Health Science - Health Care Service - Aboriginal And Torres Strait - Assessment Answer

Health Science Assignment

Assignment Task

Students will review a paper that describes a primary health service that is targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. They will identify the unique aspects of the service using the primary Health care framework and describe how this could contribute to reducing health inequality in this

Community.

Introduction

Indigenous persons are typically marginalized and discriminated upon and have a higher exposure to violence and dangerous tropical diseases (Aspin et al., 2012).The native citizens of Australia are two distinct cultural groups who are namely the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who still hold on to their traditional way of life. Research has shown that there have been poor health interventions for the people on the island and this has led to a disparity in the life expectancy and access to quality medical care. The health state is critical, and the group faces more diseases, disability, and abuse than the non-indigenous Australians. Health is not all about the absence of a disease but also includes the physical, social and mental state of people (Aspin et al., 2012). The Australian government and other health organizations have shown commitment to efforts of ensuring that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders live long and healthy lives without health disparities.

Barriers to accessing health care and health care infrastructure

The adverse health outcomes of the Indigenous Australians can be explained from a broader picture of the social, cultural and economic disadvantaged context in which they live. According to Parker, McKinnon & Kruske (2014), the theory of social determinants establishes that the health of a population and the inequality in health care provision is determined by a series of correlated social factors. Significant determinants of the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people include their social-economic disadvantage. The indigenous communities are unemployed, and those who are lucky enough to get employed earn a little income. The low levels of revenue and unemployment have resulted in high levels of poverty and dependency ratio. According to Peiris.et.al. (2012), poverty is linked to poor health since due to poverty the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islanders cannot enjoy access to a lot of social amenities. The weak spending aspect makes it hard to access basic needs like proper diet which undermines the health outcomes of the Islanders and especially the infants. There is a high frequency of school dropouts which makes most of the indigenous population illiterate.

According to Peiris.et.al. (2012), the illiteracy and the fact that the people are not endowed with telecommunication capabilities make their illiteracy a significant disadvantage to their health care and health outcomes. The lack of clear understanding also means that the Islanders cannot respond and retain medical education. There is the poor accessibility of health services and pharmaceuticals since the families can barely afford to put a meal on the table. According to Parker, McKinnon & Kruske (2014), the social-economic disadvantage places them in a bad living condition whereby the indigenous group lives in a position which put them at a higher risk of being exposed to behaviors and environments which pose health risks to them. Poor social, economic status is linked to poor health behaviors like, reduced physical activity, smoking and alcohol abuse which amplify the wrong health of the indigenous citizens.

According to Swain & Barclay (2015), the poor living conditions do not support good health due to poor sanitation and overcrowded environments which accelerate the spread of communicable diseases. Their marginalization due to racial discrimination and lack of progressive civil activists makes it difficult for them to have equitable access to primary health care and infrastructure. The inferiority complex from the racial degradation has led to poor mental health outcomes.

Description and analysis of a primary health care service

Improving the health results of the Australian indigenous groups has continued to be a challenge for the Australian government. The health disparity between the Aboriginal and non-indigenous groups continues to grow, and various programs have been initiated to try and curb the inequality. A Journal by the Australian Government published by the Australian Institute of Health Care and Welfare and the Australian Family Studies reviews some of the actions addressing the health disparity. The journal describes a program of operational health initiatives towards the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders known as the Aunty Jeans Good health Team. The program's main aim is to improve the clinical outcomes and points out the essential practices that should be adopted by the indigenous islanders that make the initiative viable (Osborne, Baum & Brown, 2013).

The community improvement program originated from Illawarra, New South Wales and was designed for the indigenous Australians with chronic and complex care needs. The program has extended its objectives to encompass the provision of medical education to the indigenous Australians so as to try as much as possible to improve the health outcomes of the communities. It works by designing a health care model for the promotion of health, education and self-management practices which could support good health care behaviors. The program initiators found it necessary for such a program to be established since a critical evaluation showed that the Indigenous Australians were not making use of mainstream health programs in the local context. The program involved 12 modules each taking one day at the local health centers and also made free home activities over the same period. The objectives of the program involved improving the personal management by indigenous Australians with chronic and sophisticated healthy care requirements which include cardiovascular illness, diabetes, stroke, kidney disease and arthritis. The program also aims at developing collaboration from local health care facilities to improve the indigenous health, encourage appropriate communication channels, enhancing the self-managing strategies by the Indigenous Australians and promoting a sustainable environment which is health friendly. The Evaluation of the program by the journal identified success achieved through sticking to the objectives.

Unique aspects of the program

The Aunty Jeans healthcare team program applied all the principle of primary health care which made it unique and compelling. The program ensured the participation of the community by using the local resources to reach the indigenous Australians and also seeking collaboration with the community elders to reach as many people as possible. The Intersectoral collaboration achieved through working hand in hand with local health facilities and educating them on better methods of promoting health care also made the program unique and adequate. There was an appropriate use of technology where patients were screened and provided with the medication. Cancer patients were able to begin their chemotherapy sessions through machines furnished by the team to the local health centers. The nursing staffs were well trained and committed towards the course of the program, and they were careful to develop the best health promotion techniques to suit the. The primary objective of the program was to promote health, and they would sometimes move from home to home providing health education and services which not only improved the health awareness but also made health care accessible. The youth were sensitized to engage in constructive activities rather than participate in drug and substance abuse to improve their future social-economic status.

The program can contribute a lot to the reduction of health inequity among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders since it ensures that a majority of the serious ailments are taken care of. Many of the Islanders who suffered from the chronic diseases don’t even understand the nature of their disease and what practices can lead to better self-management practices. The program provided education on sanitation, proper diet and the need for physical activity not only to the chronic patients but to the whole community as well which helps reduce health disparity.

Conclusion

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are an indigenous group living in very underdeveloped areas of Australia and are typically discriminated due to their primitive ways of life. The segregation makes them live like second class citizens with no access to social amenities placing them at a social-economic disadvantage. The result is inadequate primary health care which is amplified by the fact that they do not have a proper diet, education, housing and access to clean water. The social context exposes them to a variety of health risks and this result to lower life expectancy and infant mortality. The Aunties Jeans team is a program meant to help improve primary care in the area by facilitating the treatment of chronic disease and complex conditions among the indigenous Australians. The program encompasses all the principles of primary care and ensures sustainability of better health for future generations of the community.

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