Indigenous Health In Australia

All the determinants of health have a major role in a nurse’s career. “It is critical that nurses understand the impact of these factors on the individuals and groups that they work with, and include these factors in their assessments” (Canadian Nurses Association, 2015). In March of 2008 the Australian Government introduced the Closing the Gap strategy that aims to reduce the disadvantage throughout Indigenous health (Australian Indigenous Health Info Net, 2013). Although the health system is improving there are still major disadvantages with Indigenous Australians compared to non-Indigenous Australians, especially in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. According to Burchill and Higgins (2005), although Close the Gap was
Early childhood development is one the most important social determinants of health. Not only does this social determinant maintain a person’s health while they’re young but it also creates a stepping stone for their health as they grow into men and women (Shonkoff, Boyce & McEwan, 2009). Burchill and Higgins (2005) state that a number of problems within the youth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are still desperately seeking attention. From 1991 to 2010 youth suicide has increased from a low ten percent to eighty percent and has increased in the following years. To add, the juvenile detention rates are twenty-four times higher than non-Indigenous Australians and only twenty-five percent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children complete school compared to a fifty-two percent rate in non-Indigenous Australians. These statistics show evidence that whilst improving in other factors Closing the Gap isn’t meeting the needs of early childhood development and the negative impact it has on the social and emotional wellbeing of young Indigenous Australians. This can lead to the misuse of health services in Indigenous communities (Burchill et al, 2005).
Most Aboriginal and Torres
Additionally, community nurses must not treat every patient the same based on diagnoses, each person in an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community will have individual beliefs. Not all are the same. Moreover, in order for the rural nurse to improve the delivery of health care towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, all staff must be culturally capable. Communities nurses must also take in mind the child’s beliefs, not ignoring them or trying to push upon the child their own beliefs. Following these guidelines will result in greater health outcomes (Queensland Health, 2014). The next big stepping stone to improving early childhood development and the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people would be to have a better understanding into why Indigenous people misuse the health system when it comes to their children. When speaking to an Indigenous child, the nurses must be considerate of their level of education and English speaking. Don’t give them too much complex information, give the child or guardian