Reflective Essay: Cultural Diversity and Healthcare in Australia

This nursing assignment delves into the impact of cultural diversity on healthcare in Australia, utilizing the sociological imagination framework for reflection. The student explores personal experiences and observations regarding healthcare disparities stemming from factors such as socioeconomic status, gender, and cultural background, particularly in public versus private healthcare settings. The assignment incorporates research from various academic sources, including journal articles, videos, and reports, to deepen the analysis of these issues. The essay critically examines how diversity affects healthcare outcomes, emphasizing the challenges faced in providing equitable services across different communities and discusses the need for improved healthcare delivery, including addressing salary issues for medical professionals and enhancing public hospital conditions. The student also reflects on how the research and analysis relate to course attributes, particularly the demonstration of dignity and diversity, to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Running Head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT 1
Nursing Assignment
Name
Institution

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Step 1
Carefully choose one topic from the Reflective Writing Topic 1 or 2 below to guide your
reflection. Write the topic chosen here:
Australia is recognized to be one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world. The
diversity is signified by many communities who practice different cultural activities, religious,
social and political interactions as well. The difference makes Australia unique as a
representative society that attracts many, but it also brings along challenges. In such like a
diverse community, provision of quality health services is one of the challenges that face it. The
struggle to give the population appropriate medical care is usually not as easy and requires a new
and advanced approach to have a positive impact. Willis, (Germov, 2014, p 7-8) presents a
template of sociological imagination, discuss the evolutions that the health care sector has
undergone to provide quality services to the Australian culture.
Step 2
Use the sociological imagination (SI) template to reflect on your feelings, thoughts and
behaviors in response to knowledge, experiences and observations in relation to your
chosen question from Step 1. (500 words)
Healthcare happens to be one of the most crucial sectors of food and security, as nobody can
survive without it. My prior experience with the issue is entirely different from all the things I
am learning. I always thought that Australia has strategies that ensure for the fair and equal

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distribution of health in all the hospitals (Broom, & Germov, 2014). I, however, observed that
due to diversity, there are discriminations based on age, gender, religion and cultural belonging. I
discovered the extents of discrimination regarding the way nurses and doctors treat people in
both public and private hospitals. In government hospitals, there is a rather cold and bitter
attitude from the health professionals (AIHW, 2016). I could not help but ask one of the nurses
who told me that they get a less pay as compared to their duties and therefore feel demotivated.
They also feel that the large numbers flocking into the hospitals all have different traits with
some of them being disrespectful and stubborn (Charles Sturt University,2012). I saw a pregnant
woman being pushed around and getting abuses from the nurses due to the way she was
screaming out of pain. The private sector is on the different side of the coin as patients received
personalized treatments by the medical personnel (Henry, Houston, & Mooney, 2004). I just
observed the kind of people around that hospital and concluded that economic standards
determine the way health services are administered to different individuals. The doctors and
nurses seemed happy and fulfilled to serve the public as they are paid well and also given the
best employee consideration.
Step3: Next, Identify and cite one of the readings, articles or videos from eModules and
discuss how this resource helps you to expand and deepen your original reflections on this
topic
Considering my prior observations and experiences in the Australian health sectors, the class
materials emphasized on the same. Most of the lectures, articles, and videos gave of the course
are clear and precise about the issue of diversity in the health sector and the impacts it has on the
expected outcomes. My research on site revolved around the inequality experienced in the
hospitals due to the factors of socioeconomic belonging. The Youtube video, ’Community

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Services and Health’ (2009) expresses the concerns of money when it comes to health care. It is
clear that people of a higher living standard receive better services than their friends from the
low-income backgrounds. It has become a concern that those with the ability to pay for better
services in the Australian society are the only ones who get quality services. I saw the situation
on the ground, and it is true that only expensive healthcare organizations treat their clients with
respect (RACGP, 2012). Money motivates people into conducting their activities with the most
consideration they know that the reward is worth it.
The video shows statistics of the mortality rate of the Australian population as per their location.
The indigenous Australian people are more likely to lose their lives due to inadequate health care
services as compared to the lives of urban and high-class individuals. Although I had the prior
knowledge, the video advanced my thinking and helped me understand that diversity has many
negative impacts (Queensland Health, 2016). Although the nation is trying to enable equality in
the systems, I would say that there are so many things that hinder this dream. No one is going to
work well as they get a less pay and the institutions will differ depending on the investors. The
government should, therefore, invest in increasing the salaries of their medical professionals and
also improve the situations of public hospitals. Health care services should be made available to
the population in an equal measure and ensure that even the rural areas are well covered.
Step 4: Continue reflective writing using the SI template to answer the original question
you identified in Step 1, using Germov (2104) and a minimum of at least six other academic
sources (e.g. journal articles, research reports from the HLSC120 e Modules) to support
your answer. Locate these academic sources through your own information search.

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Analyse how these resources helped you to expand and deepen your original reflections on
this topic. (1000 words)
The current number of Australia’s population is around 23 million people who reside in different
regions of the nation. They are all differentiated by their cultures, religions, social status and
political disparities. According to research, Australian is the most culturally and linguistically
diverse country around the world. The diversity is brought about by the excessive immigration
experienced in the country as there are many people born overseas but living as registered
citizens in Australia. Due to a different background, these people all have a different view of life
and the way they conduct their day to day activities. Healthcare also goes hand in hand with
diversity, and there are therefore many issues that come with providing quality medical cover to
the vast population (Muslims Australia, 2010). It is usually a great challenge providing health
care services to a diverse population since every group has a different view according to their
cultural and religious beliefs.
Health as a sector in the Australian society usually depends on taxpayers money to develop and
advance on a daily basis. That means most of the medical organizations are public as they have
to reach out to the millions of people around the nation. The civil servants feel the pinch as they
pay taxes to the government which in turn are used to develop the health sector. Public hospitals
and dispensaries are usually paid for by the administration, and the patients might only pay for a
small fee of registration (University of Notre Dame Australia, 2009). That makes people around
flock in large numbers especially in regions of the low-income group as they do not want to
spend more on their health bills.
The private sector also contributes much to the area of health as there are many non-
governmental organizations that invest in the field. They try to provide quality healthcare and

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highly compete with the public sector. The public hospitals are definitely in poor conditions at
times because of the numbers they serve on a daily basis. Private institutions, on the other hand,
maintain the highest quality and hygiene which attracts clients. However, there are some
restricting factors of cost which limit a significant portion of the population from accessing
healthcare in private institutions. There is, therefore, a great rift between the wealthy and low-
income earners in the Australian health care provision (Hendricks, & Cope, 2013). Some people
are well catered for when it comes to quality as they have money, while others can only dwell on
the public services.
Health care was considered a luxury in the early 20th Century and hospitals were only for the
private owners. People were largely dependent on traditional medicine as it was the only
accessible and affordable form of treatment. However, that changed later on when traditional
medicine started getting scarce, and now the public was in need of an improved and advanced
form of health care. Government institutions were then started, and thought they were not well
equipped; the population felt relieved. However, the emergence of the private sector, later on,
showed how much diverse the population was regarding their living standards (Newall, &
Scuffham, 2008). There was a notable difference between services at public and private hospitals
and although there are similar diagnosis and treatments, the way each institution handles their
daily activities.
The Australian society does all the possible actions to ensure that the entire population is well
catered for regarding their health. In as much as the whole population cannot get equal health
services due to issues of income and social status, there are well laid out strategies. Public
hospitals and dispensaries provide free or cheap services to the population, and that attracts
mostly the low and middle-income earners (NACCHO, 2016). It is clear that these institutions

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host a significant portion meaning that there is a large number of people who cannot afford to
spend much on their health needs. The government tries all the best to make sure that medical
care is available to all individuals across the nation. They have developed hospitals in the rural
areas to reduce the problem that people in the upcountry face in the search for health care. They
have also taken a step to employ more health personnel’s in their hospitals to improve delivery.
The private organizations have also invested heavily in health and constructed institutions that
cater to the needs of the people. The industry is, however, more advanced regarding
infrastructure and that results in higher bills on the side of the patient. It is therefore obvious that
only a certain percentage of the population can afford to access private medical care.
The low-income earners are usually left behind regarding the quality of services that they receive
when they visit the hospitals. Only a few public hospitals provide surgery and operation services
which everyone regardless of their social status might need at times. I had to look into a case
study of an indigenous woman who had breast mouth cancer and could not get the proper
medical attention as those services were not available at the local dispensary. She finally lost her
life trying to get medical help, and the same case would have been different for a wealthy
individual.
Step 5: Finally, explain how answering this question has helped you to achieve one of the
four ACU Graduate attributes aligned with HLSC120 by reflecting and critically analysing
your thoughts and feelings about the original question based on your research. (250 words)
The course attribute 1 was of great importance in the learning of the unit and research that
involved looking for all the relevant information. The attribute states, ‘demonstrating the dignity
and diversity of all individual,' which is a great concern in Australia. The variety in the

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population impacts negatively on the health care provision, and therefore the government should
try all their best to deliver in the sector of health. I feel that if the public and private institutions
were similar regarding delivery and quality of service, then it would reduce the disparities that
come with social standards in the health sector (Productivity Commission, 2015). In as much as
Australia’s health is concerned, then diversity should not be allowed to make people differ in
their quality of life but rather connect the population.

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References
AIHW [1]. (2016). Socio-economic disadvantage and health. Retrieved from:
http://www.aihw.gov.au/socio-economic-disadvantage-and-health/
Broom, A., & Germov, J. (2014). Global public health.
Charles Sturt University. (2012). Working with Indigenous Australian Staff. Retrieved from:
https://www.csu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/851415/Working-with-Indigenous-
Australian-Staff.pdf
Community Services and Health. (2009). Policy Reform in Nursing – Pushing for Change
[Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6Em8to5NHc
Hendricks, J. M., & Cope, V. C. (2013). Generational diversity: what nurse managers need to
know. Journal of advanced nursing, 69(3), 717-725.
Henry, B. R., Houston, S., & Mooney, G. H. (2004). Institutional racism in Australian
healthcare: a plea for decency. Medical Journal of Australia, 180(10), 517.
NACCHO. (2016). Major developments in national Aboriginal health policy since 1967.
Retrieved from: http://www.naccho.org.au/about/aboriginal-health/history/
Muslims Australia. (2010). Caring for Muslim Patients. Retrieved from:
http://www.icv.org.au/icvdocs/caringformuslimpatients.pdf
Newall, A. T., & Scuffham, P. A. (2008). Influenza-related disease: the cost to the Australian
healthcare system. Vaccine, 26(52), 6818-6823.

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Productivity Commission. (2015). Improving Australia’s health system: what we can do now.
Retrieved from: http://www.pc.gov.au/news-media/pc-news/pc-news-may-2015/improving-
australia-health-system
Queensland Health. (2016). Interpreting and translating. Retrieved from:
https://www.health.qld.gov.au/multicultural/interpreters/interprtng_trnsltng.asp
RACGP. (2012). The Aboriginal Medical Service Redfern. Retrieved from:
http://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2012/june/the-aboriginal-medical-service-redfern/
University of Notre Dame Australia (2009) Diversity in the context of multicultural Australia:
Implications for nursing practice. Retrieved from:
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=nursing_chapters