Statistics show that 20% of the Australians lived in the lowest socioeconomic regions between the year 2015-2017 and are two times more likely to have at least two chronic illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes (Vos, Barker, Begg, Stanley & Lopez, 2012 p470). The Australian Indigenous people who include the Indigenous and the Torres Strait Islanders are at a disadvantage because they do not receive quality health care services like other Australians. The health inequalities are due to discrimination, poverty and access to goods and services. This is because of the social determinants that hinder accessibility of health care services such as poor infrastructure, residence in remote areas, low income, low education levels and poor working and living conditions. The Australian government has formulated and implemented the Closing The Gap (CTG) policy that ensures equality in the health sector through increased income, high educational attainment and health literacy (Stoneham, Goodman & Daube, 2014 p10). There is an increase in the incidence of diabetes among the indigenous Australian population due to poor nutrition and lifestyle (Burrow & Ride, 2016). Research that has been carried out in the rural areas in Australia shows that there is a rise in Kidney illnesses among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Folks in Australia who are the disadvantaged populations (McDonald & Hoy, 2017 p170). This essay will discuss the Closing The Gap (CTG) in terms of its significance to the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginal people, analysis of Judy’s diabetes and the social health determinants, benefits of Judy being registered on CTG and discussion of the AMS and ALO in regard to Judy’s case study.
Closing The Gap (CTG) refers to Australian government policy which aims at reducing the disadvantages among the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginal people taking into consideration the life expectancy, early childhood education, employment, educational achievement and child mortality (Rossi, 2015 p181). This strategy was formulated to help the poor Indigenous Australian people who reside in the rural areas and have to travel long distances to access hospitals as well as medical care. Compared to the non-indigenous Australians, these Aboriginal people have a lower health standard and shorter life expectancy (Taylor & Barnes, 2013 p120). Therefore this strategy was aimed at reducing the extra cost of accessing health care which has led to a growing life expectancy gap since the Australians who live in the cities have a twenty-four-hour access to medical care. However, those who reside in the remote parts are four times more likely to have shorter lives as a result of the lack of healthcare options. The policy has helped in making the health services for the Indigenous people since it influences how an individual interacts with health services. The higher education levels that are championed by the Closing The Gap (CTG) policy have led to healthier lifestyle choices as well as improved healthcare literacy (Australian Indigenous HealthinfoNet, 2018).
Although there have been many campaigns by politicians in the Australian government to give motivation to the people to work together so as to close the gap, there have been various challenges and barriers that affect the changes brought about by this strategy. One of the most significant challenges experienced by the Closing The Gap (CTG) policy is lack of sufficient funds to ensure success and proper implementation of the policy. The government has tried to provide funding to support this strategy but due to the scarce nature of the resources, these funds are not enough hence there are limited benefits of the policy. For instance, in the year 2008, Health Minister Nicola Roxon and Kevin Rudd signed a joint statement in which the main intention was to fund the strategy so as to close the gap. This funding was not enough to develop a long-term action plan that is targeted at the healthcare sector so as to attain equality in health and increase life expectation for the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginals. The other barrier that affects the change is the fact that the Closing The Gap (CTG) has minimal approval among the Indigenous Australians. Also, there are challenges in the education sector since the school attendance is low (Guenther, 2013 p160).
The social elements of health include all the features that influence the likelihood of an individual to stay healthy or become sick or be injured. Social health determinants include; revenue, employment, education and the social support. Judy is an Aboriginal woman who has type 2 diabetes. Being from the Indigenous Australian community, Judy is eligible to be put under the Closing The Gap (CTG) strategy since she has a disadvantage in accessing the health care that she needs. This is one of the social support that is given to the Aboriginal people so that people like Judy can have equality in the health services offered in Australia. This policy will enable Judy to receive the daily dressing of her ulcer as the strategy ensures the accessibility of health care services by the indigenous people living in the rural areas. Since Judy lives by herself, she will require additional care since diabetes is associated with problems of frequent urination, diabetic foot and ulcers and the fact that regular monitoring is required. The age of Judy who is 57 years old puts her in a more demanding state. The other social determinants that will undermine Judy’s recovery include reduced income, lower education level, old age and lack of family support and care. According to the Closing The Gap (CTG) policy, Judy’s living conditions, working conditions, education levels and the social support available to her will be addressed. In Australia, the National Health Performance Framework outlines the significance and importance of social determinants of health. The Framework involves socioeconomic and community factors in terms of income, educational attainment and health literacy.
Registering Judy on the CTG will enable her to receive appropriate and suitable healthcare hence she will be able to live a healthy and prosperous life. The life expectancy of Judy will be increased since she will be able to receive health care services to deal with her diabetes (Panaretto, Wenitong, Button & Ring, 2014 p650). The other benefit is that her living conditions will be improved as improvement of the living and working conditions is one of the most important aims of the CTG policy which will include access to better housing and health facilities required in the management of diabetes. Judy will be able to enjoy the human rights which are stated by the World Health Organization and upheld by the Australian government which include the right to access healthcare, education, food and shelter (Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d). These rights will enable her to have equality of opportunity including the recognition of Judy’s distinct cultural status. Judy will benefit from the nutrition and diet advice that is given to diabetic patients to reduce malnutrition and ensure healthy living (Lee & Ride, 2018). The healthcare professionals will be able to offer medical care to Judy so as to contain her diabetes while taking into considerations her cultural beliefs. Registration of Judy on the CTG will have an impact on her social determinants such that her living conditions will be improved, increase her health literacy and increase her education level hence improving her health in terms of healthy living and extended life expectancy due to proper management of diabetes (Jones et al. 2018 p36)
AMS refers to the Aboriginal and Islander Medical Services is an organization that provides socially suitable health care services to the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islanders. The AMS is managed by healthcare Aboriginal workers who have experience and sensitivity to the needs of the community. ALO refers to Aboriginal Liaison Officer guarantees that the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginal people get access to the conventional healthcare amenities. The Aboriginal Link Officer offers social, emotive and ethnic support to both the patients and their relatives. The officer provides liaison amenities and info about the medical services and serves as the link between the hospital and the native community resources. These two parties offer information that Judy require to manage her diabetes such as the risk factors such as improper diet and inappropriate lifestyles among the Indigenous Australian population (Ride, 2017 p10). The AMS and the ALO referred Judy since they could not offer the required services hence suggested that the community nurse is delegated the duties to take care of her. In this case of Judy, the Aboriginal Liaison Officer worked in collaboration with the Aboriginal and Islander Medical Services officials to undertake the referral services. The integration of the CTG into the Australian healthcare sector enhances healthcare delivery for the Aboriginal Australians via efficient engagement between the local community and the national healthcare services (Durey et al. 2016 p224).
In conclusion, the Closing The Gap (CTG) policy by the Australian government has ensured equality in healthcare by increased income, the betterment of education and increased health literacy. This strategy has been able to positively influence the social determinants of health hence leading to improved standards of living, healthy living and increased life expectancy. The implementation of the CTG policy which has been championed by AMS and ALO among other healthcare agencies have led to proper management of chronic diseases especially diabetes among the Indigenous Australian population. Although the CTG has seen great success, there are various challenges that hinder its ultimate implementation such as low education levels and the fact that the indigenous people have not fully embraced it (Rossi, 2015 p195).
References:
Australian Human Rights Commission, (n.d). Close the Gap: Indigenous Health Campaign. Available OnlineAt:https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-justice/projects/close-gap-indigenous-health/ Retrieved on 9 August 2018.
Australian Indigenous HealthinfoNet, (2018). Closing the Gap. History of Closing the Gap, Funding and Assistance. Available Online At: au/learn/health-system/closing-the-gap//”>https://healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/learn/health-system/closing-the-gap// Retrieved On 9 August 2018.
Burrow, S. and Ride, K., 2016. Review of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Australian Health Reviews.
Durey, A., McEvoy, S., Swift-Otero, V., Taylor, K., Katzenellenbogen, J. and Bessarab, D., 2016. Improving healthcare for Aboriginal Australians through effective engagement between community and health services. BMC health services research, 16(1), p.224.
Guenther, J., 2013. Are we making education count in remote Australian communities or just counting education?. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 42(2), pp.157-170.
Jones, R., Thurber, K.A., Wright, A., Chapman, J., Donohoe, P., Davis, V. and Lovett, R., 2018. Associations between Participation in a Ranger Program and Health and Wellbeing Outcomes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Central Australia: A Proof of Concept Study. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(7). Pp.36
Lee, A. and Ride, K., 2018. Review of nutrition among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Australian Indigenous Health Reviews.
McDonald, S. and Hoy, W., 2017. Kidney Disease Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Australia. In Chronic Kidney Disease in Disadvantaged Populations (pp. 167-180).
Panaretto, K.S., Wenitong, M., Button, S. and Ring, I.T., 2014. Aboriginal community controlled health services: leading the way in primary care. The Medical Journal of Australia, 200(11), pp.649-652.
Ride, K. (2017). Plain language review of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Perth: Australian Indigenous People. Australian Aboriginal Journal pp1-14
Rossi, T., 2015. Expecting too much? Can Indigenous sport programmes in Australia deliver development and social outcomes?. International journal of sport policy and politics, 7(2), pp.181-195.
Stoneham, M., Goodman, J. and Daube, M., 2014. The portrayal of Indigenous health in selected Australian media. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 5(1), pp.1-13.
Taylor, A. and Barnes, T., 2013. ‘Closing the Gap’in Indigenous life expectancies: what if we succeed?. Journal of Population Research, 30(2), pp.117-132.
Vos, T., Barker, B., Begg, S., Stanley, L. and Lopez, A.D., 2012. Burden of disease and injury in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: the Indigenous health gap. International journal of epidemiology, 38(2), pp.470-477.
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