Analysis Of The Current Health Outcomes For Indigenous Australian People

In the late 1700s, Australia was occupied by more than five hundred different language groups (HelathInfoNet, 2014). The groups existed independently without disruption and cases of ethnocentrism were no more. However, after the invasion of the white colonials, the land social structure interfered. The colonialists imposed names to the people who worked for them and significantly drew a boundary between the native’s location and their homes (Eades, 2013). Studies indicate that the earliest form of life and inhabitance in the land were two communities: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.  The side effects of colonization were intense as it eroded the cultural, social, and political organizations of the indigenous Australian. Again, the same social, economic, and political stratification is characterized today: interest drawn from the health sector which has less capacity to accommodate and serve the indigenous people as contradicted to the foreigners. That said the article would make use of Cassie story Dan Ngal to reflect and highlight the trends in the health care system in Australia. The focus will be amongst the indigenous Australians. Notably, the paper will have different sections; first, the paper will analyze the outcomes, strength, and weaknesses of the health system. Secondly, the paper will examine policies, legislation, and practices that have impacted Australian identity, cultures, and health. Furthermore, the article will discuss the roles played by the Australian health system to curb the outline outcomes. Lastly, the paper will wrap up the discussions concerning the thesis statement as shown below.  Factors Contributing To Health Outcomes For Indigenous Australians Essay Paper

Cliffort et al., 2015 assessed five Australian hospitals with an aim to improve cultural sensitivity and environmental culture. Through interaction with the staff at the hospitals, Cliffort et al., 2015 identified that they lacked a mechanism that engaged the locals in a mutual practice of social reform. Also, there was a growing need to establish a system that is indigenous-oriented to aerate health issues facing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Recent studies indicated that hospitals with implemented cultural sensitivity paid attention to having relationships with the locals, and the top management prioritized the processes by including the locals in decision making (Waterworth et al., 2014). Moreover, the integration of the Aboriginal-oriented practices in the Australian Council of Healthcare Standards proved to be a cornerstone upon which sensitive cultural hospitals thrived. The same is related to Cassie story Dyan Ngal “They never ask us,” a story which points out the failure of the government and the ministry of health to include the natives in decision making. Moreover, the story paints a picture where the locals are evicted from their homes without being consulted.

On the positive side, the Australian health care system is acknowledged for implementing smoke check program to locals in New South Wales (Cliffort et al., 2015). The program helped in reducing tobacco consumption and improved the local’s knowledge. Additionally, Ciffort et al., 2015 B found out that training and educating medical students to be culturally competent assisted in shifting the local’s awareness to a level of project sustainability. For instance, adding an integrated Aboriginal health curriculum in undergraduate schools motivated students and changed their perception and prepared them for future services to the community. The model is highly appraised by Cassie’s mother who is working extra hard to ensure the son has access to better education outside their native homeland so as to help serve the people (Denison et al., 2014). That said, the NMBA outlines publication and policies in the health care system in Australia namely members and staff policies, nurses and midwives policies, and a policy cover for the general public. The nurses and midwives policy provides manuals and guidelines governing nurses on how to practice and deliver services especially to the native Australian people. moreover, the members and staff policy is a set of rules aimed towards shaping and ensuring transparency in the board of governance and the entire nursing staff. What is more, is that the two outlines policies strive to establish patient-centered care approach to help the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders to access quality health care. Lastly, the general public policy in New South Wales creates a platform upon which all citizens, both the foreigners and the native Australian are assessed and their ease to access quality health care is uphold.

Policy

However, there some limitations with the Australian health care system that calls for improvement. For instance, the establishment of the Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Management program lacked proper promotion and integration of the locals so as to reduce the gap between the foreigners and the locals regarding access to health attention (HealthInfoNet, 2014). The outcomes of the intervention recorded successful implementation amongst the foreigners while it differed amongst the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The challenge was attributed to the lack of incorporating the locals in the program. Therefore, it is important for the health professionals and stakeholders to recognize the need for a holistic approach that integrates the locals in decision-making while preserving their traditional beliefs.

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Effects of legislation policies and practices of Australian identity, cultures, and health

Cassie story Dyan Ngal “breaking down of things that keep us together” highlights the struggle Cassie and his community went through to be accepted as Australians and access quality health care. The same is characterized by the assimilation introduce by the colonialist who sidelined the natives, made them submissive to their foreign culture, and at the same time separate their kids from them. The resultant force saw the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders ‘die out. The play sets a platform to analyze the legislation that NMBA posits on ‘Health Care Complaints Act 1993. The legislation creates room for health workers and patients to advocate for their rights and at it is against the opinion of suppression in the health care industry in South Wales. Moreover, section 145BA of the legislation provides the manual on which a complaint is addressed and outcomes.

In this case, the Indigenous Australians are the complainants and they seek redemption from the slavery and the colonial rule to access quality health care. ‘The indigenous people were placed on reserves while the half-caste indigenous Australians were assimilated into the white culture (Blank and Burau, 2013).  “The wailing at night…used to disturb the spirits” is symbolic as it relates to the assimilation process that saw whites taking children from their parents and immersing them into their culture. The parents of the children were left outside the process because it was considered hard to teach an old dog new trick. The wailing which awoke the spirits symbolizes the act of the indigenous people is crying and complaining of the harsh treatments by the whites with the aim of eradicating them. Besides, the wailing at night alludes to the legislation on children and young persons (care and protection) Act 1998: the act advocates f for protection of the rights of children in New South Wales. Also, it provides a leading principle upon which native Australians can seek justice and early interventions regarding health care issues. With that in mind, it is possible to discern that assimilation manifests today in Australia and has significantly denied the locals the chance to access quality health care. For instance, the National Mental Health Policy records highest cases of chronic mental illness amongst the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders due to the continuous exposure to social and emotional constraints (Jefferson-Buchanan, 2015). The indigenous people of Australia are said to have poor housing, education, and health status due to defiance to adopt the European customs.

Limitations Of The Australian Health Care System

Also, the resettlement into the schemes has exposed the locals to the outside world through interaction with the whites. The use television, access to the European education system, and availability of different medical expertise threatens to erode the traditional organization of the people (Robbinson et al., 2013). The fourth scene “you got to pull yourself together and get out of here” is a narration that paints Cassie’s mother as a civilized person who appreciates the need for having a formal education as a means to get employment in the current Australian government. Cassie’s mom insists on telling him to work hard so as to find a school outside the community an indicator that the European education is advantageous to the informal education offered by elders in the community (Jefferson-Buchanan, 2015). However, Cassie is reluctant to face the court to tell them the same because he is aware of the forces opposing the move. Again, the local’s perception on the white’s custom and belief sees Cassie’s mother get sick and is reluctant to seek medication at a government-sponsored hospital managed by the foreigners. Instead, she decides to remain loyal to the ways of the land at the expense of her health.

As such, the exposure to the new world is an agency through which the locals get access to information. In line with the NMBA Act of 2009: Government Information (Public Access) is a reviewed act that posits four possible ways upon which the locals can get access to quality health care. Moreover, the integration between technology and health care aims at shifting the mindset of the locals and make them access better health facilities; a deviation from their traditional ways of healing. For instance, the Act has a section on mandatory release which explains how health information is made public for the benefit of the people. The information can be accessed through a number of sites namely council website, disclosure log, and agency information guide.

Before the implementation of the National recovery-oriented framework in the Australian health care system, there were increased cases of cultural incompetency in hospitals. The causal agent is attributed to lack of a curriculum in the health care system that not only appreciates but also integrates sensitive cultural training into medical courses. Most health professionals interacting with the locals recorded minute consultation and registration of patients at the health amenities because of the stereotypes between the native Australians and the foreigners (Corrigan et al., 2014). Therefore, the federal government in liaison with the ministry of health and state governments introduced a curriculum that produced attitudinal changes in the clinical outcomes by incorporating the locals in decision making and sustainability of health care projects. The national recovery-oriented framework helped to narrow the gap between the natives and foreigners regarding accessibility of health care. Moreover, the use of health insurance has proved a challenge to the Australian indigenous people where the locals are limited to accessing general health insurance which is rarely used in the public hospitals while the whites have private health insurances that allow them to choose the type of health services (Hunt et al., 2015). To that end, it is important to recognize the actual practice by the health system in establishing a health care unit where Rhonda worked to help the local’s access quality care. Cassie’s mom uses it as an example to motivate her son to strive for more and get into a university.

Legislation

Conclusion

Policies and programs in the health care system need to embrace the bottom-up approach to serve the interest of all citizens in Australia. For instance, the Australian health system should allow the indigenous people to access quality care without discrimination. Also, there is more than appears to the eyes facing the locals in Australia: the factor range from social, economic, and political. As for the play “they never ask us” it is evident that the policy makers are few elite people in the society who are self-centered and never consult the natives on what needs to be done. Hence, there are increased cases of ethnocentrism in the state. Assimilation and resettlement are the underlying cause of slow development on the fringes of Australian communities. However, the significant step by the government and the health system to implement the national recovery-oriented framework is acknowledged as it has worked hard to reduce the gap between the locals and foreigners through access to quality health care. Despite being tied to the ways of the land and access to quality education, Cassie’s mom makes her mind and is determined to get her son quality European education.

References

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