Discuss about the First Peoples Health for One Chronic Health Condition.
All around the world there is debate about the special healthcare needs required by some specific community. The indigenous people that are not in the main stream do not have access to best of medical facilities. It has made governments think about the heath requirements they have and work upon it to improve their health economics. The same is the case with Australia where Torres Strait Islanders are the Indigenous people from Torres Strait Islands which is a part of Queensland. They are genetically different from the people from rest of Australia (Panaretto, et. al. 2014). There are two communities living there namely Seisia and Bamaga. There are many chronic diseases that are common in these people like Diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease. There are several factors that push them towards this type of health condition. Due to this total life expectancy of this community is 10 years less than other Australians. This mortality gap is a result of these chronic diseases at the same time it is responsible for the two-third premature deaths (Schierhout, et. al. 2016). Interestingly there is disparity in the chronic disease prevalence in the two populations. The condition cannot be improved without having an effective healthcare strategy along with improved healthcare facilities.
This report highlights one major chronic disease in these people as well as the factors that is responsible for such condition. It also describes a contemporary healthcare strategy to improve the condition. In the later section of the report recommendations regarding improving health status are provided.
According to the survey in Australia among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People suggests that there are various types of chronic health diseases prevalent in this community. One chronic disease that is common in these people is Diabetes. Due to lack of proper healthcare facilities the situation has become worse (Chamberlain, et. al. 2015). Apart from this there are many people in this community who are living a modern life but their body have not accepted the modern day life style. This has caused huge problems for the people. Their eating habits have also somehow changed along with the environment change. The climate change is the major reason for it. Diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease all three occurs in a person at the same time. This can be understood by the fact that around 53.1% of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have diabetes along with signs of having chronic kidney disease. In other Australian people this is around 32.5%. Same is the case in case of people having diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at the same time (Mclennan and Khavarpour, 2004). This is due to the change in their body orientation as well as the functionality of their body. It is seen that people who have taken the help of the medical facilities are more likely to get safeguarded by the changing health and environment conditions. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are almost four times more likely to get infected by diabetes when compared to non-indigenous people. For diabetes Australia removing diabetes from this community is a challenge and a priority. Type 2 Diabetes is very common in these people (Barnett and Kendall, 2011).
There are certain other factors that describe the pattern in which these people have Diabetes. Gap between the two populations is very high in the case of people above 35 years. According to the data available with Australian survey agencies, 9.0% is the rate with which people over 35-44 of age of Torres Strait Islander have diabetes. On the other hand for other people it is 8.2%. Over the age of 45 years this rate climbs to 17.8% in aboriginal people while 15% for the rest (Larson, et. al. 2007). Both men and women of the Torres Islanders face this problem. Obesity or fat bellies have played a very major role in this. Torres Strait Islanders around 39.8% are obese which increases their chances of having Diabetes (Best and Fredericks, 2018). In terms of age adults are one and half time more likely to get diabetes than non-indigenous people. Lower birth weights are common in these people which are another major reason for these people generating diabetes.
In terms of social factor, these people have lower average per capita income. At the same time they have lower quality life standards. Many Aboriginal people who live on these Islands are said to be poor or have less income than the people at the main lands. This is due to the less availability of the employment opportunities. People at this place are forced to take the food that is cheaper, bit unhealthy at the same time rich in fat and sugar (Aspin, et. al. 2012).
Their cultural background is having the influence of Europe. Sugar and refined foods have become their essential ingredients in their food. The Aboriginal people use a less nutritious food which has led to this condition (Kvc, 2018). In the Island there is less chance to get fresh food due to limited resources hence such situations have arisen. They have less education regarding diabetes and the measures that could help them in coming out of this situation.
For Diabetes Australia, removing diabetes from Torres Islanders is a challenge. This is due to their remoteness as well as their less reach to the main stream medical facilities. Australian Government has made plans to solve this problem (McBain?Rigg and Veitch, 2011). There are several strategies made in this regards. Some of them are:
Removing disparity in terms of socio-economic condition of the people is their primary concern. For this they have started investing in the development plans in the island. Improvement in socio-economic status of the people will help in the process.
The strategy to increase the primary health care centres can help in improving the health conditions. Number of doctors that belongs to indigenous community is also less hence the government aims to increase their number. People at the early stages of Diabetes are not diagnosed with the disease due to lack of primary health centres. Government will also have to involve these aboriginal people in the strategy to eliminate diabetes.
Apart from this, health check-ups need to be done on regular basis so as to improve the condition of the health in this region. Even when the government plans to set up best of facilities, there is another problem of high employee turnover. In order to ensure that best of facilities are provided to Islanders, it is always crucial that their representation in the health services also remains high. The strategy also includes a model for increasing the access to primary healthcare services in remote communities. According to social survey conducted in 2008, people over the age of 15 years living in urban environment have faced problems in accessing healthcare services (Parker and Milroy, 2014). This is also due to racist and discriminatory behaviour by healthcare staffs. Strategies for eliminating discriminatory behaviour by the worker have been enforced strictly. Establishing community health centres have been their priority.
Government has made strategies for assigning the roles and responsibility to different people and organisations so as to improve the health condition. This also includes people from the same community and from other sections of the society. This will help them to bring cultural safety and security in their minds.
Strategy to build relationship among healthcare staffs and the patients is also very effective as it helps them in the treatment. This will automatically improve the quality of services that is provided to healthcare staffs. Community healthcare centres helps in removing language barriers at the same time it builds the sense of belongings in their mind (DiGiacomo, et. al. 2013).
Diabetic centres are run all across the Australia which helps them in providing holistic care to the diabetic patients. This must also be in the form of education that is given to the members of the community regarding the ways to safeguard against diabetes.
Every community has different healthcare needs, at the same time they have different kinds of health perspective. One health perspective about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is that they want to stick to the original community values and practices. This has not allowed them to come to main stream. They have a perspective about their regional and cultural medical facilities which they do not want to improve (McCalman, et. al. 2014). They are not willing to speak up about their health status. This gap in communication between aboriginal community and the mainland healthcare staffs can be dangerous. Mistrust and Unwelcoming spaces are adding in their community participation.
They do not engage themselves into health development programs which are directly or indirectly affecting their health indexes. They believe in their rituals and traditional medicinal aspect which is poor in improving the health stats in the region. Since many of them are poor hence they are not able to avail the costly health services. This changes their perspective about availing quality health services (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013). They need to change their eating habits along with the physical workouts.
They believe to have a culturally relevant program so that they have a program that could change the health status of the people. Australia requires range of planning, implementing and managing Indigenous community health program. Their main activity that is required in this regards is clinical practices, health promotions and community development.
The cultural perspective of the Islander people needs to be acknowledged properly. This will help in improving the health status of the people. Since these people believe in culturally interactive health care services hence I believe that they must be provided with the community centres (Gibson, Segal and McDermott, 2012). I believe that there is a huge requirement of increasing the educational level of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island at the graduate levels. This will help them in ensuring that the kind of services these Indigenous people will require, they will receive the same. I believe that the strategies must be aligned with the priority of the Diabetic Australia. This will help in the development of the program that aims to reduce the diabetes in this community.
Insurance cover to all the people of Australia including indigenous community would help in improving their health dynamics. In the larger perspective there must skilled and knowledgeable doctors that could empower community healthcare centres.
In order to gain the culturally viable healthcare services active participation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander is required. This cannot be possible without the use of mechanism for the development of their educational participation. Aboriginal people generally feel shy about going to healthcare centres hence a program that includes them is required. They do not like to get treated from the doctors of opposite gender (Diabetes Australia, 2018). I think this can only be improved with the help of building trust and confidence in the minds of the consumers. This will stop them from going to witch doctors or sorcery for finding the cure. Apart from this other confounding factors that has to be removed is regarding maintaining confidentiality within the aboriginal community.
In my believe doctors must understand their cultural aspect of health as well as their health practices. Indigenous students must undertake primary healthcare courses so that they have understanding about the demands of their people.
Conclusion
From the above report it can be concluded that Aboriginal people have different kind of culture. These people are facing many chronic diseases. Some of them are reducing the mortality rate of the Indigenous people. Rate of all these chronic diseases is typically higher in the Aboriginal people as compared to that of other Australians. Diabetes is highly common type of chronic diseases which these people face. Social, cultural and demographic factors have influenced the health condition of this community. Socio-economic condition like being poor and remoteness from the mainstream healthcare practices plays a greater role in creation of this situation. Many healthcare strategies are made by the concerned authorities. These Aboriginal people have certain kind of health perspective in which the major is about their trust on culturally aligned healthcare system. This call for the need to build community health centres which I believe can only be possible if the education in the youngsters of this community can be enhanced.
References
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