PHM516 Indigenous Health

Introduction

Individuals belonging to different cultures have diverse ways of explaining, seeing as well as living within the world. People tend to have diverse ideas about factors that are most significant as well as their desirable behaviors. The world view of culture evolves from its root history that is the collective experience of people winning the specific culture throughout the years of existence. The worldview of culture also includes spirituality and the belief of people within. Traditional worldviews of indigenous Australians majorly differ from the overall worldview of individuals belonging to non-indigenous ancestry. Research studies reveal that the worldview of indigenous Australians majorly focuses on connections among things that include the visible physical world as well as the invisible spiritual world (Poulter et al., 2016).

The worldview of indigenous Australians includes the cycle of renewal which connects their past and present together with the future. However, the worldview of the non-indigenous Australians lays out the separation among elements related to existence like material and spiritual, death and life, non-living and living (Ahenakew, 2016). Non-aboriginal australians consider time as the progression from point to point. These differences in the world views of indigenous and non-indigenous people from Australia affect the practice and concepts in relation to health as well as health service delivery. This study targets to analyze the factors that majorly impacts the healthcare service delivery and healthcare practice of the indigenous Australians

Different World views

One of the significant factors of difference among the worldview of indigenous and non-indigenous Australians in the context of spirituality. For the traditional indigenous cultures in Australia, their worldview is majorly rooted within spiritual beliefs. The context of spirituality for indigenous Australians incorporates their culture's highest values, ideals, ethics, and morals. Spirituality not only defines the behavior of indigenous Australians towards making an effective society to thrive and survive (Arrows, 2016). It also includes respect and honor towards wind, souls, creators, air, and the visible environment. Indigenous Australians understanding related to spirituality is relational which places the individual within the collective norms.

This diverse worldview of the indigenous Australians initiates the development of spiritual relationships which is the key towards the understanding of wellbeing and holistic health approaches. Report studies revealed that the concept and the worldview of spirituality among indigenous Australians contribute to the development of positive health outcomes within the traditional communities. Report studies on indigenous Australian spirituality reveal that this worldview has demonstrated how some of the dimensions of spirituality have significant and positive impacts on healing and health (Martin, 2017).

 The context of spirituality which is one of the significant differences of the world among the indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is evolving, dynamic as well as a contemporary expression of indigeneity. Emphasizing majorly on the relationship of people within the community, indigenous spirituality in the literature is reported to be derived from dreaming. Report studies reveal that places and lens are connected with the context of spirituality and sports significant determinants of health.

The route of differences among the world views generally belongs to the diverse opposite approaches towards connectedness and knowledge. The culture of indigenous Australians focuses majorly on the holistic approach that emerges from the millennium to their experience and existence. The non-indigenous approaches and world views are more concerned with science concentrating on compartmentalized knowledge (Paradies, 2016). Adhering to the western world views, non-indigenous Australians focus on their understanding of a bigger and also its related picture. Another significant difference in the world view of indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is the aboriginals’ holistic approaches towards health and concept on health service delivery.

Traditional medicine practice within indigenous Australians and their cultures in Australia encompasses a holistic worldview. Adhering to the concept and definition provided by the World health organization on health, indigenous Australians consider health to be the wellbeing of both physical, social, and mental. Health is considered as the absence of disease. Unlike the non-aboriginal worldview on the approach towards health, indigenous Australians considered traditional health care practices to be the most effective. This is because, according to their concept, the body and mind of a person are inseparable (Altman, 2018). For preventing ill-health, it is henceforth important to maintain a proper balance among spiritual cells and physical cells of the individual. Report studies illustrate that prior to the colonization era, the traditional forms of healing emerged as one of the effective approaches and practices of health service delivery among indigenous Australians.

Use of healing songs, traditional healers as well as bush medicines considered to be the only singular form of primary health care among indigenous Australians (Carson et al., 2020). The non-indigenous Australians however rely on science and medical drugs and had no faith in traditional healers. Other significant differences in the world view regarding traditional healing and medicine among the indigenous and non-indigenous Australians are the role of plants in the practice of bush medicine. However, the efficiency of these traditional medicines as per the worldview of the indigenous Australians is debatable due to the rising threat and healthcare challenge among the indigenous population in Australia (Flood & Rohloff, 2018). The non-aboriginal Australians majorly rely on drugs and medical solutions gathered from science and knowledge as per their diverse worldviews related to health and wellbeing.

Another significant difference in the world of indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, that affects free practice and concepts in relation to health and health service delivery for both the community people in the context of land. For the indigenous people land is considered to be sacred and has been considered to be provided by a supreme being or the creator. Land management in the indigenous community of Australia has been recognized for several decades due to its benefit across several sectors including health concepts and practices (Matthews, 2017). Indigenous land management includes employment of the community people towards managing sees and lands with the use of modern and customary techniques.

Target off harvesting bush foods, enabling in protection and monitoring of the threatened species followed by the control of fire and harmful animals contribute to the systematic management of the community people. Regarding the concept of health, an indigenous population in Australia has effectively managed the ecosystem of Australia over millennia (Taylor & Guerin, 2019). Recognition related to the role of indigenous Australians in land management has led to an establishment of the protected areas where the community people undertake conservation activities on traditional lands in accordance with the international conservation commitments like the international union for conservation of nature (de Vries et al., 2019).

The health and wellbeing that the indigenous people in Australia experience from the involvement in land management insured the community people to be physically active with better diet and blood pressure with healthy cholesterol level. Report studies reveal that land management among indigenous people with their diverse worldviews and sacred attitude towards land has emerged to be contributed towards the wellbeing through the participation from diverse sectors including education, municipal services as well as health. Since the indigenous Australians consider land to be an important part of their culture and holistic existence, they experience a deep connection with their country by considering land and country to be part of their community (Pentaris, 2019).

Feeling of doing good for the community followed by absorbing positive attitude and vibes contributes to the consideration of the wellbeing of mental health of indigenous Australians who considered land and the country to be in their bloodline. These views of the community provide promotion of individual as well as community health and wellbeing by the means of health behavior, empowerment, knowledge transmission as well as indigenous languages. Land management among indigenous Australians and conventional healthcare however contribute to the overall comprehensive primary health care needs of the community people (Minestrelli, 2016). In regards to the non-indigenous population in Australia, the land is only considered as the resource for the development and extraction which will benefit human society. The worldview of non-indigenous Australians does not involve any significant connection between land management and the health care approach.

Indigenous Different Approaches – Facts and analysis

For the indigenous community people in Australia, the context of health approach and practice transcends the absence of any disease (Taylor & Guerin, 2019). Unlike the known about in all Australians, this community people believe that health and wellbeing of the country and community including their land with spiritual beliefs are significant components that can provide them with positive and holistic health care. Depending majorly on the traditional health care delivery system, the indigenous Australians consider the wellbeing of health to be the cultural, spiritual as well as physical environment (Yuan et al., 2016).

Greater involvement followed by a strong relationship with the country under the cultural practice helps in enhancing the overall well-being of the indigenous Australians.  Unlike known indigenous worldviews, indigenous Australians view the circle of life with all the things in the world to be connected. Factors within the circle involve knowledge, spirituality, oral traditions, the natural world, culture as well as governance. These factors enable the indigenous population in Australia to live a holistic concept of life involving emotional and spiritual well-being for both individuals and communities (Adams et al., 2015). However, their traditional approaches and holistic view in relation to the construction practice to health and health service delivery have contributed to several negative consequences post-colonization era.

Health for the indigenous Australians majorly involves an interconnected approach for happy living that is free from any health challenge and sickness. Apart from the adoption of biomedical care and medicines, countries like Australia and Canada have also adopted indigenous traditional healing systems which are linked to their spirituality and believe (Axelsson et al., 2016). The differences in the world view are majorly highlighted in the practice and the approach towards health and well-being among the two communities. Research studies reveal that the sterilized non-indigenous health care environment contributes to the feeling of uncomfortable among the indigenous Australians who majorly depends on bush medicine and traditional healthcare practice which are closely connected to their community and country (Jarvis et al., 2018).  Post colonization era has witnessed severe challenges in health and high mortality rate among indigenous Australians, due to the prevailing differences of indigenous and non-indigenous worldviews on health and health service delivery.

The gap in health among Indigenous and non -indigenous

The widening gap of difference in the world view among indigenous and non-indigenous Australians continues to be prevalent in the concept and practice in relation to help and health service delivery in the current date. Colonization era not only contributed to the development of severe chronic disease which will not amendable and healed buy traditional medicines of indigenous Australians. The era also provided challenges regarding access towards social determinants of health among indigenous Australians.

Social determinants of health at the conditions where the individual is born, grow, reside, work as well as age (Carson et al., 2020). Shaped by allocation and distribution of resources and power within the national and global level, the rising gap of worldview among the indigenous and non-indigenous population related to values, society, spirituality as well as wealth contributed to the widening health gap among the two communities. Research studies highlight the differences among the concepts and practice in relation to health and health service delivery among indigenous and non-indigenous community people due to the lack of accessibility of social determinants of health among the indigenous Australians (Axelsson et al., 2016)

Poor status of well-being and health outcomes experienced by indigenous Australians including high rates of mortality and premature death as the result of the cultural context of colonization, entrenched racism, disposition from culture and land, social and economic exclusion followed by poverty. The rise of the capitalist white society among the non-indigenous Australian community contributed to the widening gap of worldview and health disparity among the true community population (Muller, 2020).  Impact of the child removal policies followed by inherited generational trauma and grief and the loss of traditional status and culture at some of the worldviews of the indigenous Australians post-colonization that contributed to the negative health care delivery and approach.

Report studies reveal that disparities among the health service delivery and practice of health followed by health status among the indigenous as well as non-indigenous Australians majorly highlights mortality rate and short a life expectancy followed by degrading health outcomes and lack of access to proper health services among the indigenous Australians in comparison to in an indigenous community people (Taylor & Guerin, 2019). Social discrimination followed by the history of racism and psychological distress associated with socio-economic disadvantages affects the health behavior and initiation towards accessibility to health services among indigenous Australians. Social disruption associated with historical events for thermal appears to promote health risk behavior (Amery, 2017). These worldviews connected with social discrimination and disadvantage affect the health service delivery and practice of health among the indigenous Australians, who often lack the knowledge and awareness related to health care services apart from their traditional medicines. Some of the issues bordering the indigenous Australians hindering them to avail the non-indigenous health care environment includes four liquid health services for dealing with the complexity of their health issues, lack of respect towards culture, language barrier, and social discrimination.

Cultural distinction and worldview of the indigenous Australians regarding this factor also promote barriers for embarrassing health behavior. Unlike non-indigenous Australians, culture is considered to be very important to practice health service delivery among the indigenous Australians who believe in community welfare and not only on individual welfare (Bailie et al., 2016). Their health is behavior majorly depends on situations and views towards their cultural identity. Historical encounter followed by social discrimination and racism contributes to the development of worldview of segregation and social isolation that leads to the inclination by the indigenous Australians to distrust the healthcare facilities and services of the non-indigenous people.

One of the significant recommended approaches that have been adopted by the government of the nation in collaboration with the World health organization is the closing the gap initiative. In regards to the widening differences in indigenous and non-indigenous worldviews that impact the concepts and practice in relation to health and health service delivery among these communities, closing the gap initiative address effective and culturally competent process of implementation for holistic well-being (Altman, 2018).

Conclusion

The dominant concept related to culture and other world views among indigenous and non-indigenous Australian communities undoubtedly develops a paradigm for technology in understanding health from a diverse perspective. The rising rate of mortality followed by lack of access towards health service delivery in the non-aboriginal Australian community is not only inclusive of social factors, but also the cultural concept and the traditional worldviews of the indigenous community. Knowledge, value, and spirituality are some of the significant concepts that hold importance among the world views of indigenous Australians who considered health and their traditional health service delivery as the knowledge that has been passed down from generation in the community.

This essay provided an outline of the significant different worldviews of indigenous and non-indigenous Australians and how these differences impact both of the communities in regards to their concept of health and health service delivery. Adhering to the current reports of high mortality rate and the increasing number of health challenges and non-communicable disease among indigenous Australians, this study henceforth concludes that adoption of both traditional indigenous medicines and health service delivery followed by western scientific health approaches are required for developing social connection and network between the two communities. This will not only strengthen the societal values and believes but will also ensure in providing positive health behavior and approach among the disadvantaged community.

References

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