Social Determinants of Health in the Aboriginal- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theSocial Determinants of Health in the Aboriginal Community. Answer: Social Determinants of Health in the Aboriginal Community of Australia The WHO defines social determinants of health as the conditions in which people are born in, grow, work, live and get old. They include the forces and systems shaping the conditions of life that people face(WHO, 2017). The conditions are linked to economic and social situations and the way they are distributed within the community. McMurray Clendon (2015) suggests that such factors affect access and utilization of health patterns by promoting or restraining the efforts of the individual. The Aboriginal community of Australia is one of the marginalized communities that have been exposed to conditions of life for a very long time. This report analyses five social determinants of health; education, employment, environment, housing and child development to determine the way they affect health patterns of the Aboriginal community in Australia. Education is an important social determinant of health since its attainment influences health throughout the life-span of the individual. The higher the education, the better the level of access to health and other social needs like job, income and sense of control(Baxter Hand, 2013). Further, in healthcare, health literacy determines how people interpret their health situations thus leading them to develop the sick role that allows them seek medication. The Aboriginal group of Australia reports higher school dropout than any other group in Australia. This process limits their life opportunities to access jobs that can increase income levels and allow easy access to healthcare. Most people in the population have low literacy levels that limits their interpretation of the environment around them and understanding the importance of developing and leading healthy lifestyle patterns. Apart from access to life resources that can improve access to health, Kolahdooz, Nader, Yi, Sharma (2015) argues that education in itself is a learning process that allows people to develop surveillance attitudes that keep them informed of the life around them. Significant gaps reported in the Aboriginal community as compared to the non-aboriginal community create barriers for their access and limit their ability to access healthcare. Since education is directly linked to healthcare, then the more the population stays less educated, the lesser their access to proper health patterns. The community remains less informed and their ability to interact with health providers and access full range of services becomes limited. Employment leads to increased income that creates more health-seeking opportunities, improves living standards, emotional abilities and social wellbeing of the individual. One factor that limits access to health is lack of income or resources to meet health-related needs. Since health is not free, people have to use their resources to access health(Cooklin, L., Strazdins, Nicholos, 2011). The Aboriginal community has low employment opportunities standing at an average of 15% since most of them lack tertiary education (Australian Bureau of Statitics, 2017). Since the community has lower education levels, then the percentage of those who are employed is low thus limiting the communitys ability to access and afford healthcare. Employment may also lead to access to other health-related factors like, food and living conditions that may shape the overall health of the individual. The aboriginals live in poor conditions that may affect their health. Housing creates conditions that promote or inhibit health in different ways. These conditions contribute to the physical health of the individual since they create conditions that shape the health of the individual. (Bailie, Mcdonald, Stevens, Guthridge, Brewster, 2011)Poor housing conditions like overcrowding, dampness, and indoor pollutants can lead to physical illnesses like typhoid, diarrhea, and respiratory diseases. Most aboriginal in the country live in inappropriate housing conditions and other private spaces since they lack affordability to good dwellings since appropriate housing is difficult to afford with only 6.7% of the group affording better housing. Most of their hoses require major repairs to make them conducive for stay (Australian Bureau of Statitics, 2017). Further, the government has done little effort to improve the conditions within the locality that such people stay thus creating more hazards to them. The environment has complex effects on the health of the individual. Since this defines places where people stay and the factors that define them. Then, the environment exposes the individual to physical, chemical, social, and biological hazards that affect their health(Bambra, Gibson, Sowden, Wright, Whitehead, 2010). Such factors shape exposure to conditions that may harm the individual or make them sick. Lack of education exposes people to ignorant lifestyles that create a harmful environment while lack of income reduces their ability to afford required standards of living thus exposing them to different types of hazards that are defined by the environment that people dwell in. The Aboriginals are faced with this problem since they cannot afford better dwellings thus live in an environment that is full of hazards that affect their life. Early childhood development of children follows the social gradient that they are brought up in. Socio-economic factors produce inequalities among children in access to opportunities that may shape their current and future health patterns. Further, socio-cultural conditions that children are brought up determine their health patterns based on the daily conditions and individual health-related behaviors that they are exposed to(Bauman, 2011). Aboriginal children are raised by uninformed parents who may expose them to poor health conditions thus exposing them to environmental hazardous that define their dwellings. Such children may grow up with some health challenges due to limited access to resources. Such inequalities affect the overall health of the child thus creating poor health outcomes. Social determinants of health are defined by different conditions that people stay in. such conditions shape their behaviors and may control their health seeking patterns due to lack of resources. The Aboriginal people of Australia are affected with these determinants because they lag behind all the factors that shape health. The government can intervene to improve the conditions through affirmative action thus reducing the barriers that define the determinants that they face and making their life better. Social determinants define health through increasing or limiting opportunities. References Australian Bureau of Statitics(2017). Health. Retrieved from Australian Bureau of Statitics: https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/Home%5CTopics+@+a+Glance Bailie R.S., Mcdonald, E., Stevens, M., Guthridge, S., Brewster, D. (2011). Evaluation of an Australian indigenous housing programme: community level impact on crowding, infrastructure function and hygiene. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 65, 432-437. Bambra, C., Gibson, M., Sowden, A., Wright, K., Whitehead. (2010). Tackling the wider social determinants of health and health inequalities: evidence from systematic reviews. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 64, 284-291. Bauman, Z. (2011). Collateral Damage: Social Inequalities in a Global Age. Cambridge: Polity Press. Baxter, J., Hand, K. (2013). Access to early childhood education in Australia . Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies. Cooklin, A., L., C., Strazdins, L., Nicholos, J. (2011). Employment conditions and maternal postpartum mental health: results from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 14, 217-225. Kolahdooz, F., Nader, F., Yi, K. J., Sharma, S. (2015). Understanding the social determinants of health among Indigenous Canadians: priorities for health promotion policies and actions. Global Health Action, 8(10). McMurray, A., Clendon, J. (2015). Community Health and Wellness: Primary Health Care in Practice. Chatswood: Churchill Livingstone. WHO. (2017). Social determinants of health. WHO.