Discuss Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Examine the history, cultural identity, beliefs, and values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with a particular emphasis on disease burden.

Health disparities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the non-indigenous Australian population have been documented. One of the major aspects mentioned as playing a part in the variations is the culture, beliefs, and values held by these groups of people (Milroy et al., 2014). Yes, I was able to learn and comprehend the belief system of this group as well as the need for healthcare practitioners to be culturally sensitive in their practice with this course. Unlike the non-Indigenous Australian population who moved into the country over various periods in history, it is estimated that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have settled the country for more than 50,000 years. Their life system involved moving from one part of the territory to another as the demand for food and better weather demanded. This meant that they were not socialized to occupy a specific location and establish social amenities and improve their economic well-being (Milroy, Dudgeon, & Walker, 2014). Besides, the communities hold strong attachments to their families with defined roles for the males and the females. It is also documented that these communities hold very strong religious beliefs. This belief system hinders the indigenous communities from accessing health care. For instance, it has been documented that a health worker without the cultural sensitivity of the said communities may have difficulties in providing care as the trust levels are quite low (Durey et al., 2012).

The historical accounts of the suffering that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities underwent are a crucial factor in determining the health outcomes of the population. Indeed, the invasion of the British and subsequent loss of land, which was and still is the most important source of livelihood and way of life continues to influence the inequality and discrimination faced by the communities. Because of the belief system of the indigenous communities, they were always seen as being primitive and non-civilized with the subsequent non-inclusion in the economic development of the country. This outright discrimination has a bearing on the health status of the population. Indeed, according to Kelaher, Ferdinand and Paradies (2014), discrimination founded on the race of individuals harms the mental and physical health of the victims. This apparent racism is evident in the Australian health care system which compromises the care given and is responsible for the reluctance of the indigenous communities to seek health care services (Durey et al., 2012). Boffa (2008) argues that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not receive equivalent procedures for managing diseases and for health promotion like other Australians indicating that racism is systemic.

Another significant historical context that I realized may have had a long-term impact on the perception of health professionals by the indigenous population is the stolen generation. The act of the government to use nurses to forcibly steal children from the families of the Aboriginal and Torres and Strait Islander people and give them to the non-indigenous families may have led to distrust of the health professionals and explain the possible reluctance to seek treatment. There is an apportionment of blame to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to the high rates of discharges against medical advice, especially among the younger men (Durey & Thompson, 2012). While there may be various reasons for such behaviour, it must not be ignored that there is a historical and cultural context to the entire issue. Distrust of the health care professionals and the possibility of providing a discriminative health care may explain this phenomenon.

As a health care professional, I have learned through this course the importance of offering a culturally safe care to the indigenous communities. Offering discriminatory health care is likely to compromise the health and well-being of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. It is critical, therefore, that the health care professionals provide services that respect the people and their culture as it has been proven by evidence to provide positive health outcomes. To achieve this goal, it is important that strong partnerships between the indigenous communities and the care providers are built to enable a continuous evaluation of the current beliefs and values among the communities to inform practice and policy (Vos et al., 2009). I learned that while respecting culture is a critical aspect of delivering health care to persons of all backgrounds, it is particularly significant to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who experience severely poor health outcomes. This unit was not just informative, but an eye-opener on the relatively shallow information I had in respect to the relationship between the culture, values and belief systems of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and health outcomes. I believe that the unit will guide my practice to be one that is culturally respectful and sensitive to help improve the health outcomes of the indigenous communities.

Part II: Response to Peers’ Work

Learning Outcome 4: Identify and discuss ways of readdressing health care inequalities including the burden of illness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

I must say from the onset that this work meets the expected outcomes of the reflection. The paper begins by highlighting and defining the inequalities that exist between the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the non-indigenous citizens. The paper further states the causes of these inequalities by grouping them to social determinants, behavioural and biomedical risk factors. The author is conscious of the fact that the inequalities have a historical context stemming back to the periods of colonisation with barriers to accessing better health outcomes evident among these communities. The main challenges, according to the author, include the poor access to the health care facilities, poor education among the people and the discrimination in the provision of the health care services.

After this discussion of the inequalities, the paper sufficiently gives some of the means through which they can be addressed. I agree with the author that the challenges of access to health care services must be addressed by the government. Besides, the paper suggests that reducing the gap in the social, cultural, political, and the economic spheres will help in addressing the health inequalities.

While I find the paper easy to read and understand, especially because of the use of literature to support the points covered ((Polit-O’Hara, & Beck, 2006), I will suggest that the paper can be improved further. For instance, the paper fails to give and elaborate the social, behavioural and biomedical determinants of health. Besides, it could have been more succinct if the paper highlighted the specific ways of addressing the inequalities as opposed to the general discussions that were presented. In general, I think the paper depicts an understanding of the inequalities that exist between the indigenous communities and the general non-indigenous Australian populace.

8. Outline the principles of ethical research when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Research is a critical aspect in forming part of the evidence-based practice. However, before such research can be accepted as evidence, it must be appraised to determine its suitability. One aspect that is essential during the critical review is the ethical considerations that the researcher upheld during their studies (Polit-O’Hara, & Beck, 2006). This paper gives the historical aspect of ethics in performing the research when working with the aboriginal people and the current practice.

One thing that stands out about this paper is its organisation. The paper begins by describing the history of research with the Aboriginal people by correctly noting that they were not actively involved in the studies. The non-indigenous people have historically tried to understand the Aboriginal communities without necessarily benefiting the locals. However, as the paper correctly notes, the trend has slowly shifted and now more Aboriginal researchers are coming to the front to ensure that the studies benefit the local communities. The author further highlights the basic ethical principles that researcher should uphold when conducting studies involving human subjects. Such considerations like maleficence, beneficence, the integrity of the research among others are crucial when undertaking research with the Aboriginal communities.

This is a strong paper with proper mechanics of writing including proper sentence structure, effective use of vocabulary and efficient organisation of the points. Because of these excellent writing skills, I found the paper easy to read, follow and comprehend the ideas presented by the author. An effective paper starts with an introduction, followed by the body where the main ideas are discussed and finally a conclusion that gives the summary of what was discussed in the paper (Zhu, 2004). That notwithstanding, I would encourage the author to end with a brief statement that indicates how the knowledge gained will benefit his/her future career as a health care professional.

References

Boffa, J. D. (2008). Cancer care for Indigenous Australians. Medical Journal of Australia, 188(10), 560.

Durey, A., Thompson, S. C., & Wood, M. (2012). Time to bring down the twin towers in poor Aboriginal hospital care: addressing institutional racism and misunderstandings in communication. Internal medicine journal, 42(1), 17-22.

Kelaher, M. A., Ferdinand, A. S., & Paradies, Y. (2014). Experiencing racism in health care: the mental health impacts for Victorian Aboriginal communities. The Medical journal of Australia, 201(1), 44-47.

Milroy, H., Dudgeon, P., & Walker, R. (2014). Community life and development programs–Pathways to healing. Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice, 419-435.

Polit-O’Hara, D., & Beck, C. T. (2006). Essentials of nursing research: Methods, appraisal, and utilization (Vol. 1). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Vos, T., Barker, B., Begg, S., Stanley, L., & Lopez, A. D. (2009). Burden of disease and injury in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: the Indigenous health gap. International Journal of Epidemiology, 38(2), 470-477.

Zhu, W. (2004). Faculty views on the importance of writing, the nature of academic writing, and teaching and responding to writing in the disciplines. Journal of second language Writing, 13(1), 29-48.