Health Conditions Of The Aboriginal Communities Of The Northern Territory

Performance Measurement

Discuss about the Health Conditions of the Aboriginal Communities of the Northern Territory.

Reasons/Business objectives of this proposal

Northern Territory is one of the locations based in the central northern districts of Australia. This region has sparse population as compared to the rest parts of Australia. The Aborigines are the native people of Australia who are residing there till ages. However, statistics shows that around 61% of the households in the area are overcrowded (Crawford and Biddle 2016). This has resulted in a lot of health problems such as skin infections, respiratory infections and others. There is also an acute issue of the mental health disorders in which there is acute presence of schizophrenia. There is also an increased presence of psychoactive substance use, which has led to increased behavioral disorders. There are also issues with the hospitalization of the Aboriginal as well as Torres Strait Islander people of Australia. The inadequate dwelling conditions in the Northern Territory have led to an impact on the mental health of the residents (Crawford and Biddle 2016). The community suffers from emotional distress, which requires immediate attention.

The present situation in Northern Territory has fostered the need for-Organizing a workshop for mental wellbeing in the Aboriginal community of Northern Territory, Australia. The mental well being workshops would mobilize the community and generate greater awareness among the masses. This workshop would discuss the causes, effects, generation and remedies of the different aspects of the mental illness. This workshop would also focus on the people’s experiences and concerns regarding mental health, which would be benefitting to the population in the long run.

The expected outputs of the workshop would be that the people would be able to recognize the signs of mental illness and inform their practioner regarding the same. They can seek medical help from the medical practioner and they would also be able to participate in different community interventions.

Performance measurement (quantifiable)

The performance management of the mental well-being workshop needs to be measured for greater benefits to the community. The following are the metrics that needs to be evaluated after the completion of the workshop-

• Reduction of discrimination of mental health victims
• Understanding the mental health problems and the early signs
• Identifying distress and suicidal tendencies
• Understanding and dealing with depression
• Discussing experiences of the people concerning mental health
• Promote range of supports available in the country for mental health
• Knowledge about the emergency procedures that should be followed when there is a crisis situation
• Ways of promoting mental well being

Business options

The mental health workshop should be organized in a community building where the residents of the area can travel easily. The communities should be made aware about the workshop from beforehand so that they can manage their time accordingly.

Market analysis

Business Options

There is a subsequent increase of the Aboriginal population of Australia, which has resulted in an increase in the relevant health issues of mental health. Statistics show that the Aboriginal people are prone to suffer from dementia and depression than the rest of Australia (Crawford and Biddle 2016). There is an increase in the suicidal rates of the aborigines and they are prone to anxiety. They are prone to cognitive disability and this is one of the most common mental health issues of the community. This community separates themselves from the rest of the Australian citizens, which has resulted in an increase of their mental issues.

The Aboriginal group is greatly characterized by mood disturbances and they have shown a restriction regarding the emotional responses to different phenomenon. There have also been suicidal tendencies among the people who have faced alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Aboriginal men are more prone to depression and they are not comfortable to talk about these issues to others. They do not feel comfortable to talk about their mental health issue to others. The community also faces issues in suppressing anger and they often have emotional outburst. There are a large number of anxiety disorders, which often go undiagnosed in the society. There are also people who suffer from psychotic disorders in Australia.

There are no awareness workshops or mass communication activities in the market and hence there is huge potential for this kind of workshop. There is rising number of misconceptions, disbeliefs and superstitions that need to be addressed as soon as possible. The mental health services should be distributed among the community so that they can benefit from the same. This ensures that there is sufficient market for this kind of workshops in Northern Territory, Australia.

SWOT analysis

It is important to understand the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of the upcoming workshop regarding mental health. The SWOT analysis is done below-

Strengths §  Improvement of mental healthcare scenario §  Support from local healthcare agents §  Solution focused workshop §  Good relationships with stakeholders	WEAKNESS §  Lack of participation from local communities §  Unable to mobilize the entire population §  Lack of budget allocation §  Residents have strong resistance to change
OPPORTUNITY §  Resource allocation by WHO §  Rise in global mental health awareness §  Advancement in medical technologies	THREAT §  Crisis situation may arise §  Acute stress disorder may prevent people from attending workshop §  Political conflicts

 Fig: SWOT analysis of mental health workshop

Source: Created by author

Output analysis

The output needs to be analyzed in terms of effectiveness of the workshop. The first analysis would be regarding the number of participants who attended the workshop. It is also important to check their awareness level at the end of the workshop. It is important to check the participation level of the community and level of enhancement of the knowledge of them. Their mentality change should be checked and their knowledge regarding the mental illness should be evaluated. It should also be checked that if they are able to tackle with their mental health ailments (if any).

Expected Benefits/Current Situation and Market Opportunities

The target market of this project would be the adolescents and people who suffer from stress, depression and suicidal tendencies. The mental health consumers would be selected along with their families. The other stakeholders of this project include the various private as well as government health services. The mental health care policy makers and mental health advocates would also be included in the workshop.

The benefit of the workshop would be assessed in terms of the level of understanding of the different key concepts discussed. It is also important to provide practical suggestions to the participants and identify their preparedness for handling difficult situations concerning mental health.

Benefits review plan

The benefits review plan of the project is defined below-

Benefits	KPI	Accountable Person	Resources needed	Evaluation of performance
Youth engagement	Empowered youth	Youth empowerment manager	Youth community support	Self evaluation tests
Improved decision making activity	Members able to take mental health care decisions	Project Manager	Motivation to the victims	Self evaluation tests
Empowerment	Positive outlook regarding mental illness	Project Manager	Videos showing successful mental health treatment	Self evaluation tests
Ability to self-administer emergency situations	Effective administration of emergency situations	Project Manager	Audio visual tools regarding emergency management	Self evaluation tests
Overall improvement in quality of life	Victims lead positive cheerful life	Project Manager	Sharing experiences of successful people	Self evaluation tests

Fig: Benefits Review Plan

Source: Created by author

Timescale

There would be ten activities which would be required to be completed within a span of six months. The following timeline would demonstrate the timelines for completing individual activities-

Month	Month 1	Month 2	Month 3	Month 4	Month 5	Month 6
STRATEGY ACTIVITIES
Identifying need for mental health workshops
Identifying local community support
Calculation of approximate participants
Resource gathering
Planning of finances
Determination of  Venue
Gain approval from local health board
Extensive promotion of workshop
Actual organizing of workshop
Evaluation of the mental health workshop

Costs of mental health workshop

The costs of organizing a workshop on mental well-being can be categorized as recurring costs and non-recurring cost (Beatty, Cheng and Zach 2015). Nonrecurring costs are onetime costs that which do not occur on a frequent basis. Recurring cost on the other hand are costs that occur at regular intervals. Nonrecurring costs can also be termed as the initial investment for organizing the workshop. Thereafter, whenever these workshops are held, it is expected that these costs shall not be incurred. Given below is the initial investment of the workshop

Initial Investment
Particulars	Amount
Legal Expenses to Consultants	$  1,000.00
Stationary	$     800.00
Brochures	$  2,000.00
Advertisement expenses	$  2,500.00
Insurance	$     750.00
Deposit for rent	$  3,000.00
Remodeling Expenses	$  4,000.00
Expenses on Equipment	$  4,500.00
Expenses on  Furniture	$  4,200.00
Other costs	$  3,500.00
Total Start up Expenses	$26,250.00

The recurring expenses of the workshop include the following:

Expected Costs	Amount
Rent	300
Electricity	350
Payment to Staff	1500
Payment to doctors	2500
Payment to counselors	1700
Organizing events	2800
Other costs	400
Total Expected Costs	9550

 The expected sources of income of the workshop are given below:

Expected Income
Donations	5000
Subscriptions	5500
	10500

The recurring and the non-recurring cost of the workshop have been estimated. These cost have been then utilized to calculate the net present value, the payback period and the return on investment in order to determine whether this venture should be undertaken or not.

STATEMENT OF EXPECTED CASHFLOWS
Expected Costs	Amount
Rent	300
Electricity	350
Payment to Staff	1500
Payment to doctors	2500
Payment to counselors	1700
Organising events	2800
Other costs	400
Total Expected Costs	9550
Expected Income
Donations	5000
Subscriptions	5500
	10500
Particulars	Year1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Inflow	10500	15750	23625	35437.5	53156.3
Outflow	9550	11937.5	14921.9	18652.3	23315.4
Net cashflow	950	3812.5	8703.13	16785.2	29840.8
PV of cashflow (10%)	863.636	3150.83	6538.79	11464.5	18528.8
Total of PV of cashflows	40546.5
Initial Investment	26250
Net Present Value	14296.5
Return on investment	154.46%
Payback period
Average cashflow in the next 5 years	12018.3
Initial Investment	26250
Payback period in years	0.46

Major Risks

There are major risks associated with the mental health workshop that should be taken into consideration. The first risk can be lack of adequate funds for carrying out the mental health workshop (Kidd, Kenny and McKinstry 2015). There can be issues with the rising budget of the workshop and there may be certain limitations regarding the actual functioning of the workshop. The second risk includes the fact there could be issues concerning the venue of workshop (Slade et al. 2014). This may involve last minute cancellations or lack of proper spaces for organizing the mental health workshop. The third risk may involve risks from the local communities as they may not support this kind of workshop. Their rebel may actually prevent the workshop from fulfilling its potential. The fourth risk would involve the lack of participation from the community. The marginalized community may not be ready for participating in the community initiatives which would dilute the purpose of the mental health program. The fifth risk would include the lack of approval of the health authorities in conducting such a mental health awareness program.

SWOT Analysis

The above risks can be mitigated with the help of proper planning and sufficient risk management strategies. The risk factors should be considered well and appropriate risk management strategies should be formulated. It is important to take precautionary steps beforehand so that the health awareness program is not cancelled.

Conclusion

The health status of Aboriginal population is in a poor state and there is a great lack of awareness regarding the basic mental health facility. The increased health burden can be attributed to the lack of basic health amenities and the lack of proper medical care. There are few health care persons specializing in mental health care in Northern Territory. The Australian Aboriginal community is full of stigma, superstitions and low awareness regarding the mental health disorders. They are not aware of the kind of mental ailments and their proper classification. This business case focused on the type of intervention that needs to be implemented in such a scenario. The benefits of mental health awareness workshop are understood and the output analysis is done. The financial analysis of the workshop is also done, which shows that the project would witness a 154% return on investment. The five-year projection shows that the workshop would have lucrative prospects in the next five years. The mental health awareness program would bring in numerous benefits for the community that can modify the present superstitions of the community.

References

Beatty, A., Cheng, L. and Zach, T., 2015. Non-recurring items in debt contracts.

Crawford, H. and Biddle, N., 2016. Home ownership transitions and Indigenous Australians.

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Kidd, S., Kenny, A. and McKinstry, C., 2015. The meaning of recovery in a regional mental health service: an action research study. Journal of advanced nursing, 71(1), pp.181-192. Kidd, S., Kenny, A. and McKinstry, C., 2015. The meaning of recovery in a regional mental health service: an action research study. Journal of advanced nursing, 71(1), pp.181-192.

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Slade, M., Amering, M., Farkas, M., Hamilton, B., O’Hagan, M., Panther, G., Perkins, R., Shepherd, G., Tse, S. and Whitley, R., 2014. Uses and abuses of recovery: implementing recovery?oriented practices in mental health systems. World Psychiatry, 13(1), pp.12-20.

Ta, T.M.T., Zieger, A., Schomerus, G., Cao, T.D., Dettling, M., Do, X.T., Mungee, A., Diefenbacher, A., Angermeyer, M.C. and Hahn, E., 2016. Influence of urbanity on perception of mental illness stigma: a population based study in urban and rural Hanoi, Vietnam. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 62(8), pp.685-695.

World Health Organization. (2017). World Health Organization. [online] Available at: https://www.who.int [Accessed 4 Aug. 2017].