Aboriginal People in Australia

Question: Discuss about theAboriginal People in Australia. Answer: Introduction The Australian government has acknowledged the current challenge in improving the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) peoples health status. The population continues to face the largest gap in health outcomes in Australia. For instance, in the last decade, their life expectancy has been lower than other Australians (AIHW, 2014). Although the government tries to increase life expectancy, the gap appears not to shrink. Given the level of health disparity the ATSI experiences, it has become worth to study it in understanding the background of this group in Australia. The aboriginals live in the remote areas, particularly in the South-East. Since the European settlers arrived in Australia, the natives have experienced discrimination as discussed in this paper. Background The Aborigines are the native Australian inhabitants, who are dark-skinned and belong to the Australoid group. The Aboriginal Australians are of African descendant who migrated to Australia about 60,000 years ago. At the time when the European settlers arrived in 1778, the Aborigines were approximately 320,000 in population. These people came in about 250 tribal groups, with each group having own traditions, language, beliefs, and territory (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2016). However, today, the majority of the aboriginals speak English thus creating Australian Aboriginal English. Based on the ABS data, the native population stood at 669,900 by 2011. Interestingly, the natives annual growth rate stands at 2.2 percent compared to the national average of 1.4 percent. By 2014, the Australian government estimated their population to be approximately 713,600 people. These groups live in Australia, but the majority live in the South-East, along the Murray River (ABS, 2014). The aborigines have experienced the worst life-expectancy and health inequality in the history of Australia. The variation entails poor health, high rate of infant mortality, shorter life expectancy, and lower employment and education rates. Davis (2016) affirms that the aboriginals have adverse ratings on various social determinants such as crime, poverty, unemployment, education, and health. The native Australians life expectancy has become difficult to quantify because the life expectancy gap between the non-aboriginals and the aboriginal people was over 25 years in some regions (Germov, 2014). The death rates among the ATSI population remain her than the national average. Unfortunately, the mortality rates among certain age groups appear alarming. According to AIAHW and ABS (2008), the death rates of middle-aged ATIS people are six times higher than their non-native counterparts. Life Expectancy The contemporary disadvantage among this population relates with colonization. Life expectancy shows how health disparity affects the indigenous Australians. In 2008-12, the rate of infant mortality for native children was nearly fifty percent above the non-indigenous children. For instance, the Aboriginal people experienced 6.2 infant deaths compared to the 3.7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births (Markwick, Ansari, Sullivan, Parsons, McNeil, 2014). Indeed, the indigenous Australians experience a lower life expectancy from birth than the non-aboriginal Australians. Markwick et al. (2014) showed that non-aborigines girls born in Australia expect to live for ten years more than the Australian aboriginal girls. The native girls would die a decade earlier than their non-native counterparts. The gap between male native citizens is larger than the non-indigenous men. For example, the life expectancy of men stands at 69.1 years compared to 79.9 years for the non-aboriginal men (ABS, 2013). The aboriginal people report higher death rates than their non-native Australians. AIHW (2014) indicates that the primary causes of death are preventable. For instance, the preventable death rates for this group are three times that of the non-aboriginal population. Similarly, the mortality rates for the native Australians in all the ages were five times higher than the non-aboriginal Australians, especially in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and South Australia. In 2013, the indigenous group appeared vulnerable because they became hospitalized for chronic diseases than the non-aboriginal. Similarly, this group suffered from diabetes than the other Australians. The death rates for diabetes aboriginals were seven times higher than other Australians (ABS, 2014). Contributing factors The gap in health outcomes between non-aboriginal people and ATSI are diverse due to multiple determinants. The Australias Health (2014) reported that the contributing factor includes the social disadvantage that encompasses lower employment rates and education. Similarly, the gaps between non-indigenous and indigenous health could be due to higher smoking rates, physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and poor access to quality health services. Undeniably, the determinants seem to interact to produce the unwarranted gaps in health outcome. According to ACME (2015), the sociocultural determinants such as religion, culture, peers, media, and family appear to cause the health issue. Based on the epidemiological data, the ATSI families remain less educated and have less income leading to poor clinical outcomes. Indeed, the aboriginal peoples health gets influenced by their culture leading to poor access to health services. With language barriers, the aboriginals can rarely express their sa nitary conditions to health practitioners. The ATSI people have also felt disempowered due to many years of discrimination and oppression from other Australians. ABS (2011) cites the white Australian policy that continues to caricature these people today. Despite the governments apology, the healing process has had an insignificant impact. To this effect, there is a growing mistrust between the government and ATSI. Consequently, education, income, and employment have acted as socioeconomic determinants of health. By 2008, the ATSI households were 2.5 times the lowest income earners than other Australians. Indeed, more than fifty percent of the indigenous children live in jobless families. With poor education and unemployment, the aboriginals have developed poor behavioural choices leading to the higher prevalence of risk factors. The lower health literacy level among the indigenous has increased rates of risk behaviours including physical inactivity, drinking, BMI, and smoking (ABS, 2013). Conclusion Australias Aborigines health continues to improve yet at a rate below the non-indigenous people. The reason for the worse health disparities for the indigenous population than the natives remain complex but represents various factors including education, income, employment, and socioeconomic status. The ATSI people appear to face the largest gap in health outcomes because their life expectancy stands at ten years lower than the national average of non-aborigines. Aboriginal people also suffer greatly from non-communicable diseases thus exposing the 70 percent health gap. The leading non-communicable disease affecting the aboriginals includes chronic respiratory illness, diabetes, mental disorders, and cardiovascular disease. The on-going health inequalities are attributable to historical reasons including colonization, annihilation, and poverty. The systematic discrimination seems to have led to the health disparities. References ABS. (2011). 2076.0-Census of population and housing: Characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. First Issue. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/2076.0. ABS. (2013, Nov 15). Life tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2010-2012.Media Release. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3302.0.55.003Media%20Release12010-2012?opendocumenttabname=Summaryprodno=3302.0.55.003issue=2010-2012num=view=. ABS. (2014). Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Biomedical Results 2012-13. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4727.0.55.003. ACME. (2015, Mar 31). Australian indigenous cultural heritage. Australian Government. Retrieved from https://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-indigenous-cultural-heritage. AIHW ABS. (2008). The health and welfare of Australias Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples 2008. ABS cat. no. 4704.0, AIHW cat. no. IHW 21. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10583. Australias Health. (2014). 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Markwick, A., Ansari, Z., Sullivan, M., Parsons, L., McNeil, J. (2014). Inequalities in the social determinants of health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: A cross-sectional population-based study in the Australian state of Victoria. International Journal for Equity in Health, 13(91). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4209035/.