate of inclination towards speaking
in distinctive array of Indigenous English.
• However these Indigenous English language such as moola (money), jarjum (child) or lingo (Aboriginal language) vary
greatly from the conventional English language.
• Certain reports reveal that for a major proportion of Indigenous people living in remote or inaccessible areas, their
Aboriginal English is identified as an inter-language array, further drawing similarities that Japanese speakers possess a
distinctive accent and specifically turn of phrase in English which consequently develop vital areas of concern for medical
or health personnel to comprehend (Meuter et al. 2015).
• Studies further suggest that a diminutive segment of less than 10% of Indigenous adults less than 60 years reveal utmost
inability and competence of communicating well in English.
However it has further been noted that several Indigenous speakers living in highly inaccessible areas can have greater
degree of integration with outsiders and further establish vital communication grounds in English related to daily subject
areas.
• Furthermore this segment of Indigenous communities often exhibit significant lack of competence to communicate in
English language while engaged in discussions related to health conditions, treatment and care or other critical specialized
areas.
Discuss implementation of your results to improve clinical practice, and/or
education
•Significant areas of communication gaps are fundamentally been identified in certain areas
of health care settings (Freeman et al. 2014). It has been revealed from the Yolngu patients
who have been undergoing dialysis treatment demonstrated certain critical areas of
misinterpretations of test results whereby both patient and midwife claimed their satisfaction
level with communication.
•Furthermore, it has been noted that unlike other Australian states, including regions of
Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, the government system of South Australia have
been highly inept to provide specific policy framework, strategies and action plan related to
health care services to people belonging to culturally and linguistically deprived
communities.
•Essential advocacy sustainability within the healthcare system has been regarded as a
critical factor for individuals speaking Indigenous English language and whose health and
welfare needs and demands are compounded by factors associated to language along with
other linguistic and cultural impediments (Ware 2013).
•However, it has been observed that these areas of concern cannot be underpinned solely by
language services thus necessitate an inclusive understanding of cultural, intellectual and
other circumstances for effectual regulation and facilitation where any Indigenous patient is
unaware or incapable in accessing services with their individualistic ability and competence.
•The prevailing perspective related to South Australian public health system in contrary to
the values and standards of social enclosure, an inclusive policy towards the CALD
(culturally and linguistically diverse) backgrounds fail to achieve success in attaining the
planning stage of any conventional policy, regulations, program and service development.
•Language between midwives or health care service providers and patients are is identified as
a critical form of hindrance in assessing information and services for a certain proportion of
aged population belonging to CALD backgrounds regardless of their existence in the nation
for decades (Artuso et al. 2013).
•Moreover cultural global perspectives and level of expectations also acts as critical barriers,
therefore elevating then level of risk of unemployment for these cultural segments of
working age that has further been compounded by factors related to language and other
linguistic impediments (Freeman et al. 2014).
•Furthermore, there have been developed significant insights which state that as Indigenous
English speakers comprise a smaller and more diverse and intricate characteristics in
comparison to the other dominant cultures (Meuter et al. 2015). These Indigenous English
speakers are considered to be less significant in order to address in particularly, though
health results may tend to be more critical than the overall populace because of compounded
risk aspects (Freeman et al. 2014).
•Thus several recommendations for an enhanced communication must be offered while
dealing with Indigenous English speakers or CALD community people and further mitigate
the considerable rate of complexities and other areas of concerns (Geia, Hayes and Usher
2013).
TRANSITION TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Student Name and ID
•Language being one of the major components of culture, ineffective or futile communication causes vivid failures in health care outcomes.
•Australia though being developed as the most urbane healthcare system in the world provides very less benefits if patients and healthcare service
providers exhibit high level of incompetence to communicate effectively (Truong, Paradies and Priest 2014).
•Linguistic and culturally deprived communities often encounter equitable accessibility to healthcare services as they speak over hundred
dialects.
•Communication challenges and complexities because of linguistic and written lack of competences between non-Indigenous health care
professionals and their Indigenous patients are widely been recognized as a major obstacle or impediment in the development of health outcomes
(Crawford and Candlin 2013).
•Lack of communication or miscommunication tends to exhibit severe consequences at varied levels of health service strategies and
implementation, education and research.
•As the area of health communication has been attaining considerable degree of attention it reveals a higher level of propensity to involve health
care professionals or midwives communication process, media support and advocacy along with critical approaches for health issues along with
implementation of preventative health-education communication program (Beauchamp et al. 2015).
•Furthermore, it is important to note that in the perspective of Aboriginal health communication, inflective discourse that can pose adverse
impact of the health outcomes that can emerge in the following interactions:
Between health professionals or midwives and patients such as recognizing issues related to health, acquiring knowledge and informed consent
for treatment, in providing explanations regarding diagnosis and care or patient treatment (Truong, Paradies and Priest 2014).
Between non-Indigenous and Indigenous employee base in exchanging medical and socio-cultural information in relation to patient
management as well as regular workplace exchanges
Between service users and service administrators in areas of establishing health priorities along with developmental and dispatch of appropriate
and efficient services (Jeong et al. 2015).
(Crawford and Candlin 2013)
(Gibson et al. 2015)
(Geia, Hayes and Usher 2013)

Reference List
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