University Essay: Racism's Devastating Impact on Aboriginal Health

This essay examines the detrimental impact of racism on Aboriginal health in Australia, focusing on the social determinants that contribute to health disparities. It highlights how racism affects access to education, employment, medical care, and housing, leading to increased health risks and lo...Read More

Running head: IMPACT OF RACISM ON ABORIGINAL HEALTH
Impact of Racism on Aboriginal Health
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1IMPACT OF RACISM ON ABORIGINAL HEALTH
How would you explain the impact of racism as a social determinant of Aboriginal health?
Racism has been a social evil in most of the countries in the recent few years. The people
in the African countries have suffered a lot because of the racism in the European world. The
black skinned people have been the victims of the so called educated and civilized world. It is of
no shame to disclose that the people who are the victims of racism often suffer from the serious
illnesses and they do not have the rights to make their treatments (Kelaher 2014). The aboriginal
people or the Torres Strait islanders are also the victims of racism in many ways. They are
deprived of the primary facilities that should be provided to them as they are the backward class.
However, their children do not get those benefits that they should get (Nelson 2009).
There are several things that should be looked upon in this context. It is definitely a
matter of concern that the aboriginal people and the Torres Strait islanders are suffering from
various diseases. These diseases are very infectious and the children are getting ill very rapidly
as they do not have that much restriction power (Kelaher, Ferdinand and Paradies 2014).
Everyone is well aware of the fact that the life expectancy of the indigenous Australians is well
below the common Australians. They suffer from several health problems just because they do
not have the proper access to the mitigation of the health issues. The root cause for this can
definitely be racism (Durey, Thompson and Wood 2012).
There are indeed some definite reasons as to why the health problems for the aboriginal
people have arisen in the last few years. The principal reasons are the aboriginal and indigenous
people in Australia have not been able to get the proper access to the most necessary things in
order to get the benefits (Kelaher, Ferdinand and Paradies 2014). These things are the facilities of
education, job employment, medical care facilities and housing. There are very few schools in

2IMPACT OF RACISM ON ABORIGINAL HEALTH
the Torres Strait islands. These people are completely deprived of these facilities indeed. They
are very much exposed to the to the risk factors that are associated with the health problems like
the much intake of junk food, foods with the toxic materials inside them and others (Calma and
Priday 2011). This is why the aboriginal people and mostly the aboriginal children are in a great
danger indeed. The studies have found that too much stress has led to the ill mental health of the
original people. This has a negative cognitive reaction on the mental health of the aboriginal
people (Gair 2013).
There are many instances where it has been found that the aboriginal people are mostly
engaged in the unhealthy activities like drinking of alcohol, too much smoking and serious
addiction to drugs. These are the reasons the aboriginal people are always prone to get ill. The
physiological systems of the aboriginal people have been hampered because the immunity
system is getting damaged (Bessarab and Crawford 2012).
Many serious cardiovascular problems have been noticed as well. In fact these aboriginal
people are being physically assaulted as well because the racist issues. As the aboriginal or
indigenous Australian people are deprived of the proper housing facilities, they do not get to
meet their healthy activities like sleep, exercise and taking of the proper medicines (Herring et al.
2013). It has been from the examples that the indigenous or aboriginal people face several threats
of death when they are admitted to the hospitals (Kelaher 2014). Some aboriginal people are also
of the opinion that they will receive the ill treatment in the hospitals if they are admitted. This is
simply because they believe the civilized people will make fun of them and they will lose all the
self-confidence indeed (Zufferey 2012).

3IMPACT OF RACISM ON ABORIGINAL HEALTH
The matter of ethnicity becomes a larger prospect in this matter as well. The common
Australians think that they do not have the proper etiquettes that should be followed in a civilized
society. The problem is the fact that they have their own etiquettes. The hospitals in Australia are
built on the Western biomedical model. The hospitals are mainly managed and acquired by the
white skinned ‘civilized’ hospitals. This is why the aboriginals face the racist comments all over
the country. The aboriginals face the language problem very much. The impact of colonisation
has been there as well. This impact has left them separated from the cultural beliefs, practices,
family cultures and many more from the mainland people (Cass et al. 2004). This has been an
elemental thing for the people named aboriginals. They are facing several health problems
because of this racism. The racism is not only about the skin color but it is also about the race
and ethnicity of the people indeed.
Question 2
What benefits do you gain from working effectively with Aboriginal people?
Aboriginal people are the tribal people of Australia. They are the section of society
representating the Australian cultural heritage. Working with them is a great priviledge for me.
This is in terms of gaining more insight into the Australian culture. I have listened to their music
and it is very soothing, relaxing my mind. I wish to work on this topic to provide a platform to
the Aborginal music to give shape to their talents. This would uplift their standards in the
society.
I think education is one of the other dimensions, which enhances the living standards of
the Australian tribes, especially the Aboriginal people. In the process of preserving the education
rights of the Aboriginal children, my preconceieved skills, expertise and knowledge have

4IMPACT OF RACISM ON ABORIGINAL HEALTH
enriched. Here I can relate the statement, that age is no bar for increasing the knowledge. Being a
social worker, I am learning many things about culture from the Aboriginal people, with which I
was previously unfamiliar.
There is a perception that students lack the attribute of empathy for the Aboriginal men.
However, my working with these people negates this perception. Investigating their life story has
filled me with sympathy for them. I empathise with them in terms of being the victim of racial
discrimination. I am very much concerned about the health issues, which they encounter as a
result of being entrapped in the social malice of racial discrimination. Providing them with
quality accommodation has compelled me to realize the intensity of such a malice, which affects
the individualism. This perception has compelled me to introspect my life in terms of fulfilling
the identified goals and objectives.
Working with the Aboriginal people has highlighted before me the issue of improper
treatment, which these marginalized people are compelled to encounter. This has enhanced my
clarity regarding the demarcations between the richer and the poorer strata of society. I think
these people belong to the mainstream society and need to be given the due respect. This is in
terms of the contribution, which they are making towards maintaining the cultural diversity. I
would encourage all of my colleagues to indulge in seeking innovative means for uplifting the
standards of these people from the harsh blows of such malice. Changing the mentality would
result in the achievement of positive outcomes and create a better place for the Aboriginal people
in exposing their individual talents.

5IMPACT OF RACISM ON ABORIGINAL HEALTH
References
Bessarab, D. and Crawford, F., 2012. Trauma, grief and loss: The vulnerability of Aboriginal
families in the child protection system. In Our Voices: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Social Work (pp. 93-113). Palgrave MacMillan.
Calma, T. and Priday, E. (2011). Putting Indigenous Human Rights into Social Work
Practice. Australian Social Work, 64(2), pp.147-155.
Cass, A., Devitt, J., Preece, C., Cunningham, J., Anderson, K., Snelling, P., Eris, J. and Ayanian,
J., 2004. Barriers to access by Indigenous Australians to kidney transplantation: the IMPAKT
study. Nephrology, 9(s4).
Durey, A., Thompson, S.C. and Wood, M., 2012. Time to bring down the twin towers in poor
Aboriginal hospital care: addressing institutional racism and misunderstandings in
communication. Internal medicine journal, 42(1), pp.17-22.
Gair, S. (2013). Inducing Empathy: Pondering Students' (In)Ability to Empathize With an
Aboriginal Man's Lament and What Might Be Done About It. Journal of Social Work Education,
49(1), pp.136-149.
Kelaher, M.A., 2014. Experiencing racism in health care: the mental health impacts for Victorian
Aboriginal communities. Education, 55(56), pp.8-3.
Kelaher, M.A., Ferdinand, A.S. and Paradies, Y., 2014. Experiencing racism in health care: the
mental health impacts for Victorian Aboriginal communities. The Medical journal of
Australia, 201(1), pp.44-47.

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Nelson, A. (2009). Learning from the past, looking to the future: Exploring our place with
Indigenous Australians. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 56(2), pp.97-102.
Ward, J., Bryant, J., Worth, H., Hull, P., Solar, S. and Bailey, S., 2013. Use of health services for
sexually transmitted and blood-borne viral infections by young Aboriginal people in New South
Wales. Australian journal of primary health, 19(1), pp.81-86.
Zufferey, C. (2012). ‘Not knowing that I donot know and not wanting to know’: Reflections of a
white Australian social worker. International Social Work, 56(5), pp.659-673.