Aboriginal People and Health Care - Paper Example

Introduction

I had only very little knowledge about Aboriginal people before coming into the healthcare sector as a nursing student. Indigenous people are stigmatized, stereotyped, and given an uninviting atmosphere triggered by racism. Currently, I believe that aboriginal people deserve equal distribution of health resources similar to those provided to their non-aboriginal counterparts. Social justice needs to be promoted among the aboriginal people in the healthcare sectors.

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Description

Indigenous people are stigmatized, stereotyped, and given an uninviting atmosphere triggered by racism (Marckwick et al., 2019). I encountered a situation where a doctor explained to an aboriginal patient that he could not tell why their kidney was inflated. The patient afterwards put pen to paper on what the health care provider had told him. In the patient’s writing, he indicated that the doctor told him that he had no idea why his kidney was enlarged and declined to engage him in treatment. Had the doctor refrained from using complex English terms, unstipulated sentences and untruthful passing of information, at least the patient could have been at ease. As for the patient, he believed the bias resulted from a language barrier between him and the doctor. Health care providers lack considerations on the health issues affecting aboriginal people (Davy et al., 2016). This discrimination has resulted in hindering accessibility of health services to the indigenous people. A broad health gap exists between the aboriginal and non-indigenous Australians, as evidenced in non- communicable diseases, with heart disease being the leading threat followed by diabetes, mental disorders, and respiratory illness affecting the aboriginal people (Aspin et al., 2016). Consequently, the indigenous people have a shorter life expectancy than their equivalent non-indigenous persons. The kind of treatment that the aboriginal patients receive is humiliating. I feel that something needs to be done to eradicate this disparity. Being a health practitioner in the future, I shall attempt to fight this discrepancy

Feelings

Initially, I was not aware of this discrimination. I had never encountered a factual life situation when an aboriginal man ever experienced biasness. It is new to me as a nursing student in my health care sector practice.

Current Understanding

There are no biological differences between the aboriginals and non-indigenous people. The aboriginals deserve to access the mainstream health services in a similar way to their typical counterparts, non-indigenous. Aboriginals require open and effectual patient-clinician interaction in promoting health services. Inaccessibility of cultural fitting health amenities leads to deprived health status to most aboriginals (Lai et al., 20180. Health systems need to improve cultural security care for aboriginal depiction and assist non-indigenous healthcare providers in promoting culturally convenient services to all (McBain Rigg et al., 2011). As a health provider, I need to react well to aboriginals’ needs, comprehend their concerns, communicate to them fairly, and embrace a holistic tactical approach.

Critical Evaluation

This knowledge was useful since I discovered that disrespecting Aboriginal rights has negatively impacted the health care services given to them. From the studies, I learned that several aboriginal people refrain from accessing health services based on their experiences of discrimination or biases shown to them (Wylie et al., 2019). Acknowledging the character portrayed by the health care provider towards the Aboriginal contributed to the strategies I would undertake to promote the health care experience among the indigenous people.

Based on the knowledge that indigenous people are disadvantaged, I thought that the social determinants contributed to the impoverished health care services. This response was upheld since I had no consideration of it.

Analysis and Conclusion

I have known that discrimination and bias are the leading cause of health disparity in promoting health services among aboriginal and non-indigenous people (Hayman et al., 2010). Some aboriginals suffer from mental, physical, and behavioral health due to racism (Waterworth et al., 2015). Communication and cultural barriers, if not well catered for, may lead to aboriginal people not engaging in health care systems and results in badly off health status

Action Plan

I will attempt to fill the gaps left in between the health services by providing similar health services to both Aboriginal and non-Indigenous people without discriminating either side. I will instill the awareness of the Aboriginal people to stand against discrimination and their rights to be protected quality healthcare. I will promote trust and good relationships with the indigenous people to ensure that they feel comfortable, respected, and welcomed. This inviting treatment makes them optimistic about the health care services they are expecting. By involving the hospital staff together, we would create a welcoming environment for the aboriginal patients to ensure they do not refrain from health services due to the perceptions they have about the discriminatory state of the health care providers. Cultural differences between the indigenous and non-indigenous would not hinder me from providing quality health services irrespective of their race. By incorporating their cultural practices that are adaptable, I would employ them in my profession if useful to cater to the needs of the aboriginal people. I will protect the views from Indigenous and non-Indigenous from stereotyping and stigmatization.

The first approach to the indigenous patient will be assessing how devastating it could be to the extent of his/her health conditions. In assessment, I will ensure that I respect the patient’s views, create trust, and avoid stereotypical barriers. Being a nurse, I will establish and sustain contact with the Aboriginal people in health care platforms. From this, I will be interceding for the needs of the community to direct socially important healthcare affairs.

References

Aspin, C., Brown, N., Jowsey, T., Yen, L. and Leeder, S., 2012. Strategic approaches to enhanced health service delivery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with chronic illness: a qualitative study. BMC Health Services Research, 12(1), pp.1-9.

Davy, C., Harfield, S., McArthur, A., Munn, Z., and Brown, A., 2016. Access to primary health care services for Indigenous peoples: A framework synthesis. International Journal for Equity in Health, 15(1), p.163. https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-016-0450-5

Hayman, N., 2010. Strategies to improve indigenous access for urban and regional populations to health services. Heart, Lung and Circulation, 19(5-6), pp.367-371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlc.2010.02.014

Markwick, A., Ansari, Z., Clinch, D. and McNeil, J., 2019. Experiences of racism among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults living in the Australian state of Victoria: a cross-sectional population-based study. BMC Public Health, 19(1), pp.1-14.

McBainRigg, K.E. and Veitch, C., 2011. Cultural barriers to health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Mount Isa. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 19(2), pp.70-74. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1440-1584.2011.01186.x

McConkey, S., 2017. Indigenous access barriers to health care services in London, Ontario. University of Western Ontario Medical Journal, 86(2), pp.6-9. http://www.uwomj.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/vol86no2_02.pdf

Waterworth, P., Pescud, M., Braham, R., Dimmock, J. and Rosenberg, M., 2015. Factors influencing the health behaviour of indigenous Australians: Perspectives from support people. PloS one, 10(11), p.e0142323.

Wylie, L., and McConkey, S., 2019. Insiders’ insight: discrimination against indigenous peoples through the eyes of health care professionals. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 6(1), pp.37-45. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40615-018-0495-9