Impact of Racism on Aboriginal Health - myassignmenthelp.com

Questions: 1. How would you explain the impact of racism as a social determinant of Aboriginal health? 2. What benefits do you gain from working effectively with Aboriginal people? Answers: 1. Racism has been a social evil in most of the countries in the recent few years. The people in the African countries have suffered a lot because of the racism in the European world. The black skinned people have been the victims of the so called educated and civilized world. It is of no shame to disclose that the people who are the victims of racism often suffer from the serious illnesses and they do not have the rights to make their treatments (Kelaher 2014). The aboriginal people or the Torres Strait islanders are also the victims of racism in many ways. They are deprived of the primary facilities that should be provided to them as they are the backward class. However, their children do not get those benefits that they should get (Nelson 2009). There are several things that should be looked upon in this context. It is definitely a matter of concern that the aboriginal people and the Torres Strait islanders are suffering from various diseases. These diseases are very infectious and the children are getting ill very rapidly as they do not have that much restriction power (Kelaher, Ferdinand and Paradies 2014). Everyone is well aware of the fact that the life expectancy of the indigenous Australians is well below the common Australians. They suffer from several health problems just because they do not have the proper access to the mitigation of the health issues. The root cause for this can definitely be racism (Durey, Thompson and Wood 2012). There are indeed some definite reasons as to why the health problems for the aboriginal people have arisen in the last few years. The principal reasons are the aboriginal and indigenous people in Australia have not been able to get the proper access to the most necessary things in order to get the benefits (Kelaher, Ferdinand and Paradies 2014). These things are the facilities of education, job employment, medical care facilities and housing. There are very few schools in the Torres Strait islands. These people are completely deprived of these facilities indeed. They are very much exposed to the to the risk factors that are associated with the health problems like the much intake of junk food, foods with the toxic materials inside them and others (Calma and Priday 2011). This is why the aboriginal people and mostly the aboriginal children are in a great danger indeed. The studies have found that too much stress has led to the ill mental health of the original people. This has a negat ive cognitive reaction on the mental health of the aboriginal people (Gair 2013). There are many instances where it has been found that the aboriginal people are mostly engaged in the unhealthy activities like drinking of alcohol, too much smoking and serious addiction to drugs. These are the reasons the aboriginal people are always prone to get ill. The physiological systems of the aboriginal people have been hampered because the immunity system is getting damaged (Bessarab and Crawford 2012). Many serious cardiovascular problems have been noticed as well. In fact these aboriginal people are being physically assaulted as well because the racist issues. As the aboriginal or indigenous Australian people are deprived of the proper housing facilities, they do not get to meet their healthy activities like sleep, exercise and taking of the proper medicines (Herring et al. 2013). It has been from the examples that the indigenous or aboriginal people face several threats of death when they are admitted to the hospitals (Kelaher 2014). Some aboriginal people are also of the opinion that they will receive the ill treatment in the hospitals if they are admitted. This is simply because they believe the civilized people will make fun of them and they will lose all the self-confidence indeed (Zufferey 2012). The matter of ethnicity becomes a larger prospect in this matter as well. The common Australians think that they do not have the proper etiquettes that should be followed in a civilized society. The problem is the fact that they have their own etiquettes. The hospitals in Australia are built on the Western biomedical model. The hospitals are mainly managed and acquired by the white skinned civilized hospitals. This is why the aboriginals face the racist comments all over the country. The aboriginals face the language problem very much. The impact of colonisation has been there as well. This impact has left them separated from the cultural beliefs, practices, family cultures and many more from the mainland people (Cass et al. 2004). This has been an elemental thing for the people named aboriginals. They are facing several health problems because of this racism. The racism is not only about the skin color but it is also about the race and ethnicity of the people indeed. 2. Aboriginal people are the tribal people of Australia. They are the section of society representating the Australian cultural heritage. Working with them is a great priviledge for me. This is in terms of gaining more insight into the Australian culture. I have listened to their music and it is very soothing, relaxing my mind. I wish to work on this topic to provide a platform to the Aborginal music to give shape to their talents. This would uplift their standards in the society. I think education is one of the other dimensions, which enhances the living standards of the Australian tribes, especially the Aboriginal people. In the process of preserving the education rights of the Aboriginal children, my preconceieved skills, expertise and knowledge have enriched. Here I can relate the statement, that age is no bar for increasing the knowledge. Being a social worker, I am learning many things about culture from the Aboriginal people, with which I was previously unfamiliar. There is a perception that students lack the attribute of empathy for the Aboriginal men. However, my working with these people negates this perception. Investigating their life story has filled me with sympathy for them. I empathise with them in terms of being the victim of racial discrimination. I am very much concerned about the health issues, which they encounter as a result of being entrapped in the social malice of racial discrimination. Providing them with quality accommodation has compelled me to realize the intensity of such a malice, which affects the individualism. This perception has compelled me to introspect my life in terms of fulfilling the identified goals and objectives. Working with the Aboriginal people has highlighted before me the issue of improper treatment, which these marginalized people are compelled to encounter. This has enhanced my clarity regarding the demarcations between the richer and the poorer strata of society. I think these people belong to the mainstream society and need to be given the due respect. This is in terms of the contribution, which they are making towards maintaining the cultural diversity. I would encourage all of my colleagues to indulge in seeking innovative means for uplifting the standards of these people from the harsh blows of such malice. Changing the mentality would result in the achievement of positive outcomes and create a better place for the Aboriginal people in exposing their individual talents. References Bessarab, D. and Crawford, F., 2012. Trauma, grief and loss: The vulnerability of Aboriginal families in the child protection system. InOur Voices: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Work(pp. 93-113). Palgrave MacMillan. Calma, T. and Priday, E. (2011). Putting Indigenous Human Rights into Social Work Practice.Australian Social Work, 64(2), pp.147-155. Cass, A., Devitt, J., Preece, C., Cunningham, J., Anderson, K., Snelling, P., Eris, J. and Ayanian, J., 2004. Barriers to access by Indigenous Australians to kidney transplantation: the IMPAKT study.Nephrology,9(s4). Durey, A., Thompson, S.C. and Wood, M., 2012. Time to bring down the twin towers in poor Aboriginal hospital care: addressing institutional racism and misunderstandings in communication.Internal medicine journal,42(1), pp.17-22. Gair, S. (2013). Inducing Empathy: Pondering Students' (In)Ability to Empathize With an Aboriginal Man's Lament and What Might Be Done About It.Journal of Social Work Education, 49(1), pp.136-149. Kelaher, M.A., 2014. Experiencing racism in health care: the mental health impacts for Victorian Aboriginal communities.Education,55(56), pp.8-3. Kelaher, M.A., Ferdinand, A.S. and Paradies, Y., 2014. Experiencing racism in health care: the mental health impacts for Victorian Aboriginal communities.The Medical journal of Australia,201(1), pp.44-47. Nelson, A. (2009). Learning from the past, looking to the future: Exploring our place with Indigenous Australians.Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 56(2), pp.97-102. Ward, J., Bryant, J., Worth, H., Hull, P., Solar, S. and Bailey, S., 2013. Use of health services for sexually transmitted and blood-borne viral infections by young Aboriginal people in New South Wales.Australian journal of primary health,19(1), pp.81-86. Zufferey, C. (2012). Not knowing that I donot know and not wanting to know: Reflections of a white Australian social worker.International Social Work, 56(5), pp.659-673.