Media Journal – Current Indigenous Health And Well-being Issues In Australia: Alcohol Abuse Amongst The Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Key Issues and their Analysis

Discuss about the Media Journal for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

According to Dudgeon, Milroy & Walker, (2014) the Indigenous Australians are not only a single group of people. There are two main groups, the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders. These both twoave their own different thoughts, ideas and beliefs. The indigenous people of Australia have developed the highest rate of ill- health and health related issues than any other racial groups of Australia (Kingsley, Townsend & Henderson-Wilson, 2013). As “The Australian Bureau of Statistics” has surveyed it, it has been seen that there are around 477,000 indigenous people in Australia. Indigenous peoples are the group of the Australian community who are not financially and economically as well equipped as the non indigenous people of Australia(Lovett et al., 2014) A non-Indigenous  Australian is estimated to live around a lifespan of 80 years, however, in the case of the Indigenous Australian, the life span is 70 years or even less (Dingwall et al., 2015).

The issues regarding the health of the indigenous people are a common issue in Australia. The Indigenous people of Australia have twice the health related issues than the ordinary Australians and have 1.5 times more health issues related to disability and long- term health problems (Parker et al., 2014). The main health issues as seen in the Indigenous people are the rheumatic heart diseases, respiratory diseases, renal failure, mental disorder, bulging and incapability of the ear drum and others (Gibson-Helm et al., 2016). The main factors that may be held responsible for such conditions of the Aboriginals are the substance and alcohol abuse and poor arrangements for health services. As mentioned by Markwick et al., (2014) the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and drugs has been widely used by the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders and non- Indigenous Australians. However, the rate of consumption is very high in the case of the Indigenous than the non- Indigenous (Ramamoorthi et al., 2015).

In this particular media portfolio, four articles on the topic of alcohol abuse amongst the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islander peoples. The main source of information in the developed countries and societies is the mass media. For each of the media item given in this study, an analysis has been presented in the context to it. The key issues have been highlighted, its contribution to the currently chosen topics has been discussed and their links with the model and the approaches that are available on the topic have been shown.

How this Article Contributes to the Current Discussion

Article 1- Alcohol abuse behind high rates of early death among Indigenous, study finds

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/feb/20/alcohol-abuse-behind-high-rates-of-early-death-among-indigenous-study-finds

The current article on the alcohol abuse behind the early death rates among the Indigenous people of Australia was published in ‘The Guardian’. This article deals with the alcohol misuse and the alcohol consuming habit of the indigenous people of Australia. In the year 2015, according to a researcher, it has been mentioned that there are fewer indigenous people who consume alcohol than the non- indigenous people in Australia. However, among the aboriginal people who drink, they drank at a risky level and the excessive consumption of alcohol is associated with health related problems and social problems. It leads to liver diseases, heart diseases, diabetics, cancer and different other long term diseases. However, at times it also contributes to the injuries, accidents and at times deaths and suicide. It has also been estimated that the harms that is caused by alcohol holds for about 5.4% of the total disease and injuries among the indigenous people. 

This particular study is on current health issues and the well-being of the indigenous people and the impacts of the alcohol abuse amongst the indigenous people and the Torres Strait Islander. This article shows the impact of the consuming of alcohol on the health and the lives of the aboriginal people of Australia. The indigenous people due to several mental and physical pressure and reasons are inclined more towards the consumption of high amount of alcohol. This habit leads them towards several health issues such as lung problems, foetal problems and others and finally death. To control these, the government has established many laws restricting the sale of the alcohol and purchase of the alcohol by the indigenous people. Different region were created “Dry region” or the “Restricted regions” where the sale, purchase or drinking of alcohol was prohibited by the means of laws. However, these restrictions were of limited effectiveness in overcoming the desire of alcohols in the indigenous people. The non- indigenous used to sell alcohol illegally to the indigenous people at a higher rate to make profit. 

From the estimation of the survey that was done by the National Drug Strategy Household Services in the year 2015, it was found that out of the total 67% Aboriginals over the age of 14 years have consumed alcohol in the past 12 months. From this percentage of alcohol consumers, about 20%, including 17% men and 13% women, consume alcohol at a very high risk level (Stevens, & Paradies, 2014). As mentioned by Doyle et al. (2015) social exclusion is the limitation of capabilities and prohibition to access the opportunities. However, it could not be termed as inadequate amount of economic resources or as deprivation of the social necessities. It is actually about the insufficient participation and connectedness with the generals mass (Garcia et al., 2016). The Aboriginals and the Torres Islanders could also be linked with this as they also lack in the connecting and participating with the common population of Australia. On the hand, as mentioned by Jayaraj et al. (2012) the social inclusion that is the opportunities to participate, connection with the society a have rights of being heard needs to be implemented in the case of the indigenous people. This would provide the Indigenous group to come forward and connect with the rest of the population of the society. This would provide them with chances of getting employment and economic equipped in the general society as well (Marel, MacLean, & Midford, 2015).

Links to Model and Approaches

From the personal point of view, from this article I have gained knowledge about the issue of early death rates of the indigenous people due to high level consuming of alcohol. However, apart from this, I have also earned knowledge about the reason behind the imprisonment of the Aboriginals. The dry zones, areas that banned the consumption of alcohol in the region, were made as to control the drinking habits of the indigenous people however they were still caught drinking in such areas and fined heavily and the indigenous people unable to pay the fine, they end up in the jails. From this we can understand the level of addiction and dependency of the indigenous people to consume alcohol.

Article 2- Aboriginal people and alcohol: Not predisposition

https://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/aboriginal-people-and-alcohol-not-a-genetic-predisposition-1.2660167

This particular article on the predisposition for alcohol by the indigenous people has been published in the ‘CBC News’. This article is from Canada and this is being used in this research study to show that the Aboriginal health and alcohol issues is now not only concentrated within the Australia, the other countries are also presenting their view on this. This articles does not only speaks about the effects and the diseases that are caused due to high level of alcohol consumption in the Aboriginal communities but also about the reasons and the sources because of which the there is such high rate of alcohol consuming amongst the indigenous people of both Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islanders. There is stereotype belief that the indigenous people have a genetic attraction towards the consumption of alcohol. However, this is not true says Dr. Joel Ketter, an associate professor at University of Manitoba’s faculty. He is also a former chief public health officer of the province. Dr. Ketter states that the intolerance in the indigenous people for the alcohol persists is not genetics or in their blood but this alcoholism is the result of different social and mental conditions. The belief insists on the genetics for such habituate of the Aboriginals however, there is no scientific proof that would support the belief of genetic predisposition for alcohol intolerance of the Indigenous people. Although there will always be some or the theory presented on the topic in the favour of the genetics. DR. Kettner identifies main reason behind the alcohol consumption of the indigenous to be poverty, the social circumstances, the social conditions and others.

Personal Reflection on this Issue

This study is about the effects of the alcohol abuse on the health and the society of the indigenous people of Australia and this article mainly emphasises on the reasons behind such high alcohol consumption level of the indigenous society. The article reveals that the reason behind the alcohol consuming habit of the indigenous people is not due to genetic, the main reason is the poverty, social and the mental pressure through which the aboriginal people have to go through. Although this article directly does not helps in analysing the effects of alcohol on the indigenous people, it still provides its contribution in this study as without knowing the roots of the problem, the results could not be discussed. The study reveals the facts due to which the indigenous people are exposed to these habits of high level of alcohol consumption. The articles shows that the problem such as the poor housing, poverty level and the oppressing of the indigenous community are the main reasons due to which the indigenous people are getting more inclining towards the alcoholism. These are the sectors that need to be worked on in order to reduce the number of alcohol abuse in the indigenous society.

The indigenous people of Australia as mentioned above face the issue regarding the health and mortality twice the normal or the non- indigenous people of Australia. According to Brett et al., (2015), this inequality in the health status the two communities are unavoidable. These inequalities in the health status of the indigenous and the non– indigenous people are because of the inequality in the society of the two communities (Gubhaju et al., 2013). As mentioned by Lee et al., (2014) the lifestyle that both the societies live in has a major impact on the health of the people of the society. The indigenous community is considered to be the most backward community in Australia. However, the other communities have modernized (Campbell et al., (2013). As both the societies are not equally developed and advanced and the indigenous people do not have the same employment, education and other opportunities for the non – indigenous people (Parker & Milroy, 2014). The different social factors that operate within the society include the family disputes, local or regional disputes, unemployment, poverty, stress and other factors are the main factors that lead the indigenous people in this path of alcoholism and mortality (Cussen, Payne & Marks, 2014).

The personal view on this article would that be that the alcohol consuming habit of the indigenous people should be lowered as consequences can be adverse. The reasons identified varied with different social and cultural norms of the societies of the indigenous people. According to my perception, the basic idea is that alcohol predisposition is that the people have an inclination towards alcohol irrespective of genetic factors. The main reason that driver’s alcohol intake in aboriginal population is poverty and the living standard accompanied by many different factors too. This study has helped to come over the stereotype belief earlier that the aborigines and the Torres Strait Islanders have a genetic problem that prepositions them for consuming alcohol. However, as per mu understanding alcohol consumption is primarily due to pressures created by society as well as nature of alcohol that creates a sense of tolerance.

 ‘Drinking to die’ in Aboriginal communities, says Sharman Stone

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/drinking-to-die-in-aboriginal-communities-says-sharman-stone/news-story/d4fa18fbf02e4b890351d72d4507c5b4

This article has been published in ‘The Australian’. The main key point of this article is ‘drinking to die’- the Aboriginal people were consuming excessive alcohols in order to die. As stated in the article Liberal MP Sharman Joshi, the Chairwoman of the Housing Standing Committee on Indigenous Communities has heard in some research that many of the indigenous people were consuming excess of alcohol purposely. The Indigenous of the region were drinking excessive amount of alcohol to die so that they could get rid of the deep feeling of helplessness of the racism, backwardness and boredom of their society. This high amount of alcohol consumption had its consequences as poor health situation and its long-term affect, high incarceration rate, disability and mental problems. This article has also focused on the other issues that are also caused due to alcohol consumption in the Indigenous people. Other such issues include the fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder which at its peak in the case of the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders. Due to this disorder the new generation of children that are born would face brain damage issues and this would not let them to lead a normal life. Lights have also been given on the facts that there are many indigenous communities where alcohol is sold at rates that are even cheaper than the bottled packaged water. There had been many attempts from the government to stop this always ready supply of alcohol and creation of the dry regions. However, this has not been of any help to reduce the issue.

This article approaches the specific topic through incorporation of tax on liquor so to reduce harm to the indigenous people as the supply is driving the demand. This article also tells about the different other harmful issue that can be highlighted as the social and economic determinants as poverty, mental health, unemploy­ment, grief and loss experience, boredom, ease of access, acceptance by culture on drunkenness and alcohol cost are the primary factors for incessant consumption of alcohol. The fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder are major problems that are also seen in the indigenous people. However, self killing due to alcohol consumption is the result of social causes practised by indigenous people.

The links and model are highlighted by the supply and demand of alcohol in Australia in aboriginal communities. The demand of alcohol has been seen growing due to availability. However, as said by Sharman Stone, manipulating the supply would not be enough as there is social discomfort as well as boredom in the communities (Martin, 2015). Moreover, if the health outcomes like diabetics, liver disorders, heart diseases, respiratory problems and in some cases even cancer are highlighted then also a person consumes it. Apart from this natural consequences there are also other consequences such as accident and injuries due to it, harms to the community and own family. Scott (2015) mentions excess alcohol drinking by a woman when she is pregnant would cause her unborn child with fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. This is followed by physical and behavioural disorders, learning problems and some mental disorders and brain damage issues that are caused to the unborn baby due to alcohol consumption by the mother during her pregnancy (Davis et al., 2015).

As per my consideration, aboriginal communities have to face atrocities and as they cannot handle the social problems, they resort to drinking alcohol. Moreover, excessive drinking has been leading to death as alcohol is readily available and the supply is able to meet the demand. Therefore, it enlightens the fact that the indigenous people are aware of the consequences and the effects of drinking such high amount of alcohol but they drink it purposely. According to indigenous people, they feel they are the most backward community in Australia and are depressed about this social disadvantages and the racial discrimination that they have to suffer.

The Australian kids unlikely to ever the age of 69

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/the-australian-kids-unlikely-to-ever-grow-old-beyond-the-age-of-69/news-story/9c3eea372f4e22aad60782923917730e

The present article was published in ‘News.com.au’ and it put alight of the average life span inequality of the indigenous and the non- indigenous people. The average lifespan of a normal Australian is 79 for males and 83 for females and that for the indigenous males and females it is 69 and 73 respectively. There is almost a 10 years gap between lifespan of the two communities. However, many of the indigenous die even before reaching the estimated age. Although out of the total 23 million population of Australia, the indigenous people make about 3% of the population that is around 470,000 still they are not provided with good education system, professional health solutions and proper health services and facilities. Drugs and alcohol abuse also ahs its devastating impact on this community. In fact, the alcohol abuse has been identified one of the key problem of this region. There is also child mortality problem in the region, which is also an impact of alcohol abuse by the women of the society. The violence and catastrophe that has been created due to the alcohol and drug abuse in the region is also a great advantage in the process of reducing the alcohol consequences in the indigenous community.

The current discussion on alcohol and drug usage in Australian population has been incorporated due to the problems faced by aboriginal communities because of high intake of alcohol. As a result, Palin (2016), is of the view that this is directly affecting the average lifespan of the indigenous Australians. Although, the media is highlighting the different implementations undertaken by the government but there is no certain change. Moreover, these communities constitute of prison population, which shows that incarceration rate has been rising with rising death rates as well as alcohol drinkers in aboriginal population of Australia.

The model that this article links is with average expectancy rate of the aboriginal communities of Australia. Moreover, this has been supported by Brett et al. (2015) which depicts that the indigenous Australian communities are in an increasing phenomenon of dying faster than the non- indigenous Australian dies. This happens because of the high level of alcohol consumption issue in the community. In addition, the average lifespan has been compared with the death rates for the indigenous people, which are growing and are around 5- 19 times more than that of the non- indigenous people. However, various health issues lower average lifespan of the individual as well due to rise in alcohol consumption. As shown by Doolan et al. (2013), the alcohol is responsible for suicides among these communities’ accounts for almost 40% of the male and 30% of the female suicides.

According to my personal concern, the alcohol and drugs has a devastating impact on the original inhabitants of Australia. The increasing death rates of aboriginal communities is calling for concern, which is guided by the government in taking steps for reducing the early death rates in the indigenous society. However, through different approaches and models government is trying to take active measure in eliminating racism and other social issues so that the communities can survive and as a result, the death rates will decrease in long run.

Conclusion:

From the analysing of the above articles the level, reasons and the consequences of alcohol abuse among the indigenous people of both the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders. There are different fatal and life risking consequences of the alcohol abuse in the community of the indigenous. The summary of the article and the main issues and points in the articles are discussed in the key points and analysis part of the study. The contribution to this study holds the reasons of how the current articles contribute to the chosen topic. The links to the approaches and the model supports the article by linking them to the different models, theories and models on the topic. However, the personal reflection part shows the knowledge gained by the researcher from the articles and the viewpoint of the researcher on the current topic. 

Reference:

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Brett, J., Lee, K. S., Gray, D., Wilson, S., Freeburn, B., Harrison, K., & Conigrave, K. (2015). Mind the gap: What is the difference between alcohol treatment need and access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians?. Drug and alcohol review.

Campbell, S. K., Lynch, J., Esterman, A., & McDermott, R. (2013). Pre-pregnancy predictors of hypertension in pregnancy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in north Queensland, Australia; a prospective cohort study. BMC public health, 13(1), 1.

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