Reflective Analysis: Social Determinants of Health in Australia

This reflective assignment delves into the student's exploration of the social determinants of health among Indigenous Australians, focusing on the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. The student details their initial feelings and prior knowledge, expressing disappointment upon realizing th...Read More

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH AMONG INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS
Name of Student
Institution Affiliation

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH AMONG INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS
Description
Learning about the indigenous Australian communities was one of the aspects that I was
anxiously looking forward to. Apart from the content covered in class, I also delved deep into
research just to understand how the life and experiences of the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait
Islanders look like. Together with my colleagues, we also consulted multiple materials relevant
to the unit and engaged in the in-depth discussion to gain a deeper understanding of the issues
affecting the health of the two groups (Mitrou et al.,2014). Based on the special interest I had in
this group, I had to consult multiple resources just to ascertain that I gained as much knowledge
as possible. In most cases, I had to ask my colleagues questions on the issues that I did not
understand or shatter any striking issue that I learnt about the Torres Strait Islanders and the
Aboriginals.
Feelings
Before I came across this topic, I was quite informed about how it feels to be an
indigenous Australian. I was quite happy that I was going to engage in research and learn
something that I was anxiously looking forward to. Previously I was of the opinion that the two
groups axially enjoy similar health privileges like the rest of the Australians, which is not true
(Marmot, 2011). However, I was quite disappointed upon realizing that I had been wrong all
through. I really sympathized with them. I also felt that their experience must have been
unbearable based on the poor state of their health status compared to the rest of the population
(Humanrights,2019). Given that these people have to be treated this way in a country where
equality is emphasized gave me a feeling of guilt. I felt like this has been all my fault regardless
of the fact that I am not to blame for the poor state of their health.

Evaluation
The thing that worked well was that I had finally carried out and completed my research
on the social determinants of health among the Aboriginals. The huge amount of relevant
materials that I found on this topic also made the experience worthwhile. The fact that I could
easily get the materials from my own research and from course materials motivated me to dig
deeper into the topic to increase my understanding. The thing that did not work, however, was
the fact that I thought that I would get enough time to engage all the materials. I later realized
that with the huge volume of materials on this topic, it was not possible to achieve that.
Analysis
Things went well because I had the determination to gain a deeper understanding of the
topic. This, therefore, kept me focused in order to achieve what I was looking forward to. In
addition, the fact that the lecturer provided us with relevant materials and initial guidance made it
possible to easily digest information and engage in deeper research on the topic. The fact that I
had previously engaged in personal research was also a contributing factor. Finding the relevant
materials for the topic also contributed to the success of my knowledge acquisition. However, I
thought that consulting multiple resources would be a success but this did not work as expected
because of time constraints and the voluminous nature of materials that I came across. I think
being aware that engaging in detailed research requires much more time will be helpful in my
future learning expeditions.
Conclusion
From the situation, I learnt that a huge gap exists in the health status of the indigenous
Australians compared to other Australians. The situation could have been more positive if I had
set aside enough time to engage in research. I need to enhance my research skills and the ability

to consult multiple resources to handle such situations better in future. I could also have
interviewed a knowledgeable person from the Indigenous Australians to gain a deeper
understating of their health status.
Action plan
When learning about an issue that I am quite passionate about, I will engage in research
earlier to facilitate an easier understanding of the concepts involved. Pre-learning will also
enable me to identify all the pertinent issues requiring clarification so that I could seek the same
during class hours. I will develop the necessary research skills by engaging I research on other
topics of interests and evaluate my performance in each research activity. Having an open mind
will enable me to act differently next time. My disappointing experiences were mostly because I
had not expected to come across so much negativities in the topic

References
Humanrights. (2019). Social determinants and the health of Indigenous peoples in Australia – a
human rights based approach | Australian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved from
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/news/speeches/social-determinants-and-health-
indigenous-peoples-australia-human-rights-based
Marmot, M. (2011). Social determinants and the health of Indigenous Australians. Med J Aust, 194(10),
512-3.
Mitrou, F., Cooke, M., Lawrence, D., Povah, D., Mobilia, E., Guimond, E., & Zubrick, S. R. (2014). Gaps in
Indigenous disadvantage not closing: a census cohort study of social determinants of health in
Australia, Canada, and New Zealand from 1981–2006. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 201.