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Indigenous Public Health Issues

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The Public Health issue that will be discussed in this essay is Indigenous health. Throughout this essay, a closing the gap report by the COAG reform council will be analysed as it examines the policies and strategies that have been implemented to deal with this serious public health issue, that is Indigenous health. Other important parts of the public health issue, such as cost effectiveness (economic), efficiency and impact on social equity will all be discussed as well.
This is the fourth report done by the council in regards to the National Indigenous Reform Agreement. It is an independent assessment of the progress of Australian governments against the Closing the Gap targets on education, employment and health. The council’s main aim …show more content…

COAG consists of the Prime Minister, State Premiers, Territory Chief Ministers and the President of the Australian Local Government Association. It is a long-term action plan that aims to construct itself on the foundation of respect and unity provided by the 2008 National Apology to the Indigenous people of Australia. It recognises that to improve the lives and opportunities of the Indigenous Australians, extreme and sustained effort is required from all levels of government, as well as individuals, communities, and the private and not for profit sectors. COAG hopes this policy will help eradicate the disadvantages faced by Indigenous Australians in terms of life expectancy, child mortality, education and employment (COAG, …show more content…

Also social and environmental factors play a part. These include psychosocial (racism & stress), education (literacy & numeracy), economic (income) and physical environment (poor and overcrowded housing) (Donato & Segal, 2013). This socio-economic disadvantage causes higher burden of disease and is due to largely preventable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, mental disorders, chronic respiratory disease, obesity and cancer. Risk factors contributing most to the higher burden of disease in indigenous people are tobacco, high body mass, physical inactivity, high blood cholesterol, and alcohol (COAG Reform council, 2013). For instance obesity increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and contributes significantly to the total burden of disease gap between indigenous and non-indigenous people. That is one of the reasons why Indigenous Australians die at much younger ages, have more disabilities and experience reduced quality of life because of ill health compared to non-indigenous Australians (Donato & Segal,

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Koolin Balit is a long-range and far-reaching plan to improve Aboriginal Victorian’s health (Department of Health, 2012). Victorian Government aims at improvement in the length and quality of the lives of Aboriginal Victorian by 2022 (Department of Health, 2012, p. i). It is mentioned that this plan is targeting Aboriginal people in Victoria both at individual and population levels (Department of Health, 2012, p. 4). Department of Health (2012) states that Koolin Balit was initiated by the Minister of Health at the Aboriginal health conference in May 2012 and is a Victorian government’s strategy for improving Aboriginal health in the state within a decade. Koolin Balit envisages its vision to make progress in the quality of life and life expectancy

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As the settlement in Australia continued to grow, the numbers of Indigenous Australians drastically reduced. This occurred because they had never been exposed to such diseases before and their immune systems were too weak to fight the harsh sicknesses. Because of this, a ridiculous number of deaths arose. (Moore, 2008.) The remaining people were devastated by the huge numbers of deaths in their communities.

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Indigenous Australians needs in regard to healthcare is one of the greatest challenges faced by healthcare professionals. The treatment of a patients condition tends to be the main focus of healthcare in a demanding and complex health system. Although it has being found that when taking then time there is actually essential ways in which the healthcare system can develop the needs of Indigenous Australians further. The Nursing Code of Conduct, statement four states, ““Nurses respect the dignity, culture, ethnicity, values and beliefs of people receiving care and treatment, and of their colleagues” (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au, 2015). This is achieved by understand how social and cultural structures such as language, education, society and

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Like many articles on Aboriginal Peoples issues, Anna Banerji’s CBC article “Improving Indigenous Health Starts With Reconciliation” (Banerji, 2015), is a critique on the treatment of Native Peoples in Canada. Her main thesis focuses on the inequality that exists in Canada, by underscoring the biases and discriminations perpetrated on Indigenous Peoples, in terms of basic human rights. Banerji’s advocacy, although commendable, leaves an empty space, in terms of both a governmental (policy) perspective, and her own assertion’s credibility, due to her writing style and content. These ingredients are essential for an understanding by the target audience (Canadians, in general), as it could allow for a powerful critique on the human rights violations

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Aboriginal identity, mental health and suicide rates were outlined throughout this analysis along with the disgusting lack of government aid. As stated above, the aboriginals from the Kattawapiskak River have a strong sense of identity. The persons on these reserves are proud of their traditions and practice resilience in their faith and values, however, the physical and emotional pain these people are put through will soon break their spirits. They can only ask for help from the government so many times before it will be too

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In 1996 he left office before the report was completed. The 25th prime minister in Australia as being John Howard was aware of the issue, he received the ‘Bringing Them Home’ report and yet rejected it. The Bringing Them Home Report had many Inquiries that set demands for the rights of Indigenous Australians, the effects of this history on peoples’ lives and Indigenous communities varied in many areas. The Inquiries showed that there were a number of common effects that varied through the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, many were left with mental and physical health problems, delinquency and behavioural problems, undermined parenting skills, loss of cultural heritage, broken families and communities and racism. It was a time for Caucasians to keep in mind that the removal policies effected generations of Indigenous people, even children who were not removed have been affected in someway, either as a community member or a child of a parent who was removed.

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Critically Analyse components of the Closing the Gap campaign and identify how these components impact life opportunities of Indigenous Australians The Closing the Gap campaign aims to improve things relating to Indigenous education, employment, health and life expectancy. In regards to education Indigenous school completion rates are significantly low (Helm, 2011). There are a variety of reasons that many Indigenous students do not complete school some of the reasons are that some live in remotes areas which means lack of access to schools, lack of jobs to seek and there are not many adults who have completed secondary education. The Closing the Gap campaign has come up with ways to encourage Indigenous students’ engagement in school which should want them to go to school more often.

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This sudden change still has an enormous effect on today’s Indigenous population. How is it fair that the oldest population of people die a decade younger than non-Indigenous Australians? The perpetuation of racism which is manifested in our society has left many Indigenous Australians in a disadvantaged position. Including through, limited access to education with adult literacy rates of just 30 percent and literacy rates of children under 15 more than 48 percent lower than non-Indigenous Australians, consequently means lower educational achievement rates and higher unemployment rates of 17.2 percent compared to 5.5 percent for non-Indigenous Australians (Australian Bureau of Statistics , 2013 ). These facts must be recognised to ensure real equality and a fair-go for Indigenous people.

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Canada is known for its amazing healthcare and it is considered one of the best in the world. In Canada, healthcare is ‘universal’ to its citizens under the Heath Care Act. However, not everyone has equal access to healthcare, Aboriginals being some of them. Aboriginals have trouble getting the access they need because of socio-economic status, geography, lack of infrastructure and staff, language or cultural barriers an more. Aboriginals on reserve face many barriers when it comes to access to healthcare, they include cost, language, distance, climate, education and more.

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The article highlights the method by which the Australian continent was colonised, the ruthless treatment of Aboriginals by the British colonists and the disposition of Aboriginal people. Hollingsworth clearly defines his view of “The Gap” which exists between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians in regards to life expectancy, socioeconomic status and literacy levels. Hollingsworth’s strongly suggests that the historic treatment of indigenous Australians is cause for national shame. The author advocates strongly for self-determination of Aboriginal people, stating that adopting a “bothways “ educational structure would assist with addressing low literacy levels amongst indigenous people. Similarly, addressing reconciliation through means of recognition of the rich indigenous culture, the languages that bound them to each other and the earth they walked on, could also assist with self-determination of Indigenous people.

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The problem appears to become evident right from birth with aboriginal woman twice as likely as non-indigenous woman to have a stillborn baby and twice as likely to give birth to an underweight baby (ed. Healey 2000, p.4). During the period between 1991 and 1996, life expectancy for indigenous people was around 20 years than that of their non-indigenous counterparts. The lives of indigenous people are affected by many other health factors, one of most concern is alcohol related problems that impact on their well-being, family structure, and even aboriginal traditional life because they tend to drink more haphazardly. Some of the health risks to which indigenous people are exposed can be attributed the differences between the health of indigenous and non-indigenous people.

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It perpetuates cycles of poverty, unemployment, and poor health outcomes, and undermines the preservation and revitalization of Indigenous cultures and languages. Sources of validation: Research studies, reports, and statistics on Indigenous education, interviews with Indigenous educators, community leaders, and students, and input from Indigenous organizations and experts in the

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There has been no dramatic improvement to improve their health, housing, education and employment. The unfair treatment of indigenous people 's rights got to a point where assimilation policies were in practice of forcefully disposing the aboriginal identity and culture including the removal of aboriginal children that we know today as the stolen generation as seen in the quote by A.O Neville, "In 50 year we should forget that

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The colonization of Indigenous peoples has dramatically affected their health, and health-seeking behaviours, in a myriad of ways. The Indian Act of 1876 was, in essence, created to control the Indigenous population. The Indian Act laid out laws and regulations that tightly regulated the lives of natives economically, ideologically, and politically. This included a wealth of ways in which their identities were stripped away, and in which they were taken advantage of by the Government of Canada. This has resulted in a reduced quality of life for Canada 's indigenous population, as well as adverse health problems, and prejudicial perceptions that we still see the impact of today.

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