A Focus On Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Population In Australia

Determinants Of Health

In Australia, one of the most vulnerable groups is the people are the people of Aboriginal and Torres strait islands. These population are known as one of the oldest and first-generation people of Australia (aiatsis.gov.au, 2022). Their culture is very much distinct from the modern non-indigenous Australians and they often experience discrimination on the basis of their race, culture, language and that lead to inaccessibility to education as well as healthcare and that make them more vulnerable to poor health. The absence of equitable healthcare access as well as the lower level of health facilities in Indigenous communities (good housing, sanitation, nutrition etc.) relative to other People are major elements of Indigenous health inequality in Australia (humanrights.gov.au, 2022). In this study, the chosen population is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands and the discussion would focus on how social determinants of health impact them, health literacy strategy to educate the population, as well as an existing health program that would help them to battle with the health issues.

Health is influenced by number of factors, and the factors are significant that determine the fate of a population if they would lead a good or poor life from the aspect of health. The major determinants of health that could affect a population group are: food insecurity, education, unemployment as well as job insecurity, income as well as social protection, conditions of working life, and housing and the environment.

The first social determinants of health are the poor education level and literacy that are associated with poor health status of the aboriginals, which significantly affect the ability of the population in accessing the health information. Low literacy has been shown to keep Aboriginal people out of higher education and institutions, as well as to contribute to poor health, poor self-confidence, as well as alcohol consumption. Adult literacy levels might be just as poor as children’s. In Australia, over 40% of the Aboriginal adults are illiterate, a proportion that can reach 70% in rural places (Nash & Arora, 2021).  Social Determinants Of Health And Health Literacy Discussion Paper

The following determinants of health that make the population vulnerable is the poorer income that decreases the accessibility of services of health care as well as medicines. It has been seen that nearly 30 per cent of the Indigenous population’s income is below poverty level, which states that more than 120,000 Indigenous population at present residing under the poverty line that preventing them in accessing healthcare (Parliament of Australia, 2022).

Reflection

The next determinant of health is the overcrowded and poor housing, which is related to poverty as well as contributes largely in the spreading of the communicable disease (Andersen et al., 2018). Low income in Aboriginal households is a consequence of massive unemployment and the long-term effects of colonialism. People nowadays consistently discover that Aboriginal populations in non-rural regions rely on handouts as well as live in overcrowded dwellings.

The following two social determinants of health are poor nutrient status and smoking behaviour. Poor nutrient condition of the infants which is linked to poverty and that ultimately to chronic health problems. Whereas smoking and other behaviour often lead them to develop chronic diseases like COPD and heart diseases (Tonkin et al., 2020).

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It is not very easy to work with the indigenous population and working on improving their health literacy or education level. By boosting information and developing health outcomes, promote health literacy amongst Indigenous Australians is a crucial method to boost self-determination and independence in both people as well as communities (Nash & Arora, 2021). From the analysis and other sources, I have collected information and made an assumption that what would be my role while working with the Aboriginal; population and improving their health literacy such as reducing smoking habits and mitigating the health issue like COPD.  As a nurse, I need to work with the aboriginal communities by properly understanding their history, culture as well as socio-political climate within the specific community (Horrill et al., 2018). Moreover, as a nurse while improving the health literacy level of the aboriginals I must engage Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community within the health care plan directly and must follow a standard of respect as well as acknowledgement which is essential while working with them. By expressing respect for the Indigenous community, I will be able to build trustworthy connections and facilitate successful communication.

In addition, when working with the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander as a health care professional I need to sensitized to the obstacles that the indigenous population experiences, which would help me to work proactively with the persons as well as communities. While working with them I need to reflect on my own culture, own attitudes as well as beliefs, I need to show a value free, clear, open as well as respectful communication that would help me in developing trust as well as help me in recognising and avoiding stereotypical barriers (intstudentsup.org, 2021).

Health Promotional Program For Aboriginal Australians

Another major factor that I recognized that nursing professionals must adhere while working with the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is maintaining the cultural competency that is associated with cultural safety. In health care sector, providing effective, high-quality therapy to patients with a wide range of beliefs, emotions, attitudes, and behaviours is referred to as cultural competence. This strategy demands the creation of mechanisms that can adapt health care to cultural and linguistic differences. (Henderson et al., 2018). It has been seen that, In the context of culture, knowing the notions of health literacy takes on new importance. Person’s cultural health beliefs influence how they feel as well as think about their wellbeing, when and where they reach out for help, and how they relate to health condition prevention as well as management. For example, smoking cessation practice can be educated along with other behaviour often led them to develop chronic diseases like COPD and heart diseases. By following the norms, I would be able to communicate the indigenous population effectively and might educate them about the health conditions, diseases, reasons and other facts and might enhance their health literacy skills that would be beneficial for them.

The Aboriginal and Torres strait island’s people often experience more than one chronic disease at a time. Among various disease, COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is very common among indigenous people. As per the report of the BOLD Australian study, a significant proportion (3.3%) of Aboriginal Australians experiencing this disease, whereas the prevalence is also very high (Heraganahally et al., 2019). To address this issue one of the health promotional programs “Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme” was initiated with the intention of Aboriginal’s welfare. This Indigenous Australian Health Program (IAHP) helps the people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands in receiving quality medical care. It assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders for accessing health care as well as improving their health by funding relevant activities of indigenous culture (health.gov.au, 2022).

From the aspect of strength, it can be stated that IAHP is one of the most crucial and essential health programs for the Australian population. This program is important as it addresses the good health necessitates availing to health services and drugs, as well as integrated health care. Furthermore, this initiative focuses for providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations with the health care that require, irrespective of background (health.gov.au, 2022). The major strength of this program is that this program mainly focused on 4 themes which are essential for the population. First is the primary care service where the focus is to improving the service delivery to increase immunization as well as promoting activities to decrease the smoking or other practices. The following is enhancing the primary healthcare access of the aboriginals by increasing the cultural competencies of the health care staffs, coordinating care across service or supporting outreach services (Nolan-Isles et al., 2021).  The following strengths are enhancing the targeted health activities like controlling or preventing chronic conditions or enhancing the eye as well as ear health of children.

One of the major limitations of this program is that, it could not achieve their goal 100 % and till date Aboriginal and Torres Strait islands people are experiencing the issues that preventing them in accessing the healthcare and their life has not changed significantly. However, the assumption and objectives of the study need to be followed and established which might be very beneficial tor the aboriginals and might help to close the gap between modern and indigenous Australians.

Conclusion

Nursing practitioners play an essential role in primary care by enhancing, connecting, and coordinating services. As a consequence of their training and work, they are well-positioned to provide safe and high-quality care in the areas of sickness prevention, evaluation, treatment, delivery, and recovery (Kieft et al., 2014). The nurses may actively play role in the health improvement of the Aboriginals by enabling them in improving their health as well as wellbeing by focusing/addressing the social determinants of health. Furthermore, nurses may help the population in educating about the diseases and assisting to adopt prevention strategies that might help them to prevent infectious and lifestyle diseases.

Reference

AIATSIS. (2022). Indigenous Australians: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. AIATSIS. Retrieved 4 April 2022, from https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/indigenous-australians-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people.

Andersen, M. J., Williamson, A. B., Fernando, P., Wright, D., & Redman, S. (2018). Housing conditions of urban households with Aboriginal children in NSW Australia: tenure type matters. BMC public health, 18(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4607-y

health.gov.au. (2022). Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme. health.gov.au. Retrieved 4 April 2022, from https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/indigenous-australians-health-programme#about-the-program.

Henderson, S., Horne, M., Hills, R., & Kendall, E. (2018). Cultural competence in healthcare in the community: A concept analysis. Health & Social Care in the Community, 26(4), 590-603. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12556

Heraganahally, S. S., Wasgewatta, S. L., McNamara, K., Eisemberg, C. C., Budd, R. C., Mehra, S., & Sajkov, D. (2019). Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease In Aboriginal Patients Of The Northern Territory Of Australia: A Landscape Perspective. International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 14, 2205–2217. https://doi.org/10.2147/COPD.S213947

Horrill, T., McMillan, D. E., Schultz, A., & Thompson, G. (2018). Understanding access to healthcare among Indigenous peoples: A comparative analysis of biomedical and postcolonial perspectives. Nursing inquiry, 25(3), e12237. https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12237

Humanrights.gov.au. (2022). Social determinants and the health of Indigenous peoples in Australia – a human rights based approach | Australian Human Rights Commission. Humanrights.gov.au. Retrieved 4 April 2022, from https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/speeches/social-determinants-and-health-indigenous-peoples-australia-human-rights-based.

intstudentsup.org. (2022). Cultural Safety. intstudentsup.org. Retrieved 4 April 2022, from https://www.intstudentsup.org/diversity/cultural_safety/.

Kieft, R. A., de Brouwer, B. B., Francke, A. L., & Delnoij, D. M. (2014). How nurses and their work environment affect patient experiences of the quality of care .  Social Determinants Of Health And Health Literacy Discussion Paper