Key Elements of Health Assessment at Different Levels

Health evaluations

Health evaluations assist healthcare practitioners in providing the best possible treatment to their patients. A health assessment can be performed on an individual, group, or community level. In each case, the social and behavioral influences, health risks, and information needs of the patients are studied to gain a thorough picture of the group of individuals’ health needs. Individually, significant components of a health evaluation include personal health and medical history, education level, financial level, relationship to family and society, and whether or not one is discriminated against in society (Smith, 2016). At a community level, similar elements are analyzed, but at a wide range. For instance, key elements at a community level would include the working level of the people in the community, the access to healthcare services, cultural and spiritual needs and economic stability of the community. At a group level, several dynamics of the group are analyzed to have a better understanding of the health needs of the people. Key elements at a group level include the socioeconomic status of the people, the average income of the group, the beliefs (groupthink), and the education level of the people (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014). Although the key elements vary depending on weather the assessment is done at an individual, group or community level, key issues such as the social and behavioral influence to health, the health risks and the information needs must be included in the health assessment report.

Population Description and the Process of Completing the Assessment

The current report presents the health assessment of the Aboriginals and Torres Strait islander young adults between the ages of 25 to 44 years. The assessment was conducted by engaging in interviews with people within this group and by observing the trends in the health of the people. Further, an analysis of the existing literature and the health history of the Aboriginals and Torres Strait islander youths were also used in developing the current health assessment report. The Aboriginals are often disadvantaged in terms of health care access because of their cultural differences. Further, most of the Aboriginals and the Torres people live in remote areas because of their close connection to land matters thus making it hard for them to acquire quality healthcare (Smith, 2016). The Aboriginals and the Torres people have low levels of income and their education levels are lower than those of the non-indigenous people are comparatively. A lot has changed in the recent past in relation to Aboriginal’s access to health care, but more efforts are required to ensure that this group of people receives culturally appropriate care at a reasonable cost.

Social and Behavioral Influence

The social and behavioral influence of the Aboriginals and the Torres people are mostly culture-related factors. The people are highly associated with land and the fact that majority were chased from their ancestral lands. These factors have led to poor levels of education, low income, and low employment opportunities for the Aboriginals and Torres (Day & Francisco, 2013). Further, the majority of the people within this population live in remote areas where healthcare services are not easily accessible (Smith, 2016). The lifestyle that the majority of the people in this community live puts them at a higher risk of developing nutrition-related diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Further, traveling from one place to another using unrefined road increases the risk of injury among the population. Low levels of income and low employment opportunities make it hard for the Aboriginals and the Torres people to eat balanced diets, thus leading to their poor health conditions.

Health Risks

The three main causes of death among the Aboriginals and Torres people are cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and injury. Heart failure and strokes are the leading causes of death among this population. People are at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases among the Aboriginals and the Torres people at a young age. Poor eating habits, inaccessibility to quality healthcare, low education levels, and the place of residence are the risk factors that lead to these diseases (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014). For instance, people living in the remote areas indicated low levels of self-harm in comparison to the Aboriginals living in the cities. The reason for this discrepancy is the fact that those living in the remote areas face less discrimination and segregation. Contrary, those living in the cities have multiple social and emotional problems that lead to the development of various diseases and self-inflicted injury (Day & Francisco, 2013).

Information Needs of Patients and the Families

Majority of the people in this population have low levels of education and are low-income earners. Although they are aware of the provisions such as Medicare and Medicaid available to them, they lack a better understanding of how to make use of these tools of healthcare (Smith, 2016). Therefore, culturally relatable information should be provided to this population to improve their health accessibility. Holding health seminars at the residential areas and having healthcare practitioners from the community can help in the provision of relevant information to the population.

Reference

Day, A. & Francisco, A. (2013). Social and Emotional Wellbeing in Indigenous Australians: Identifying Promising Interventions. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 37 (4), 350-355.

Kourkouta, L. & Papathanasiou, L. (2014). Communication in Nursing Practice. Mater Sociomed, 26 (1), 65-67.

Smith, J. (2016). Australia’s Rural, Remote, and Indigenous Health: A Social Determinant Perspective. Chatswood, N.S.W: Elsevier.