Cultural Safety Issues Based on Media Analysis - Annotated Bibliography Example

Cultural Safety Issues Based on Media Report Name Institution Professor Course Date Introduction Cultural safety is a term coined my Maori nurses implying that an individual cultural identity should be respected in the course of healthcare delivery. It entails a safe environment that promotes shared meaning, shared respect, shared learning experience, shared knowledge and working and living together with decorum. According to Tjale and Villers (2004), cultural safety is viewed from the milieu of healthcare recipients and demonstrates how these recipients experience the care they receive. Healthcare practitioners who provide culturally safe healthcare acknowledge that health-care delivery involves a component of power links and that indigenous people, particularly, may experience a sense of subjection in their links with healthcare professionals. It is always probable that people who belong to different cultures other than the mainstream culture may experience alienation and powerlessness. Cultural safety issues are not only experienced in Australia, but also in other regions of the world. Drawing from four different media articles on cultural safety issues, this report highlights inequalities, racism and discrimination in healthcare delivery. Staff Writer.(2016). Australia indigenous policy report shows poor progress in improving aboriginal situation. Lawyer Herald. Retrieved from http://www.lawyerherald.com/articles/33542/20160212/australia-indigenous- policy-report-poor-progress-aboriginal-situation.htm. Key Issues The article for the Lawyer Herald highlights the issues affecting the aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander with regard to healthcare provision and education. The article indicates that despite the call for closing the gap between the indigenous and non-indigenous people in Australia through the enacted Closing the Gap policy, the policy has not bore any fruitful effect. The article confirms that the Closing the Gap policy has failed to attain its projected goals. Key among the elements that hinder the effectiveness of this policy is lack of communication with the author citing that establishing relationships with the targeted communities requires a considerable amount of time (Staff Writer, 2016). More essentially, the article indicates that health services demonstrate a bigger issue for the indigenous communities because of inaccessibility, cultural disparities and language barriers. The government should focus on provision of equal health services with particular focus on disability support and eliminate racism in the health care system. The article, basically, accentuates on health inequalities in education and health care services linked to institutional racism in the health care system. Link to Models, Approaches and Current Debate According to Moodley and Ocampo (2014), cultural safety centres on the potential disparities amid patients and health care providers that affects care. Cultural safety aims to reduce any assaults on the cultural identity of the patients and to establish a culturally safe work environment. Cultural safety and institutional racism provide conceptual models that promote a change to discourse on wellness, protective factors, resilience building and local distress metaphors. According to Hally (2008), the biomedical approach continues to dominate the medicine practice in western societies. This approach influences the health care systems leading to prejudiced mindsets that have become a segment of the practices and policies in healthcare provision. However, policies such as the Closing the Gap introduced by the Australian government aims at lowering prejudices against the indigenous people. Despite introduction of such policies, institutional racism is prevalent in the healthcare system. The biomedical approach prevalence is apparent in the Australian Healthcare systems given the increased institutional racism. Although the Closing the Gap policy is a good approach towards reducing inequalities in the provision of health services and education, the policy is not productive in closing the gap to the advantage of the indigenous. Effective measures need to be implemented to address the institutional racism and inequalities in healthcare services. The measures should ensure that besides science other than cultural differences should be used as a foundation for understanding treatment and health. Gooda, M., & Parker, K.(2015). We must keep striving to close the gap in indigenous health. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/comment/we-must-keep-striving-to-close-the-gap-in- indigenous-health-20150210-13akyz.html. The article by Gooda and Parker (2015) for the Sydney Morning Herald highlights the need to close the gap in indigenous health. The article confirms that health inequalities in Australia are woven into the Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people’s lives. Australia as a country is committed to closing the gap of health inequality amid the non-indigenous and indigenous people in Australia by 2030. The article shows the serious implications of health inequalities affecting the indigenous people citing that indigenous newborns are more likely to die compared to non-indigenous babies. More so, Torres Strait Islander and aboriginal people die ten years earlier due to heart diseases, mental health issues, kidney diseases and diabetes compared non-aboriginal people. According to Gooda and Parker (2015) an increased number of aboriginal people have undetected preventable and treatable chronic health conditions. This is a clear indication of unfairness, inequalities and discrimination in the provision of health care despite the fact that healthcare is a fundamental human right. In addition, the article underscores the need for cultural competency among health care practitioners. According to the article, aboriginal community-based health services outperform other health services in treatment and detection of health issues. This is implies that Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal health practitioners and workers treat each other in a cultural suitable and holistic manner. As a result, closing the inequality gap in health care provision for indigenous people requires their involvement in the health care provision. This way, there would be less discrimination and racism in the health care system and requires the government to implement aboriginal medical services in order to reduce issues of discrimination and racism in the health care system. Link to Models, Approaches and Current Debate Eckermann, Dowdm Chong, Nixon and Gray (2010) assert that similar to primary health care, cultural safety puts the health care consumers at the centre by developing processes of feedback and consultation. Both cultural safety and primary health care concern changing the health care services power structures in a way that the view of health care consumers occupy a place of legitimised understanding. Drawing from the article, the Australian government has tried to uphold cultural safety in the provision of health care for the aboriginal people through the implementation of the aboriginal medical services and employment of indigenous health workers. The investment in aboriginal medical services as well as the employment of the aboriginal people in the health care sector provides a potential solution to critical inequalities in health care system. This entails adoption of cultural safety that allows the aboriginal communities to empower themselves. According to McGrath and Holewa (2006), the indigenous culture contrasts the western medicine. With regard to the current debate, the Western society values and the prevalent western biomedical model overwhelm the indigenous cultural values. Particularly, the temperament of the Torres Strait Islanders and aboriginal thinking jeopardises health care services when the western health care approach is employed. Indigenous people hold different health and social needs based on their culture, gender and age. They disagree with the Western medical understanding regarding explanations, management and causes of diseases. In this regard, lack of practical understanding in providing culturally safe health care instigates health inequalities and discrimination in the health care systems. As a result, the Torres Strait Islanders and aboriginal should be allowed greater participation in the management of their health services. The Australian government should continue to invest in the aboriginal medical services in order to close the gap in the indigenous health care. Gooda, M., & Huggins, J.(2016). Our national shame: Closing the gap for indigenous Australian is more important than ever. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/comment/our-national-shame-closing-the-gap-for- indigenous-australians-is-more-important-than-ever-20160316-gnkquf.html. The article by Gooda and Huggins (2016) for the Sydney Morning Herald highlights the prevalence of discrimination in the Australian health care system. The article confirms that institutional racism continues to be a crucial obstacle that prevents the Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people to seek medical help. Lynore Geia, a registered nurse, asserts that although there are some improvements with regard to closing the gap campaign, the Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people still maintain a low life expectancy compared to the non-indigenous people. The indigenous people continue to die young thereby indicating the need for more effort in ensuring equality of health services. The article ascertains the need for more efforts in regard to ensuring equality of health services among the indigenous and non-indigenous people. The authors assert that resources need to be increased towards the Torres Strait Islander and aboriginal people. The article suggests investment in the Community and Aboriginal Controlled Health Services model because aboriginal health services are better positioned in delivering health care for the indigenous people. The Community and Aboriginal Controlled Health Services model would offer improved health upshots for the indigenous people especially in regard to prevention, treatment, access, and detection of chronic illness, and child and maternal health. A culturally safe health system is preferred because it does not encompass institutional racism. Drawing from the provisions of the article, institutional racism and racism are prevalent in the health sector and they continue to deter the indigenous people from getting medical help, hence health inequalities. However, the indigenous people just like the non-indigenous people hold the right to detailed primary health care aligned with the holistic approach to health care. Although there is an understanding of a fundamental cultural issue with regard to racism in the health care system, it does not instigate effective actions. Link to Models, Approaches and Current Debate Health care services should aim to address cultural, emotional and social wellbeing of all people in a holistic manner. Cultural safety envisions a process or a place that allows community to grapple, debate and resolve the health issues affecting them. The biomedical model that is predominately employed across the world. The fact that this model is based on science hinders attainment of culturally safe health services. According to Davies, Finlay and Bullman (2000), the starting point of cultural safety is that indigenous people’s health can be placed at risk by an uninformed midwifery or nursing practice. Consumers of health services must feel safe in the care of their nurses and their opinions must be viewed as legitimate. This is the reason why Lynore Geia stresses on the importance of the establishment of a culturally safe health system as well as the provision of comprehensive primary health care that tackles the cultural, emotional and social wellbeing of all people in a holistic manner (Gooda & Huggins, 2016). With regard to the current debate, the health sector should strive to establish culturally safe health care system. The health care practitioners should be able to address the cultural, spiritual, emotional and physical wellbeing of the aboriginal people. The health care sector should place high value on the cultural competency of the health care practitioners to address lack of cultural safety experienced by the indigenous people. The model of care for the indigenous people should include cultural, social, physical and spiritual wellbeing. Livingstone, A.(2012).Anti-native racism common in Toronto health care. The Star. Retrieved https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2012/12/12/antinative_racism_common_in_tor onto_health_care.html. The Key Issues The article by Livingstone (2012) for the Star highlights the issues of discrimination and stereotyping in Toronto’s health-care system. The article confirms a big issue in the Toronto’s healthcare system based the report carried out by the Health Council of Canada. The Urban natives in Canada are discriminated against an aspect that deters them from seeking their much-needed health care. The urban natives do not feel safe in the Canadian health care system an aspect that makes them miss out in preventive care such as screening for illnesses such as cancer and immunisations. The author ascertains that negative stereotypes about indigenous people are founded on Canadian society. Much of what the indigenous people go through in the Canadian health care system is a result of systemic racism. Drawing from the provision of the article, the issue of racism and discrimination against the aboriginal in the Canadian Healthcare system is of great concern that requires to be addressed. Link to Model, Approaches and Current Debate McGibbon and Etowa (2009) assert that systemic racism is supported by systemic power with its core being an unequal distribution of power. With regard to health care, systemic racism involves the racism entrenched in the health care system. Systemic racism in the health care system allows people to discriminate against the indigenous people seeking health care. The systemic racism prevent allocation and provision of health care services. It is evident that the predominant application of the Western biomedical model holds crucial implications on provision of equal healthcare services. Hankivsky (2011) asserts that biomedical approach to health care does not easily allow inclusion of conventional perspectives to healing and recovery even if integrated models may be favourable among immigrants. The dominance of the biomedical approaches frames positive religious practices and cultural perspectives as a source of treatment non-compliance and denial of health care services. Doing so undermines culturally diverse approaches to health and illness, strengthen negative stereotypes about Canadian immigrants and indigenous. With regard to current debate, issues regarding inequalities in the provision of health care to immigrants and indigenous people are still prevalent across different regions of the world. In this view, racism in the health care system calls for informal and formal tools for restoring accountability. However, shifting to an approach for attaining equity in the health care system through accountability calls for adoption of policies to establish ethnoracial competencies and execute accommodation of inequalities. The issues presented by Livingstone (2012) offers a clear picture of racism in the health care system as well as how negative stereotypes regarding aboriginals prevent them from seeking health care services. Conclusion Cultural safety is an integral part of the health care system particularly in nursing education and practice. Health care practitioners are required to demonstrate cultural competency in their service delivery. Cultural safety was establishment following the need to ensure that the health of the indigenous people is not jeopardised. However, the predominant use of the biomedical model influences and controls the health sector thereby preventing the indigenous people from seeking medical help. The articles highlight health inequalities, discrimination, racism and institutional racism propelled by the prevalence of the Western biomedical model. Although countries strive to close the gap and health inequalities experienced by the indigenous people, much need to be done to attain health equality and address racism and discrimination in the health care system. To ensure equality in health care provision and services, governments should establish a model of care for the indigenous people that focus on their cultural, social, physical and spiritual wellbeing References Davies, C., Finlay, L., & Bullman, A.(2000). Changing practice in health and social care. UK: SAGE. Eckermann, A., Dowd, T., Chong, E., Nixon, L., & Gray, R.(2010). Binan Goonj: Bridging cultures in aboriginal health. AU: Elsevier Australia. Gooda, M., & Huggins, J.(2016). Our national shame: Closing the gap for indigenous Australian is more important than ever. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/comment/our-national-shame-closing-the-gap-for- indigenous-australians-is-more-important-than-ever-20160316-gnkquf.html. Gooda, M., & Parker, K.(2015). We must keep striving to close the gap in indigenous health. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/comment/we- must-keep-striving-to-close-the-gap-in-indigenous-health-20150210-13akyz.html. Hally, B.(2008). A guide for international nursing students in Australia and New Zealand. AU: Elsevier. Hankivsky, O.(2011). Health inequalities in Canada: Intersectional frameworks and practices. Canada: UBC. Livingstone, A.(2012).Anti-native racism common in Toronto health care. The Star. Retrieved https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2012/12/12/antinative_racism_common_in_toronto _health_care.html. McGibbon, E., Etowa, J.(2009). Ant-racist health care practice. Canada: Canadian Scholars’ Press. McGrath, P., & Holewa, H.(2006). A living model: A resource manual for indigenous palliative care service delivery. UK: IPP-SHR. Moodley, R., & Ocampo, M.(2014). Critical psychiatry and mental health: Exploring the work of Suman Fernando in clinical practice. UK: Routledge. Staff Writer.(2016). Australia indigenous policy report shows poor progress in improving aboriginal situation. Lawyer Herald. Retrieved from http://www.lawyerherald.com/articles/33542/20160212/australia-indigenous-policy- report-poor-progress-aboriginal-situation.htm. Tjale, A., & Villiers, L.(2004). Cultural issues in health and health care: A resource book for Southern Africa. SA: Juta and Company Ltd. Read More