Social and Emotional Well-being in Australian Indigenous Communities

This report delves into the concept of Social and Emotional Well-being (SEWB) within Australian Indigenous communities, contrasting it with the Western understanding of mental health. It explores the unique perspectives of Aboriginal peoples, emphasizing the interconnectedness of SEWB with spiritual, cultural, and social wellness, and examines the historical context of discrimination and its impact on mental states. The report analyzes the evolution of Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS) and their alignment with primary health care principles, as outlined by the World Health Organization, highlighting the challenges in accessing healthcare due to cultural beliefs and financial constraints. Furthermore, it examines how SEWB is applied in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health services, emphasizing the importance of community involvement and culturally sensitive approaches to improve health outcomes and address the social determinants of health. The conclusion emphasizes the need for culturally appropriate healthcare services and collaborative efforts to improve the well-being of Indigenous communities.

Social & Emotional Well-Being
Indigenous Community, Australia
SystemJP
12/17/2019

Social and Emotional Well-being in Australia
Introduction
Aim of this paper is to deliver detailed information and review critical analysis of Social and
Emotional Well-Being (SEWB) concept popular among the Aboriginal peoples and the
difference between terms of mental health. This paper will analyse different literature reviews
and journal articles defining the detailed analysis of different perspective related to mental
health issues and well-being for Aboriginal peoples in their thinking, this study will find
difference between the definitions and acceptance of mental health among western nation and
Aboriginals peoples (Bourke, Humphreys, Wakerman & Taylor, 2012). Australian
indigenous communities are assumed to suffer most from the health issues and find
difficulties in access the healthcare services due to their beliefs and culture practice, this
paper will discuss the following statements;
· Finding differences between an Aboriginal concept of social and emotional
wellbeing (SEWB) as opposed to the term mental health
Term Social and Emotional Wellbeing is deeply related to the describing spiritual, cultural
and social wellness and maintenance in the views of the Aboriginal peoples, these people
identify health and wellbeing related to the land, religion, family and traditional beliefs of
their community and they never adopt the mental illness as the health issue because their
traditional values are fully based in the concept of the emotional attachment with the issues
faced by one in the community (Day & Francisco, 2013). Indigenous community describe
mental health is related to the emotions and feelings of a person in his emotional attachment
and they think that settled standard of mental health by the government did not include and
cover all the factors related to thinking and feeling of the community. Aboriginal believe that
mental health related to the normal stress and challenges faced by the people in their living,
they believe that discrimination faced by the community in their past and critical time they
faced at the time of British colonisation had a great impact over the emotions and mental

Social and Emotional Well-being in Australia
states of their life hence they assume and accept mental health is the result of the depression
they faced in losing their traditional identity and land control in the past (Dudgeon, Milroy,
Walker, Calma & Green, n.d.).
Professor Helen in their detailed study identified that aboriginals have a different point of
view about social and emotional wellbeing; they recorded their findings in three forms as the
denial of existence, denial of identity and denial of existence (Geia, Power & West, 2013).
Major social determiners of better health in the society is related to better access on basic
amenities including better and healthy food, access to proper education and majorly include
the regular employment and earnings for healthy living, facing discrimination from many
decades aboriginals accept that inability to access the basic requirement affect the mental
state and thinking ability of a person (Harfield et al., 2018). Western guidelines are still
challenging to accept by the aboriginals as they think these are not covering the entire area of
the mental health by the aboriginals, these guidelines need to cover the following detailed list
of concept related to the social and emotional wellbeing of community;
1. Health as full focused criteria
2. Self-determination right
3. Understanding about the tradition and culture
4. Identification of human-rights
5. Evolution of the historical impact over the community
6. Impact of racial discrimination
7. Identification of centrality position
8. Evaluation and identification of cultural diversity and importance
9. Evaluation and identification of aboriginal qualities and strengths
Health and wellbeing is a challenging concept in relation of aboriginals and Torres Islander
community because health care professional are accepted to understand the detailed

Social and Emotional Well-being in Australia
structures of the SEWB from the Aboriginals perspective because they see it in a fully
different manner.
· Analysing when and how Aboriginal Medical Services evolved and how they align
with the principles of primary health care as outlined by the World Health
Organisation
Primary Health Services accessibility is a basic right of people without any discrimination
based on race, gender and cast, World Health Organisation has effective role in planning and
controlling the activities relayed to health care services in the country and they especially
target to deliver better primary health care service for the minorities and indigenous
communities in a country hence they also had issued medical principals for the better health
care services which are necessary to follow by the healthcare departments of the country
(Hayman, Askew & Spurling, 2014). Australian government introduced numerous primary
health services for the indigenous community targeting for the better development, first
Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS) was established in 1971 in Australia aiming to improve
living and better health care development for the community. After that many non-profit
organisation and big business enterprises started taking part in the healthcare facilitation for
the indigenous communities as in the mid of 2006 after calculating the population of
Australia was showing rapid growth in the increased level of the indigenous community,
hence Australian government become more concerned about the health care development of
the indigenous community as they are key holder of the ancient history of the entire continent
(Langham et al., 2017).
Primary health care guidelines issued by the World Health organisation (1978) are acceptable
universally but in case of the indigenous community it becomes challenging to use the same
guidelines because of the different feelings and thinking in the community about the health

Social and Emotional Well-being in Australia
care issues and treatment, guidelines of the Primary health care services in relation to the
aboriginal people are challenging in many forms like
Life expectancy and death rate at the aboriginal community is a point of concern because
many health campaigns to close the between life expectancy death rates are introduced to
meet the proper and continues health care services for the community (Malatzky & Bourke,
2017).
Indigenous community of the country suffer and face from many challenges related to the
access primary health services due to many reasons including lack of education in the
community about the health care disease and treatment for the disease are cultural beliefs
about the health issues are not curable by the health care services (Panaretto, Wenitong,
Button & Ring, 2014).
Lack of proper financial means to purchase the required medicine and laboratory tests make
the people feel unable to get cured, females and children are at high risk of getting death
because their over-dependency on the others for the health care treatment makes the
situations challenging for them.
· Analysing how social and emotional wellbeing is applied in an Aboriginal
Community Controlled Health service today
Australian aboriginals communities give value to their social and emotional beliefs about the
health care services and mental health hence organisations delivering the primary health care
facilities to the people in the country are responsible to deliver the better health care services
focused to satisfy the social and metal criteria of the indigenous community as well;
Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (AIPA) is engaged to improve the better use
and application of SWEB and Mental Health of indigenous communities by involving
families and communities with effective collaboration between the communities (Percival,
O’Donoghue, Lin, Tsey & Bailie, 2016). At the end of 2008, the World Health Organisation

Social and Emotional Well-being in Australia
issues its final guidelines in the report “Closing the Gap” Campaign, community of the
aboriginals are in need of the better health care services those are essential to meet the
following principles’
1. improve the situations of day to day living and daily life
2. Attack the discriminatory supply of authority, cash, and assets with the equal
distribution of all these resources and manage the organizational drivers of those
circumstances of daily life internationally, countrywide, and locally.
3. Identify and measure the challenges faced in the services, evaluate and select the
useful actions expand training and knowledge’s in the increasing the understanding
about the social determinants of health in the community and raise awareness in the
public about these determiners and useful facilities to access the better health care
services in the country (Tsey et al., 2010).
Social and emotional wellbeing is easy to be included in the community health care services
like (AIPA) by using the given recommendations, work in partnership with the government
of Australia and make efforts to aware the public about the health care services are their basic
right and these are essential for the good living (Yang & Wonpat-Borja, 2011). Strategies to
decrease the practice of partial behaviour among the indigenous and nonindigenous
community at the place of education, employment, access over basic amenities and in the
social places can develop the self-determination of the indigenous people and can attract
them to take active participation in the development activities. Better and deep understanding
about the psychological distress among the indigenous community is important to understand
by the health care service providers in order to meet the emotional challenges faced by the
communities from many decades and these challenges are still disturbing the mental peace
and balance in the aboriginals (Yang & Wonpat-Borja, 2011).

Social and Emotional Well-being in Australia
Conclusion
Based on detailed analysis of scholar articles and research papers this study concludes that
people of Aboriginals community has been facing discrimination and partial treatment from
many decades and this had affected their psychology about proper health.. Community
service organisation can focus involvement of public welfare organisation and they can focus
to educate and train the employees to understand the hidden concept of the SWEB in indigoes
community. Health care providers are essential to ensure the proper and regular access for
every single person from the community by raising awareness in the local communities with
the help of NGO and educational institutions. Working together for the uplift and
development of the suffering community is the idol situation to attain the assured success at
local, national and global level in the country.

Social and Emotional Well-being in Australia
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