Aboriginal Morbidity and Mortality - Assignment Example

Aboriginal Health Try using a Marxist perspective to explain the current situation with regard to Aboriginal morbidity and mortality From a general point of view, it is supported by Anderson (Health in Australia, part II) that “aboriginal health disadvantage could be rooted in a broader context of social disadvantage, political marginalisation and the historical currents of colonialism; consequently, the Aboriginal health problem would require a critical sociological understanding of both its development and possible resolution”. In accordance with the above assumptions, the key issues that should be addressed when examining all aspects of aboriginal morbidity and mortality would be summarized to the following one: “a) how do social structures and processes undermine the provision of culturally appropriate, equitable and effective health care services to Aboriginal Australians? Or, how do social processes such as economic development, edu­cation or racism impact on the health outcomes of Indigenous Australians?” (Anderson, Health in Australia, part II). The use of the theories stated by Marx could possibly help towards the provision of an appropriate explanation regarding the quality of healthcare services available to aboriginals in Australia. From a sociological perspective, it could be stated that the morbidity and mortality of aboriginals in Australia have to follow the general social and cultural patterns related with this part of the Australian population. More specifically, with the entrance of technology in all aspects of human life, all social and political structures had to be developed in order to meet the requirements of the new ‘social reality’. With a reference as an example to the production stage of manufacturing, Karl Marx stated that “the method of production and the means of production are constantly enlarged, revolutionized”. This means that the industrial sector has to change constantly in order to meet the requirements of the new social era. In the case of health this relationship would be also exist but under a different format. More specifically, because aboriginals do not have access (or this access is limited) to the healthcare institutions (which are based on the use of an advanced technology), it is expected that they present higher levels of morbidity and mortality. The interaction between the means of production and the labour relations (as stated in the relevant paper of Marx) would be presented in this case with a different ‘format’, this of the dependency of the health from the technology. In other words, health can be depended on technology like all other elements and aspects of social life. 2. (a) What are the key issues that should shape delivery of Aboriginal health care? The provision of health services in aboriginals in Australia has many aspects. The aspects of health and life expectancy have to be differentiated in accordance with the style of life and the culture of the local populations. In accordance with a national survey “life expectancy for Aboriginal people is 15 to 20 years less than the general community and prevalence of disease is up to 12 times higher than the Australian average” (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 4/4/2006). On the other hand, the area of living has been proved to influence the health conditions of the people involved. In this context, the 1994 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey (NATSIS) showed that “indigenous people living in rural areas were less likely than their urban counterparts to live within 25 km of a range of health services and facilities” (The Health and Welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2001, Health Services, 46). The provision of healthcare services in aboriginals in Australia has to be formulated in accordance with the needs of the local population and their social and cultural patterns. Referring especially to aboriginal people in Tasmania a recent survey showed that there are a series of particular health problems observed across the population of aboriginals in the specific area, like the following ones: “a) respiratory infection and chest disease (including pneumonia, bronchitis, influenza, viral infection, asthma and smoker’s lung); b) diarrhoea or gastroenteritis; c) skin problems; d) ear and/or hearing problems; e) heart disease; f) eye problems; g) high blood pressure; h) kidney disease; i) diabetes; j) injuries/poisoning; k) stress related conditions including depression, suicidal behaviour, anxiety and l) eye/ear and associated health problems” (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 4/4/2006). It seems therefore that aboriginal people in Australia suffer from a wide range of diseases which should be investigated as of their reasoning. This task should be made in order to design the appropriate framework for the provision of healthcare services in the specific part of Australian population. At a first level, it has been revealed when comparing indigenous and non – indigenous people in Australia that “for both men and women, smoking was more prevalent among Indigenous than non-Indigenous adults in every age group while the proportion of Indigenous adults who reported drinking at risky/high risk levels (15%) was similar to that of non-Indigenous adults (14%)” (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 11/4/2006). In accordance with the above research there are specific measures that should help aboriginals in Australia to improve their health. In this context it is mentioned that most of the diseases involving in the particular part of the Australian population are related with nutrition and for this reason it is stated that “regular exercise and intake of fibre-rich foods, such as fruit and vegetables, can have a protective effect against these diseases” (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 11/4/2006). On the other hand, it should be noticed that “after adjusting for age differences between the two populations and non-response, Indigenous Australians were 1.2 times more likely to be overweight/obese than non-Indigenous Australians” (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 11/4/2006). These findings prove that nutrition is a major problem for indigenous people in Australia and that most health problems in this part of the local population can be explained due to the existence of wrong/ bad nutrition practices. However, the measures taken by aboriginals for the protection of their health could not be considered as sufficient – even if they would refer to all ‘causal’ facts. More specifically, it has been found that severe constraints could exist towards the improvement of the health services provided to aboriginals in Australia because of the current structure of administrative services in the country. In this context, it is noticed that “the quality of administrative data sources is affected by the accuracy with which Indigenous people are identified in health service records” (The Health and Welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2001, Health Services, 46). Generally, it could be stated that the “the accessibility of health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is affected by a number of factors, involving both simple measures like proximity and availability of facilities and services, and complex issues, such as the degree of cultural appropriateness of service delivery” (The Health and Welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2001, Health Services, 46). For this reason, any effort for the improvement of healthcare services provided to aboriginals in Australia should be based on the appropriate social policy that would include a series of feasible and effective rules related with the provision of healthcare services to indigenous people in Australia. A differentiation in the practices and the intervention of the medical practitioners and the social workers ‘engaged’ in the relevant projects would be possibly necessary in order for these projects to be more realistic in accordance with the social and cultural background of the specific part of the Australian population. (b) Taking one of the Sharing Health Care Project initiatives, indicate how these are operating in order to facilitate better delivery In order for the provision of health services both to indigenous and non-indigenous people in Australia to be improved, a series of projects have been designed and implemented by the Australian Government. With reference to a specific project, the ‘Port Lincoln Aboriginal Health Service (PLAHS) / Ceduna Kooniba Aboriginal Health Service (CKAHS) joint project’ the performance of Health Services in Australia will be evaluated using a series of data related with the ‘indigenous part’ of the Australian population. The above project has been established for a primary period of 2 years in order for its effectiveness to be examined by the governmental authorities but also the scientists working in the particular area. In the context of this project local authorities tried “to develop and implement a chronic disease self-management project for people in the Port Lincoln and Ceduna Aboriginal communities” and for this reason “a partnership was formed between Ceduna Kooniba Aboriginal Health Service and the Port Lincoln Aboriginal Health Service for the duration of this project” (Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing, 2005) The particular project was well structured and developed covering a wide area of health problems faced by aboriginals in Australia. The main aim of the project which was to improve the health conditions of people with chronic diseases was achieved through the implementation of a series of measures ‘customized’ in the needs and the cultural characteristics of this specific part of the local population. More specifically, in the context of this project the following initiatives have been made: “a) care-planning of people with chronic diseases; b) improvement of the quality of life for the Port Lincoln and Ceduna Aboriginal community by finding and using ways that will help them manage their health better; c) help of clients, their families and health workers work together to manage their health problem better; d) help of people with health problems gain access to mainstream health services better; e) development of a chronic disease management program that is based on appropriate staff training and promotes goal setting, education, access to preventative services and healthy lifestyle changes and so on” (Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing, 2005). The measures taken in order to improve the health services provided to aboriginals of the particular Australian region should be considered as really significant. At a next level, the design and the implementation of these measures prove that governmental efforts for the improvement of Health Services in the country are intensive and continuous. On the other hand, all measures mentioned above should be appropriately applied in practice in order to achieve the required target. The existence of potential obstacles towards the realization of the above project could be explained by the cultural and social structure of aboriginal communities in Australia. However, with the appropriate social policy all these constraints would be vanished. The role of the social workers and the health practitioners participating in the above project has to be considered as crucial for its success. References Anderson, I. Health in Australia Chapter 4 ‘Aboriginal well-being’ Australian Bureau of Statistics (4/4/2006), available at http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/81EF096FE6D19E74CA25710E00756316?opendocument Australian Bureau of Statistics (11/4/2006), available at http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/ProductsbyReleaseDate/C36E019CD56EDE1FCA256C76007A9D36?OpenDocument Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing (2005) available at http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/Publishing.nsf/Content/chronicdisease-demo_ceduna Marx, K. (1847) Effect of Capitalist Competition on the Capitalist Class the Middle Class and the Working Class. Works of Karl Marx, available at http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/wage-labour/index.htm The Health and Welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2001, available at http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/ihw/hwaatsip01/index.html Read More