For many Aboriginal people being in a sterile hospital environment conjures up memories of racism and mistreatment. Many Aboriginal people have a lot of mistrust towards the existing health system due to their past and present experiences with mainstream services.
Fear of racism, disrespect, judgement and negative government interventions were reported as barriers to Aboriginal people accessing some mainstream healthcare services. Fear of government involvement was evident.
The traditional Aboriginal model of illness causation emphasises social and spiritual dysfunction as a cause of illness. Supernatural intervention is regarded as the main cause of serious illness.
However, common factors include institutionalised racism; a lack of cultural safety; a distrust of the health system; miscommunication; family and social obligations; isolation and loneliness; a lack of understanding of the treatment they were receiving and the feeling that the treatment had finished; and communication ...
Contributing factors to the health inequality of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples include: unequal access to primary health care and infrastructure; poor nutrition and living conditions; lack of culturally safe and culturally respectful health services and health education; human rights and social justice ...
Coronary heart disease, diabetes, chronic lower respiratory diseases and lung and related cancers are the main causes of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Colonisation has led to negative outcomes on the physical and mental health of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Before 1788, Aboriginal peoples lived a semi-nomadic life in family and community groups. The impact of colonisation includes: disconnection from culture, family, and Country.
We ask everyone coming to our hospital if they are from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin. This is because we can offer you services that can provide you cultural support through your care.
The Medicare claim rate for specialist care among Indigenous Australians was the highest in Major cities (860 per 1,000 population) and lowest in Very remote areas (161 per 1,000), and the rate was between 24%–70% lower than for non-Indigenous Australians in all remoteness areas (Table D3.
Be respectful and provide the person with adequate time. Seek clarification that what was asked or discussed was understood. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, avoidance of eye contact is customarily a gesture of respect.
Improving cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health care users can improve access to, and the quality of health care. This means a health system that respects Indigenous cultural values, strengths and differences, and also addresses racism and inequity.
In the late 1960s, state and territory governments at last began to introduce special Aboriginal health programs and to train Aboriginal health workers.
Cultural safety is about creating an environment that is safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This means there is no assault, challenge or denial of their identity and experience. Cultural safety is about: Shared respect, shared meaning and shared knowledge.
Rates of psychological distress and chronic diseases are higher among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. There are disparities across the social determinants of health, such as education, housing, employment and income.
Socioeconomic determinants, such as: unemployment and poorer levels of education lead not only to poor behavioural choices but also to poorer mental health conditions. Household income, level of education, and employment status has very large impacts on health outcomes and contribute to the health gap.
Social determinants are estimated to be responsible for at least 34 per cent of the health gap between Indigenous and non‑Indigenous Australians. Behavioural risk factors, such as smoking, obesity, alcohol use and diet, accounted for around 19 per cent of the gap (AHMAC 2017).
It is important for us to ask and know whether you identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, so we can work together to build safer communities and reduce over-representation in the criminal justice system.
There are some situations where being of Aboriginal heritage indicates the risk of disadvantage. For example, Aboriginal people are more prone to particular health problems, such as kidney disease and diabetes. Knowing about someone's heritage is obviously important in health settings.
Any client may self‑identify as being an Aboriginal person, regardless of legal status under the Indian Act. No proof of ancestry or belonging to a band is necessary.
Between 2014–15 and 2018–19, after adjusting for inflation, the median gross weekly personal income for Indigenous Australians aged 18 and over fell by 5.6%, from $518 to $489 (Figure 1).
Based on age-standardised rates, circulatory diseases accounted for the largest gap in mortality rates between Indigenous and non‑Indigenous Australians (gap of 78 deaths per 100,000 population).
The islands were settled by different seafaring Melanesian cultures such as the Torres Strait Islanders over 2500 years ago, and cultural interactions continued via this route with the Aboriginal people of northeast Australia.
Coronary heart disease is the single leading cause of death in Australia, despite the coronary heart disease death rate falling by > 80% since 1980. Between 386,200 and 472,000 Australians were living with dementia in 2021. In 2017–18, 67% of Australian adults were overweight or obese, up from 57% in 1995.
The genetic make-up that enabled Indigenous people to survive when food was scarce may now be a big disadvantage, promoting weight increases, diabetes, and associated conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease.