Analyzing Wellbeing Challenges and Solutions in Saibai Island

This report examines the wellbeing of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community on Saibai Island, focusing on the impact of social determinants of health. The community faces challenges including poor government support, lack of social empowerment, limited health promotion activities, and cultural factors. Social capital, including social networks and trust, is crucial for health, yet negative impacts such as community exclusion and discrimination are prevalent. Racism, both interpersonal and systemic, contributes to ill-health and trauma. The report highlights the importance of land, culture, and spiritual aspects for wellbeing, and emphasizes the need for good governance, self-determination, and cultural continuity to maintain community, family, and spiritual wellbeing. The report references studies on the social determinants of health, racism, and the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, including the impact of government policies and social disadvantages.

Running head: ENHANCING WELLBEING IN A RURAL COMMUNITY 1
ENHANCING WELLBEING IN A RURAL COMMUNITY
(Author’s name)
(Institutional Affiliation)

ENHANCING WELLBEING IN A RURAL COMMUNITY 2
The Saibai island is majorly occupied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander(Browne-
Yung, Ziersch, Baum & Gallaher, 2013). The community has been classified as the minority
group occupying around 5% of the population. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are affected
by the various social determinant of health which includes poor government support social
empowerment, health promotion activities, education, unemployment, and culture(Browne-Yung,
Ziersch, Baum & Gallaher, 2013). Due to these social determinants, social capital in Saibai had
been linked to physical and mental health wellbeing making social capital to be of importance in
Saibai and all Torres traits islander. This is due to the fact that social capital has been enhancing
the health of the Saibai island people through the recourses generated by the society and the
government. Therefore, for good health connections, social networks are needed. Social
Networks in Saibai include both society and the government of which it can be formal or
informal (Browne-Yung, Ziersch, Baum & Gallaher, 2013). Social networks help in the provision
of emotional and material support that lead to health information availability (Browne-Yung,
Ziersch, Baum & Gallaher, 2013). Linking social capital in Saibai involve a connective
relationship between government and people in the society. Negative impacts of social capital
have been experienced in Saibai which include community exclusion and restrictions to
individual wellbeing.
Trust among the Torres traits islander in Saibai enables them to have empathy and
cooperation among the members of the community (Browne-Yung, Ziersch, Baum & Gallaher,
2013). This in turn has led to the development of new health ideas, mutual well-being,
understanding and development of alliances between the government and society. Distrust
toward Aboriginal community by the government and other society is common. If you are from a
Torres islander in Saibai, a chance of getting employment, your child be taken from you,

ENHANCING WELLBEING IN A RURAL COMMUNITY 3
psychological torture, discrimination, and exclusion is high(Calma, Dudgeon & Bray, 2017).
This has to lead to people in the region lived with a fear of an unknown and experienced lot of
racism. Therefore the people from the region tend to be isolated from others hence disliking
introduction of new ideas and changes from outsiders (Calma, Dudgeon & Bray, 2017). The
facilitators of social and wellbeing of people in Saibai normally affect the children and young
people. Poor speech problems increase the risks of behavioral and emotional difficulties in
children (Calma, Dudgeon & Bray, 2017). Lack of intellectual flexibility and emotional support
may increase poor development of milestones prolonging extension of new skills in adults
making the community to have so many disapproval, punishments and teasing(Calma, Dudgeon
& Bray, 2017).
Concerning stress, the community of Saibai experiences environmental circumstances
that challenge both psychological and biological capacities of the individuals which in turn,
affects the development of both of both cognitive and body systems of the people thus enhancing
adults to perform their roles(Calma, Dudgeon & Bray, 2017). This can be due to chaotic systems
developed in the region which come from harmful human development, government extortion,
physical punishment harassment from outsiders, inequality, racism and vulnerability to
harm(DEEMING, 2013). Racism had lead to ill-health to the community of the Saibai region
through various ways which include reduced social resources required for health, increased
exposure to health risk, negative self-esteem, maladaptive to racism such as smoking and
negative emotional reactions(DEEMING, 2013). Racism occurs at both interpersonal and
systemic levels in Saibai(Kilcullen, Swinbourne & Cadet-James, 2017). A national study by
Australian Statics Bureau showed that around 27% of Aboriginal Australians received unfair
treatment in all sectors in 2008 due to racism(Kilcullen, Swinbourne & Cadet-James, 2017). This

ENHANCING WELLBEING IN A RURAL COMMUNITY 4
lead to grief and loss of about 40% of the Aboriginal community hence impacting the wellbeing
of people in Saibai(DEEMING, 2013).
The systematic approval of the Australia government is a risk to child removal and
trauma among the Saibai community which has led to life distress.Governments in the region
have not been able to prevent the unjust exclusion of individual from aboriginal communities in
Saibai making it as a major risk factor for the wellbeing of these people(DEEMING, 2013). The
community has overall social and economic disadvantages which include poor recourses
allocation, violence, substance use and general physical problems(Kilcullen, Swinbourne &
Cadet-James, 2017). The importance of land culture and spiritual aspects belong to the central
aspects of Aboriginal wellbeing(Macniven et al., 2016). This shape the Aboriginal connections to
emotion, family and cultural heritage. Kinship has demonstrated to play a major role in the
community and has been linked as a source of strength and wellbeing(Macniven et al., 2016).
The community has also demonstrated to have good governance, self determination and cultural
continuity in order to maintain community, family and spiritual wellbeing(Kilcullen,
Swinbourne & Cadet-James, 2017).
References
Browne-Yung, K., Ziersch, A., Baum, F., & Gallaher, G. (2013). Aboriginal Australians'
experience of social capital and its relevance to health and wellbeing in
urban settings. Social Science & Medicine, 97, 20-28.
Calma, T., Dudgeon, P., & Bray, A. (2017). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social

ENHANCING WELLBEING IN A RURAL COMMUNITY 5
and Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health. Australian Psychologist, 52(4), 255-260.
Deeming, C. (2013). Addressing the Social Determinants of Subjective Wellbeing: The Latest
Challenge for Social Policy. Journal Of Social Policy, 42(03), 541-565.
Kilcullen, M., Swinbourne, A., & Cadet-James, Y. (2017). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
health and wellbeing: Social-emotional wellbeing and strengths-based
psychology. Clinical Psychologist, 22(1), 16-26.
Macniven, R., Richards, J., Gubhaju, L., Joshy, G., Bauman, A., Banks, E., & Eades, S. (2016).
Physical activity, healthy lifestyle behaviors, neighborhood environment characteristics
and social support among Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal adults. Preventive
Medicine Reports, 3, 203-210.
Markwick, A., Ansari, Z., Sullivan, M., Parsons, L., & McNeil, J. (2014). Inequalities in the
social determinants of health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: a cross-
a sectional population-based study in the Australian state of Victoria. International
Journal
For Equity In Health, 13(1).