Summary: Indigenous Health

Social and Cultural Determinants of Indigenous Health - Australian Government Department of Health - Citizen Space . 2018. Social and Cultural Determinants of Indigenous Health - Australian Government Department of Health - Citizen Space . [ONLINE] Available at: https://consultations.health.gov.au/indigenous-health/determinants/. [Accessed 14 April

There are many socio-economic, socio-cultural and environmental challenges for Indigenous Australians, however the ones that cause the most struggle include: • Lower income, where in 2006, the average household income for Indigenous families came to just over half of the average household income for non-indigenous families. • A Higher Unemployment Rate, when in 2011, the 16% unemployment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was more than three times higher than the unemployment rate for non-indigenous people, which sat at 5%. Non-indigenous Australians were also more likely to be employed in jobs like construction and mining, having a 25% blue collar employment rate compared to the 10% employment rate of Indigenous people. • Schooling and Educational Attainment 2) Select one preventable chronic disease in which we have studies from Australia’s Health (Cardiovascular disease, cancer or mental health).

Indigenous people in Australia do not have equal access to health service compare to non-Indigenous Australian. Indigenous people experienced socioeconomic disadvantage which put them in a greater risk of environmental and behavioural risk health factors. Some of Indigenous living household do not support good health. Indigenous

As health professionals, we must look beyond individual attributes of Indigenous Australians to gain a greater understanding and a possible explanation of why there are such high rates of ill health issues such as alcoholism, depression, abuse, shorter life expectancy and higher prevalence of diseases including diabetes, heart disease and obesity in our indigenous population. Looking at just the individual aspects and the biomedical health model, we don’t get the context of Aboriginal health. This is why we need to explore in further detail what events could have created such inequities in Aboriginal health. Other details that we should consider are the historical and cultural factors such as, ‘terra nullius’, dispossession and social

Improvement of health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia remains a big challenge for the Australian Government. There is a wide gap between the health status of indigenous and non-indigenous Australians and it is even seen as a human rights issue by the United Nations Committee (Calma and Dick 2007). The social determinants theory argues that health and well-being is governed by a number of social factors. Situations in which people grow, live and work are responsible for inequities in health. Studies suggest that between one-third and one-half of the health gap between indigenous and non-indigenous communities is because of differences and inequalities in socio-economic status such as education, employment

As health professionals, we must look beyond individual attributes of Indigenous Australians to gain a greater understanding and a possible explanation of why there are such high rates of ill health issues such as alcoholism, depression, abuse, shorter life expectancy and higher prevalence of diseases including diabetes, heart disease and obesity in our indigenous population. Looking at just the individual aspects and the biomedical health model, we don’t get the context of Aboriginal health. This is why we need to explore in further detail what events could have created such inequities in Aboriginal health. Other details that we should consider are the historical and cultural factors such as, ‘terra nullius’, dispossession and social

This paper will examine the healthcare of Indigenous Australian peoples compared to non-indigenous Australians. The life expectancy gaps between the two are a cause for alarm when statistics show Indigenous Australian peoples die on average 17 years earlier than non-indigenous Australians (Dick 2017). This paper will examine the social determinants of health to explore these factors and what interventions are in place to improve health status and life expectancy gaps for equality. The Federal Government has seen the implementation of the Northern Territory Intervention and the Closing the Gap Initiative. This essay will examine these two strategies and discuss the effectiveness of both policies. It will explain the differences, similarities and look at the success so far to

Marmot, M. (2011). Social determinants and the health of Indigenous Australians. Med J Aust, 194(10),

The inequalities in today’s indigenous communities are still strongly evident. Heard, Khoo & Birrell (2009), argued that while there has been an attempt in narrowing the gap between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians, a barrier still exists in appropriate health care reaching indigenous people. The Indigenous people believe, health is more than the individual, it is

The health of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is far below the standard for other Australians. General health levels and life expectancy are poor and they are higher than the average levels of psychiatric illness. Life expectancy is less for Indigenous people in Australia. Indigenous people are more than twice as likely to die in any age group, than non-Aboriginal people. In the 25 to 44 year age bracket, death is five times higher.

“The status of Indigenous health in contemporary Australia is a result of historic factors as well as contemporary socio-economic issues” (Hampton & Toombs, 2013, p. 1).

As a people, our rate of chronic disease is still 2.5 times higher than that of other Australians, and Indigenous people in this country die 15 to 20 years younger than those in mainstream Australia. More than half of

The Aboriginals also known as the Indigenous people are the first people’s inhabitants of mainland Australia (WIKIPEDIA). Historically, Aboriginals enjoyed better health before any invasions from non-Indigenous peoples. They didn’t suffer from any major illnesses though they did have other type of health issues, but their life was happier and content. Everything started to change after 1788 when non-Indigenous people introduced illnesses where the mortality rate of Aboriginals population started to increase, and this affected their life and the community (http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/health-facts/overviews/the-context-of-indigenous-health). There are various factors that contribute to the poor health status of Indigenous people, and this is part of the social determinants of health which should been seen in a broader context (1)(2). Factors such as employment, income, stress, gender, education, behavioral aspects, working and living conditions, social networks and support, are interrelated and complex, and are part of the social

What might explain these statistics, or at least serve as correlations, are the determinants of health. If the reader is not familiar with the determinants of health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) provides an explanation of them. In essence, these health determinants are factors that have significant impact upon one’s health. The main determinants for health are: socioeconomic status, where the rich and upper classes tend to be healthier; education, where low education is linked to stress, lower self-esteem and poorer health choices; environment, where purer air, cleaner water, healthier workplaces and better housing contribute to being healthier; health services, where access to services and proper equipment all contribute to health; as well as gender, genetics, culture and social behaviour (WHO, 2016). As there are so health determinants, where essays can be written on one alone, it is not within the scope of this essay to critically analyse each determinant for Indigenous Australians. With this in mind, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2014) documents an extensive list of data for Indigenous health, most of which discusses issues which are out-of-scope for this analysis. What is relevant, however, is outlined next. Across the board, in 2011, the Indigenous population was younger than the non-Indigenous population due to high fertility and mortality rates with those

The health of a population is an important aspect to all governments, this is especially present in Australia. Health can be measured in a number of different ways, one of which is statistical information. From administrative and survey data statistical information about the health of Australians is assembled. This data is used to implement policies to improve the health and well-being of the Australian population (Department of Health, 2014). In Australia the population is divided in two groups, for statistical purposes. These two groups are Indigenous Australians, and non-Indigenous Australians. In 2006 about 2.5% of the total Australian population were estimated to be Indigenous Australians or of Torres Strait Islander decent