Australian Aboriginals Health Status - Term Paper Example

Name: Tutor: Title: Australian Aboriginal’s health status in comparison to other Australians Course: Date: The role of community nurses to improve the social determinants and empower Australian indigenous communities to achieve optimal health using primary health care Introduction Primary health care refers to an indispensable healthcare which is based on scientifically and socially acceptable means. The services are easily accessible to families and through full participation at affordable costs at every stage of development. The Australian indigenous people face a lot of poor health and lose their lives at an age that is very tender compared to the non-indigenous Australians. The poor health condition of the indigenous Australians is linked to a number of factors. They include socio-cultural and socio-economic factors, both present and past that restrict the growth and development of Australian indigenous communities and their opportunities in health. Studies show that the health of people is frequently considered in biomedical methods that overlook cultural factors and social determinants. Health and illness are linked with access to adequate housing, transport, sanitation, clean water, and accessibility to suitable personnel and facilities of health (Keleher & MacDougall, 2009). With regards to cultural and social factors, this paper will discuss the use of primary health care by community nurses to improve the social determinants and empower Australian indigenous people to attain optimal health. Social determinants of health The health social determinants entail the conditions in which individuals are born, brought up, work and age, including the system of health (Cannon et al. 2008). These conditions are shaped by the money distribution, power and resources at local, national and global levels, which are hence influenced by choices of policy. The health social determinants are regularly responsible for inequities in health (Cockerham, 2007). Together with a number of general factors, Australian aboriginal people experience specific factors that the mainstream individuals do not face. The following are some of the social determinants of health that affect the Australian aboriginal individuals; Lifestyle within aboriginal people A great number of aboriginal communities live in exceptionally remote areas, distant from developed towns, commercial opportunities, as well as proper labour market, and such location of geography and rural settings directly influence some features of their status of health (Cockerham, 2007). In Australia, communicable diseases are higher within the indigenous people in remote and rural locations which are brought about from supplies of sub-standard water, sanitation and washing facilities (Keleher & MacDougall, 2009). The Australian indigenous people also face a greater trouble of lower birth weight and deaths of neonates compared to the non-aboriginal people in Australia. When community nurses apply primary health care, they can enlighten aboriginal women on various ways of family planning hence improve their health. Land disposition in relation to stress According to Islam & Sheikh (2010), Australian aboriginal people normally gratify their needs and requirements from land. Their lifestyle is directly linked with it. However, in various scenarios the government dispossesses or confiscates and dislocates their lands, or occasionally buys the land for less money, and as a result reducing their land and supply of food as well. This displacement of aboriginal people is coupled with cultural interference, increased stress, tension, social exclusion, diminished sense of status and identity, social and political suppression (Cockerham, 2007). The obliteration of the local land based economy resulted to poverty. Poverty resulted to disease, violence and hunger. This is a major issue and the role of community nurses is to give proper advice and counselling so that stress brought about by this social determinant of health can be reduced. However, the government also need to play a role on this issue. Housing in relation to communicable diseases For appropriate health, good housing is important as well. Cockerham (2007), contend that comparatively large population of aboriginal people live under the same house compared to non-aboriginal people. Insufficient and inadequate housing is a serious issue for indigenous people in Australia (Keleher & MacDougall, 2009). Since Australian aboriginal people are moderately poor, they are not able to own houses or property as the other Australian population does. Inadequate housing brings about exposure to communicable diseases like pertussis and hepatitis. Community nurses will therefore provide education on ways of preventing diseases within a household through primary health care. Education level in relation to ignorance Regardless of ethnicity and race, education level is powerfully coupled to status of health globally. The Australian aboriginal education is traditionally overlooked. According to Cannon et al. (2008), the aboriginal children in Australia are not educated formally and their culture and language are overlooked. Studies show that education is amongst the most important determinants of health since low education level is related to ignorance. Therefore community nurses can use primary health care to educate mothers on basic knowledge like breastfeeding and family planning. Income Since low income is related to poverty, community nurses can provide primary health care by offering free medical camps whereby aboriginal people get free medical checkups and fundamental knowledge regarding their own health and the benefits of disease prevention hence improve their status of health. It is documented that income influences the aboriginal’s status of health indirectly or directly. Disparities in income result to marginalization, limiting employment, access to education, nutritious food and proper housing (Keleher & MacDougall, 2009). A study reveals that the income of the aboriginal family is lower compared to the income of the non-aboriginal family. It also reveals that unequal income distribution is linked with stress. Individuals with lower earnings live and work in environments and conditions that are more stressful (Cannon et al. 2008). Effect of culture on health Regardless of culture, health is essential thus community nurses use primary health care to empower aboriginal people about how culture can limit good health status. For individuals who come from linguistically and cultural dissimilar backgrounds, matters like discrimination and racism and their health experience present in various ways (Islam & Sheikh, 2010). Additional to language barrier, discrimination and racism can place considerable pressure on people while also mounting barriers to enough health care, social support and education. The Role of Community Nurses Primary health care is the services of health care delivered outside the hospital (Keleher, 2001). This means that it is the initial contact level for communities, families and individuals with the system of health care. All over the globe, primary health care is considered as a key contributing feature underlying health population. In Australia, the primary health care includes the intertwining principles of access, empowerment, self-determination, inter-sectoral association and equity. It also integrates individual care with promotion of health, illness prevention and community development. It also includes an understanding of economic, cultural and social determinants of health. A service of primary health care that is accessible can provide more reasonable systems of referral that give priority to the people who are highly in need (Berentson-Shaw & Price, 2007). World Health Organization supports the fact that community nurses aid in promoting the health status of a community through provision of primary health care (World Health Organization, 2012). Community nurses operate in community settings that are diverse to provide primary health care and nursing across the lifetime. Promotion of health and intervention consciously focus on the patient who is seen holistically; hence, care also puts in mind the relationships and social conditions that affect the health status of a person or a population. Indeed inequity of health is an issue of life and death. Using primary health care can be incorporated to enhance the health status of the Australian aboriginal people. Since primary health care is aimed at the initial contact of community, family and individual level, community nurses can promote the health status of the Australian indigenous people by educating them on lifestyle issues which is a social determinant (Keleher, 2001). This can include family and personal hygiene, proper nutrition, and benefits of family planning which can help reduce poverty. The community based nurses can empower the people of Australian indigenous by letting them know that individual and family have primary task for their decisions regarding health care (Jirojwong & Liamputtong, 2009). By empowering the Australian aboriginal people, community base nurses should inform them that they are entitled to basic requirements like health care and adequate income. Since community based nurses play a major role towards health improvement, the community based nurses in Australia can help the Australian aboriginal people through primary health care by enhancing their level of education which is a social determinant; concerning the importance of mothers visiting ante and post-natal clinics so that their health together with their babies can be well, hence promote health status. Mother’s education concerning family matters is also important since women can know various ways of family planning and in so doing; they determine the best family planning for them and reduce the population within the family since housing which is one of the social determinants of health, is not sufficient and adequate within the aboriginal people. Another importance of primary health care regarding family and individual education is that families can be taught about various ways of preventing communicable diseases like sexually transmitted diseases (Jirojwong & Liamputtong, 2009). Community nurses can counsel indigenous people since they undergo stress due to dispossession and dislocation of their land which is among a social determinant. A clear understanding of aboriginal people’s culture will help community based nurses to work effectively. Community health nurses view patients in the larger system context in addition to family and personal level (Whitehead, 2000). The group or family has to be considered as a whole unlike community based nurses who view populations in terms of individual and family level only. This means that they can reach out to various aboriginal people by providing free medical camps in which people are counselled or treated for various diseases hence using primary health care. The social determinants contribute a lot toward the level of stress within the aboriginal people. Since the Australian indigenous people have suffered a lot in terms of social, political and cultural issues (Keleher, 2001), the role of a community health nurse which entails counselling can be very effective. This is because providing proper counselling to people can help reduce incidences of stress in people’s lives hence promoting health status within the aboriginal people. Another role of community health nurse is to carry out health research. This is appropriate in the aboriginal people of Australia because through proper research of health issues like outbreaks, community health nurses can liaise with the concerned sectors like the government in matters concerning the well-being and promotion of health among the aboriginal communities. Community health nurses can advocate and campaign for equality among the indigenous communities in issues concerned with health services and health programs hence awareness and empowerment regarding health is promoted (Whitehead, 2000). Through primary health care, community health nurses can help promote health status in Australian aboriginal communities by building and empowering community organization, networks and groups that encourage teamwork community programs on healthy physical settings and sanitation, healthy workplaces, food safety, nurturing social interactions, road safety and activities amongst individuals within the society. Effective communication is therefore key in the work of a community health nurse. Housing issue is a major social determinant; therefore community nurses can use primary health care to educate indigenous people on the issue of prevention of diseases within their households. In accordance with role of community health nurse which is advocacy, negotiating with the mainstream institutes of health care and services of the government relevant to promoting the quality of people’s lives may be undertaken for the promotion of care within the aboriginal communities (Whitehead, 2000). Through these negotiations, community health nurses can work to meet the demands of health care of the aboriginal people and create fresh partnerships to enhance the potential of health care within the community. Issues like housing can be solved when community nurses advocate for the aboriginal people. Community nurses can use primary health care to educate aboriginal people on the importance of health and prevention of diseases regardless of some negative cultures towards health. According to the World Health Organization, health promotion is very fundamental regardless of the social determinants of health (World Health Organization, 2012). Challenges in providing primary health care to the Australian aboriginal community Despite the numerous efforts that can be implemented by the community nurses, there are various setbacks that can slow down or even block the effectiveness of these roles to promote health. Basically in Australia, these factors cover a wider context. Such cases therefore provide criticism against means of promoting health among the Australian aboriginal aboriginal communities will not take place by concentrating entirely on the sector of health (Keleher, 2001). They say that it as well calls for commitments and action derived from other sectors of the government and the community as well. For instance, a lot could be gained if present initiatives to reinforce community ability and manage investments in aboriginal communities are successful in tackling a number of the social determinants of poor health; and if aboriginal communities and governments succeed in promoting an environment that enables families, individuals and communities to engage more dynamically in sharing accountability of their own health (Keleher, 2001). A great number of people think that to achieve an optimal health within the Australian indigenous communities, the issue of health inequality needs to be addressed first (Thomson et al. 2008). For instance, lack of comparable health infrastructure and primary health care access makes it difficult for aboriginal people to achieve fundamental health. Studies indicate that when it comes to availability, availability of health services is limited within the aboriginal people compared to the non-aboriginal people. For instance, in 2002, it is indicated that in the cities, the number of medical experts were even exceeding the number of patients, unlike the rural areas where the aboriginals dwell, who have limited numbers of medical workers (Keleher & MacDougall, 2009). With regards to accessibility, Australian aboriginals have to walk for several kilometers to get a clinic. Considering acceptability, the aboriginals do not appear to utilize the mainstream primary health care. The issue of inequality of primary health care and infrastructure of health mirrors how the Australian government is not helping much in promoting health within the indigenous communities (Thomson et al. 2008). A number of people argue that other social determinants need to be handled also so that the status of health within the aboriginal people in Australia can improve (Thomson et al. 2008). For instance, if education, housing and income of the aboriginal people are considered, then the problems relating to health could to be reduced to a great extent. These social determinants directly relate to the issue of health. For example if there is insufficient housing, the occurrence of communicable illnesses is high. If there is poor income, the level of stress is likely to be high. There is also insufficient money to acquire nutritious food. If the level of education is low, people tend to live without basic knowledge of sanitation and good health. Therefore, if the relevant services of the government work together with the community nurses to address this issue, then the health status of the aboriginal people will clearly improve. It is argued that occasionally services of health are not culturally suitable whereby they do not consider the aboriginal culture and particular needs. Some scholars contend that a number of Australian aboriginal communities may not be in a position to use some health services since they are too costly (Thomson et al. 2008). This indeed is true because majority of the aboriginal people have a poor income and cannot afford expensive services of health, thereby living in poor health status. Improving the health status within the aboriginals is not just about individual’s improvement of physical well-being (Keleher & MacDougall, 2009). It entails working towards emotional, cultural and social well-being of the entire community in which each person has the ability to attain their whole potential as human beings. More funding is required in the preventive and medical services so as to promote the health status of the aboriginal people in Australia. Conclusion Health status of aboriginal people is obviously linked to various factors. These health problems have been greatly connected with social determinants of health. When a person feels secure, has enough money, and has a connection to their family, they will normally be healthier. Community nurses can play a big role if they use primary health care to promote optimal health within the aboriginal people. However, it is noted that there are various criticisms relating to the implementation of primary health care within the aboriginals. For instance, some argue that promoting health and preventing illness cannot be solely achieved by the community nurses roles. This is true because the relevant services of the government have to play a role in assisting the community nurses towards achieving optimal health in the Australian aboriginal communities by tackling the social determinants first. 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