Community Profile and Field Visit to Health Agency - Term Paper Example

Community Profile and Field visit to Health Agency Institution Student Name Date Introduction The Strait Islanders and the Aboriginals are the indigenous Australian community that existed since the earliest times. The community has profiles concentrating on the local and regional community. The profiles avail information on the local area on the twelve indicators of development, learning, child health, wellbeing and safety for Aboriginal children. DYAS (Derbal Yerrigan Aboriginal Health Service) is controlled by a community called the Aboriginal. The organization provides a variety of health services ranging across many sites in Perth, the West of Australia. There are many health practitioners who staff the services. The health workers include Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Health Practitioners. The services provided therefore include maternal and child health, general clinical, health promotion, dental health, chronic diseases, ear health, environmental health, physiotherapy, podiatry, eye screening, and smoking cessation. The Australian State Government has a very firm interest in the welfare of the people of Aboriginal, and it supports the interest with a variety of services (Western Australia Government, nd). The demographic information of the community ABS (2011) states that Aboriginal and TSI (Torres Strait Islander) population makes up about 2.5 per cent of the population of the population of Australia, and that is considered relatively young. By June 2006, the residents of Aboriginal were estimated to be approximately 517, 000 people. By the same year, the median Indigenous Aboriginals population was 21 years, different from the 37 years of the population that was non-indigenous. The Aboriginal’s TFR (Total Fertility Rate) of the females by 2011 was approximately 2.74 births per woman. By then, the TFR of women in the entire Australia was 1.88 births per woman. As at June 2006 most TSI and Aboriginal people were living in areas that were non-remote. There is an estimation of 32% of persons in major cities, 25 per cent in remote areas and 43 per cent in regional areas. The life expectancy of TSI and Aboriginal Australians is lower compared to Australians who are not indigenous. In 2005-2007, for instance, the life expectance gap was 9.7 for females and 11.5 years for men. The males’ life expectancy at birth is approximated to be 67.2 years for the indigenous Australians while that of non-indigenous Australians is approximately 78.7 years. The expectancy of life for females, on the other hand, is approximated to be 72.9 years and 82.6 years for the non-Indigenous. The population has got a very strong culture and language. By 2008, around 19 per cent of the population of age 25 years and above and 13 per cent of children was able to speak either a Torres Strait Islander or an Aboriginal language. Most people in this population tend to identify with a language group, clan or tribal group indicating an increase of 62% in 2008 and 54% in 2002. Approximately 70 per cent and 63 per cent of children and adults respectively participated in cultural ceremonies, organizations and events in 2008[ABS11]. According to the ABS (2011), the populations’ socioeconomic outcomes constantly improve. It, however, remains below the Non-Indigenous Australian populations. In 2008, at least 40 percent of the population completed non-school populations of persons 25-64 of age up from 2002nd 32 percent. The rate of unemployment significant fell by six per cent in 2008. This was an indication of at least three times more than the non-indigenous Australians. The population is about 0.3 percent of the entire population of Australia. In 2008, the likelihood of the people of Torres Strait Islander to participate in the labour force was 73 per cent more than 65 per cent of the Aboriginal in reference to the total population. Several other welfare and health Torres Strait Island’s outcomes were similar to the entire population (ABS, 2011). The demographics of the community are very important in helping the Western Australian government in making health provision plans. Knowing the trends of the fertility rates, for instance, is essential in projecting the possible population in future and hence taking appropriate measures. Knowing the cultural practices and beliefs of the community helps the government to establish the causes of some diseases that culturally defined[ABS11]. Health Status issues The Australian Indigenous Health, the AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare), the Better Health Channel and other widespread research and consultations made considerations of the health status in Aboriginal and TSI. The indigenous Australian population experience education levels that are disproportionate. Their education levels are as well not proportionate and are socially disadvantaged. The health of several indigenous Australians is poorer than the lives of other Australians[GWA15]. As a result, they often die at pretty younger age. It is important to establish strategic plans to of building a happy and long life. This is possible by having a start that is healthy in an environment that is nurturing. Such environments have protection from mental and physical abuse, and there are opportunities provided for personal development for instance employment and education. Between 2007 and 2009, the Indigenous Australian population were hospitalized due to cardiovascular ailments. The number of indigenous Australians that were hospitalized was 1.7 times more the number of the other Australians. The standard diabetic age for Indigenous Australian was around 12 per cent compared to four per cent of the other Australians. At least a quarter of Aboriginal and TSI reported a respiratory condition at between 2004 and 2005[GWA15]. The respiratory diseases’ rates of hospitalization children less than four years among the Aboriginal and TSI population were more than twice for the non-indigenous children. The renal disease end state's incidence rate for Aboriginal and TSI increased by at least double from 1991 to 2008 with the increase was from thirty-one to seventy-six in every one hundred thousand people. The Aboriginal and TSI were not significantly at a risk of cancer diagnosis compared to other Australians between 2003 and 2007. However, the population was three times more likely to contract cervical cancer. Their likeliness of contracting lung cancer in the population was 1.6 times. The hospitalization rate for mental problems of Aboriginal and TSI populations was double that of non-Indigenous Australians. The main reason for hospitalization was poisoning and injury in the population. A common injury was from the infliction of one person by the other as well as accidental falls. The information on the health status of Aboriginal and TSI is very important because it is an indication of what the health situation is in the community. It, therefore, makes it easier for NGOs and the government to establish strategies of handling the health situation. Organizations like DYAS (Derbal Yerrigan Aboriginal Health Service) therefore know how to go about the whole status issue of the community[GWA15]. Information on services According to Paraschak (2011), the aboriginal community has got a wide variety of services other than health it experiences. All the services lead to the wellbeing and healthy unison development of the community. The services, therefore, range from the educational services, recreational services, and leisure. The community takes a keen interest in giving life a holistic approach. It gives attention to the Euro Canadian-constructed terms, for instance, active living, recreation, and sports. The strengths perspective concentrates in enhancing and understanding recreation for the communities and the people. The national survey and Maskwachees Declaration document the strengths of Aboriginal that are tied to holistic understanding and recreation. The provincial, territorial and federal government officials have an on-going commitment of enhancing sports, living active and recreation (Paraschak, 2011). The Aboriginal community also provides educational services to its people. The education service of Aboriginal manages several programs with an aim of supporting the students of Aboriginal. It does so by making provisions of resources and curriculum materials that are inclusive and culturally relevant. The community also offers support to the services of pre-school that are culturally sensitive and an environment for learning that is inclusive (Tasmanian Government, 2015). The population also enjoys park services such as the Hartz Mountains National Park. The government of Australia has concentrated in the recognition of the relevance of active recreation, physical activity and organized sport in developing and shaping the indigenous Australian community. There are well-organized sport sector supports and cross-government support on recreation policies, funding initiatives that are very active[Gvend]. Qualitative techniques There is a well-documented health status of the people of Aboriginal, especially in Canada. The reports indicate some level of poverty in the community. There are quantifiable indicators that measure the important epidemiological works. The indicators include prevalence and incidence of some conditions, death causes and mortality rate, for instance, cervical cancer and diabetes. The indicators, however, do not do much to help us have an understanding of the factors that are underlying such as social determinants and social context of health. It is therefore very important to consider qualitative techniques. Qualitative techniques help to have an interaction directly with the community members of Aboriginal. An example of a technique to be used to collect data is participant observation. Getting engaged in the activities of the community as you study it is very fundamental. It is important to get involved in the service offered in the community for instance leisure, recreational activities, educational and health services. Other qualitative mechanisms of data collection can include interviewing the target group, especially the mothers about the Fertility and mortality rates of the community. The interview could be face to face question and answer or filling of questionnaires. Involving community members in focus group discussions also helps to obtain fundamental information about the community. Field trip feedback including The DYAS work closely and collaboratively with the key stakeholders of the community to ensure that the health services trickle down to the population. Its key funding comes from the government of Australia through the OATSIH and the Medicare revenue. The Medicare revenue is generated via the GP Clinics. The Winnunga Nimmityjah concentrates in providing health services in the community. It helps the health program of the community by accessing the grassroots members of the community by concentrating on the families and individuals. Boundry Sharee deserves special thanks because of the kind of service she dedicated herself to offer to the Aboriginal community[GWA15]. She has worked in Royal Perth Hospital where she provided one on one education, emotional and cultural support to the patients. She was actively involved with medical staff and the patients to ensure that the patients carefully understood the treatments and procedures they received. To be a patient is usually stressful. Undergoing the treatments as well stressful and the differences in cultural beliefs make everything even more complicated. While at the hospital, Sharee assisted several patients by ensuring that they booked the follow-up appointments. Transport was made available for the rural and remote patients. Townsville, Alice Springs, and Royal Perth Hospital have had the highest number of Aboriginal patient admission. For instance, Royal Perth admitted 224 patients as at April 2015 and 213 by May. As from January to May 2015, Aboriginal had 1298 inpatient from remote and rural areas. Another outstanding figure noted from the field trip was Bill Middleton, a common character in the Royal Perth Hospital. He has volunteered for at least 15 years and has provided care to the patients almost daily (GWA, 2015). Community strength The care services from hospitals like Townsville, Alice Springs, and Royal Perth Hospital have made the community strong. Organizations like DYAS (Derbal Yerrigan Aboriginal Health Service) have been very crucial in empowering the community members. When the child mortality has been reduced significantly, the population increase as well. As a result, a strong and vibrant community is established. Health issues are among the key factors that pull families behind economically. The sporting activities promoted by several organizations are also over important. They help in the development of a health community. Some diseases are lifestyle caused and hence exercising is very important to control such diseases[Gvend]. Conclusion In conclusion, as a health promotion officer the field trip has helped in developing the capacity of coordinating and planning health promotion programs in several communities. The experience hence makes an individual learn the mechanisms of accessing the communities through qualitative techniques and other activities like sports. It hence becomes easier to work with groups in health promotion programs. The government of Australian and other organizations have contributed to health status and condition improvement by establishing projects. The projects aim to the improvement of the health of the families in Aboriginal, prevention of diseases in the people of Aboriginal, improving the communities of Aboriginal’s environmental health, substance abuse and nutrition. List of references ABS11: , (ABS, 2011), GWA15: , (GWA, 2015), Gvend: , (Western Australia Government, nd), Read More