Aboriginal Assimilation

For over 40,000 years Indigenous Australians have enjoyed one of the most stable civilisations in the history of the planet. Through their complex social and spiritual systems they have maintained a historical record of all those has preceded them as well as maintained a harmonious balance between them and the local environment. This all changed once the convict fleet from England arrived, they claimed the land in the name of the crown believing the land was barren. This was based on the consideration that the indigenous population present were not civilised or more accurately what they saw didn’t meet their standard of what is civilised.

After colonisation diseases that were not known to the indigenous population became epidemic due to the

This has had a lasting negative effect on indigenous health due to the exposure to alcohol, disease and illegal substances, this coupled with their different health requirements has resulted in a lower life expectancy which is significantly less than a comparable Caucasian of the same age and status. In recent times there have been several initiatives and programs to improve the health of indigenous Australians, such as dedicated hearing programs and health screening at birth and a modified immunisation schedule which accounts for the unique need for immunity in the population. This assignment will evaluate the culture of indigenous people and its relation to social determinates of health within the Australian context and how primary health care combined with culture can influence the practice of nursing to improve the delivery of health to indigenous

This culminated in 1975 when the Racial Discrimination Act was introduced which prevented discrimination on basis of race and ensuring equal access to the newly created universal health care program MediBank the predecessor to the current Medicare system. In today’s modern society while indigenous populations still face significant disadvantage, there are more opportunities available than what there were previously and are rapidly being addressed by successive governments by way of policy and strategies. This is by introducing programs which reinforce the culture of family and community, delivering appropriate culturally relevant educational opportunities and helping deliver services to remote communities in order to close the gap and equalize the standards of living while maintaining the cultural heritage and ties the indigenous