Health of Australias Indigenous People Essay Example

Health of Australias Indigenous People Essay Example Health of Australias Indigenous People Paper Health of Australias Indigenous People Paper Essay Topic: The Healers The health of Australia’s Indigenous peoples is documented to be of third world standard. This paper identifies and highlights the factors that influence Aboriginal health and wellbeing. It explores and analyses how Aboriginal health, as a reflection of the broader social, economic, political and environmental factors, is influenced by colonialism, not just historically but as a living legacy. It discusses the continuing influence of colonialism in Aboriginal health policy and practice and how this has been an obstacle to Aboriginal health improvement. Strategies for health improvement, guided by the principle of self-determination and primary health care are discussed. Consideration is given to the voices of Aboriginal Health Workers on Aboriginal health issues and the importance of those voices as an expression of self-determination. The negative influences of colonialism still exist today. Broome (1994 pg 23) states; â€Å"the meeting of two people from different cultures is bound to be marked by misunderstanding†. The nature of exchanges and responses of Europeans and Indigenous Australians happened as a gradual process throughout the early 1800’s. The processes of colonisation had such an impact on those already here. It is only now, that non-indigenous Australians are starting to understand the breadth and magnitude of this process. The notion of Terra Nullius was created and the great Southland was considered wasteland, unoccupied and belonging to no one. Reynolds (1987 pg 167) says, ‘Some settlers resolved the contradictions concerning the place of the Aborigines in European society by assuming that Australia had been before 1788, ‘waste and uncultivated’, a terra nullius or land without owners’. Despite this common belief, there was immediate resistance by Aboriginal people. Where former history was once of passive agreement and welcoming to the foreshores, history records the violent confrontations between Indigenous people and the colonialists with the overwhelming brutality of all but few of the new arrivals. It is not possible to comprehend the current status of Aboriginal Health and wellbeing without first acknowledging the legacies and treatment of Aboriginal people in this country since European invasion. There are many arguments for and against the notion that Aboriginal Australia was never invaded and that it was only a process of colonisation. Some argue that European colonisation was an act of genocide and was in fact an invasion with the intention to take over and repopulate Aboriginal Australia. Reynolds (cited in Reed and Trompt, 1991 page 5) says that ‘in addition to killing ‘twenty thousand blacks before federation’ and many more in the twentieth century as the frontier moved north and west in the Northern Territory and Western Australia), the conquerors launched three pronged attack on the health and welfare of Aborigines’. The first fleet brought with it, a cargo of disease that Aboriginal people had not experienced and diseases such as scurvy, mumps and typhus killed large numbers of Aboriginal people. Reed and Trompt (1991 page 5) suggest that Europeans ‘introduced new diseases, some immediately fatal, others fatal in the long term’. Further, ‘taking away ancestral land, thus causing psychological illness and spiritual despair’; and ‘by herding Aborigines into small reserves and settlements, destroying their healthy lifestyle and substituting conditions and diet poorer that those of the poorest newcomers’. To understand the impact on ones health, it’s important to conceptualise the meaning of health and what it means to have a ‘healthy lifestyle’. The Macquarie Dictionary (1993 pg 189) defines the meaning of health as (1. ‘ Soundness of body; Freedom from disease or ailment’) or (2. ‘The general condition of the body or mind’). Western medicine tends to use a disease model for treating patients with more activity centred on a particular illness or focus on a part of a body that is abnormal. The World Health Organisation defines health as; â€Å"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity†. In other words, it is not just the absence of sickness and disease, but a complete state of physical, mental, social wellbeing’. One could argue that this definition does not cover the aspect of spiritual wellbeing. Spiritual wellbeing or ‘traditional healing’ plays an integral role in Aboriginal health today and is only now recognised and practiced by health professions across the state. Certain members of an Aboriginal community are often referred to as traditional healers. In many Aboriginal communities across Australia there are people who are seen to have magical powers. They have the ability to ‘sing’ someone, causing serious illness and even death. On the other hand, it can also be used to heal and bring someone out of sickness and infirmity. ‘More recently, greater understanding of the sociomedical theories of the Aboriginal healing system illuminate better the role of the traditional healer. In Aboriginal communities, healers are individuals who possess healing and divination powers which can be used for the benefit of the community’. (Reed and Trompt, 1991, page 313) The social and cultural dislocation experienced by Aboriginal people has indefinably had a profound effected on Aboriginal peoples mental well being. The word powerlessness and hopelessness comes to ones mind when consideration is given to the destruction that came from ‘European invasion’. The rippling effects of ‘European invasion’ can be seen today. One would only have to read the newspapers and textbooks to see such effects. These effects however, could be viewed as stresses that lead to mental ill health. Most stresses that lead to mental health are also economic. Most mental disorders have their highest prevalence in the lowest socioeconomic class. Research gives evidence that high proportions of Aboriginal population live in low socioeconomic or marginalised regions. Reed and Trompt (1991, page 249) says ‘The stress experienced by Aboriginal communities has been attributed to factors such as the marginal social and economic status of most Aboriginal communities’. It could then be argued that Aboriginal people as a whole experience a much lower standard of living than other Australians. Economic stress can lead to psychological stress. For instance, high unemployment, or rather, a lack of significant experience, extreme poverty, severe housing shortages, family violence, high crime rates, sexually transmitted diseases, alcoholism and malnutrition are all contributing factors to ones ill-health. As mentioned earlier, it is important to recognise Aboriginal health from social view. A social view of health is embedded within the Primary Health Care philosophy. It alters its focus to recognise the environment in which a person lives. The social view of health recognises that if people are poor, are living in an unhealthy environment or have no power over their lives, they will continue to get sick, no matter how many hospitals are built. While Aboriginal people in Australia have been setting a benchmark in Aboriginal medical services, other people throughout the world have been looking at different ways to provide health care. They have been realising that health services were only providing adequate care for those people who had power and money. Millions of poor, homeless or powerless people throughout the world were sick or dying because their needs were not being met. In 1978, the World Health Organisation held a conference on health in Alma-Ata in the USSR. People from 134 nations, including Australia, met to talk about their experiences and ways to make people healthier. They decided to call this new approach ‘Primary Health Care’. Out of this conference came a document called the ‘Declaration of Alma-Ata’. The Alama-Ata declaration talked about what Primary Health Care is and how changes could be made to health services around the world to improve health. The delegates at the Alama-Ata conference stated that ‘health is a basic human right’. The declaration called for a different approach to health and for health care to give equal share of health resources to all people. In 1989 the National Aboriginal Health Strategy was released and endorsed by all health and Aboriginal Affairs ministers. It was the biggest and most comprehensive report into Aboriginal health that had ever been undertaken. Its overall aim was to work towards increasing the access of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People to health services by the year 2000. It strongly supported the role of Aboriginal Health Workers and the development of Primary Health care services in Aboriginal communities. The report recognised that the most successful services are those that are controlled by the community rather than by government departments. Another policy response was the Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody, (1991, AGPS, Canberra) This â€Å"Royal Commission† was set up to investigate why so many Aboriginal people die in jail and police stations. In doing so it collected much information on the physical and mental health and living conditions of Aboriginal people. Several recommendations were aimed at improving the current health services and acknowledging the importance of Aboriginal Health Professionals. Both the National Aboriginal Health Strategy and The Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody reports have been criticised, for although they identify many problems, few changes have occurred. It is one thing to come up with recommendations; it’s how you implement them that really counts. It takes more than Government policies to affect change, community attitude and commitment are fundamental to social change. One could ask, who determines whether or not a recommendation has been implemented Successfully, and how is it reviewed to keep its status in a western dominant culture. Money does not change the way people relate to one another nor does it rule out hidden racism. One might implement all the recommendations in the Black Deaths in Custody report, but it still doesn’t change peoples negative opinions and attitudes toward Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people have been fighting for Social Justice for years and it’s still a major priority for the community as well as other human service workers. Human service workers can play a key role in bringing about change. The secret often lays in the principles of community development. Taking community action is a way that empowers a community. Community development is a tool that can be used to bring social change. Aboriginal people have had decades of change (â€Å"injustices†) being forced upon them. The only real way for change to be constructive today is for it to come from and involve Aboriginal people. Consensus building, empowerment, participation and social movement are all community development principles that are important in creating positive social change and addressing social justice issues. Self-determination and empowerment means having power over resources, decision making, relationships, and information. It is with this power, Aboriginal people are only now, starting to carve out a pathway for the next generation. My findings show that early history and views of Aboriginal people have influenced the way in which Aboriginal people are viewed and treated today. Decisions made in life are based on what is known or perceived as being the correct answer. Thus many decisions and views of Aboriginal people today are learned through education and information from past history. These views and decisions have disadvantaged Aboriginal people over the years, but they are also key factors in unlocking the answer to addressing past injustices. Prejudices and racial discrimination issues are often seen as issues that compound on the social wellbeing of Aboriginal people, thus making it harder to access services and maintain positive self-esteem and image. There are so many myths and beliefs about Aboriginal people that influence our service delivery today in both government and non-government sectors. Views and perceptions of early history linger in our society today because of ignorance. The status of Aboriginal health and wellbeing among Aboriginal people today can be looked at in terms of Aboriginal history and European invasion. The continuous effects of European invasion inevitably affected the lives of hundreds and thousands of Aboriginal people. These effects are evident in our society today. The National Inquiry into Black Deaths in Custody highlights a series of recommendations that refer to the betterment of Aboriginal health, with most still needing to be implemented. The health of Indigenous Australians is of third world standard in this country, and its not just an Aboriginal issue, it’s a political one. Allan Sumner Reference: Reed and Trompt, 1991, The Health Of Aboriginal Australia, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Group (Australia) Pty Ltd. Reynolds, Henry 1987 (Frontier) page 167, Allen Unwin Australia Pty Ltd. The Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody, 1991, AGPS, Canberra Three Years On, Implementation of Commonwealth Government Responses to the Recommendations of the Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody, Vol 2, pages 491 – 534. World Health Organisation, 1978, Primary Health Care: Report of the International conference of primary health care, Alma-Ata, USSR 6-12 September, WHO.