HLSC120 Indigenous Health and Culture Management

Step one

`Carefully choose one topic from the Reflective Writing Topic 1 or 2 below to guide your reflection.  Write the topic chosen here`:

Australia is recognized as one of the most culturally diverse nations.  Discuss the origins of Australian cultural diversity and how the Australian health care system meets the needs of such a diverse population base.  Reflect on a significant health issue that is specific to a cultural group of your choosing, address the discussion using the SI template as the guide.

Step two

Use the sociological imagination (SI) template to reflect on your feelings, thoughts, and behaviours in response to knowledge, experiences, and observations about your chosen question from step 1.

The SI template is a framework of analysis that is employed in tackling topics that require a sociological imagination input.  It is widely applied by academicians, scholars, and researchers in demystifying their topic of interest.  The use of this template enables the user to adequately exhaust all the relevant elements of the topic of discussion.  As a result, the issue of discussion is holistically and systematically addressed.

I concur that Australia is a nation with immense cultural diversities globally.  This implies that the country is made up of residents or citizens of many cultural backgrounds.  That is, they hold different value and belief systems, customs, arts, language and symbols and attitudes among other traditional and cultural elements.  For instance, such cultural groups include people of Asian, European and Chinese origins just to mention a few.

My immediate thought when I read the topic was that the Australian health care system has been and is still able to satisfactorily meet the health needs of the country`s increasingly diverse culture.  This was based on the nature of the development and complexity associated with the Australian health care system.  This implies that there are quite many players or stakeholders within the health care system of the nation.  Each of these players has a critical role to play in the successful operation of the entire health care system.

The feeling was that a majority of the Australian people from the different cultural backgrounds are adequately catered for by the present health care system.  I felt that the current health care system meets the health demands of such a culturally diversified population.  This was immensely grounded on the assumption that recent advancements in technology in the medical and health sector in the country have translated into increase and diversification of provision of health services.  Additionally, I have also assumed that the different cultural groups in Australia have easy and affordable access to the various health care services provided throughout the nation.

However, based on several personal observations that I have made through interactions with different health care providers, professionals, patients and colleagues, I believe that more needs to be done.  This is regarding ensuring equality and accessibility in providing health care services to people from these diverse cultural backgrounds.  For instance, during one of my regular visits to my long-time friend, who is a community health worker stationed at a health care center in my neighborhood, I observed that patients were not getting efficacious diverse health care services.

This is because quite a number of them were turned away or referred to other health care centers or hospitals, some of which are distant.  Following a fairly comprehensive discussion with my friend and several other health care practitioners, I discovered that this was partially due to inadequate training provided to them on the various indispensable aspects of offering diverse and satisfactory healthcare.  Consequently, I believe that this disparity can be addressed by providing proper training to such health practitioners to diversify their health care service provision.

Step three

`Continue the reflective writing employing the SI template to answer the original question you identified in step 1`, `using `Germov (2014)` and a minimum of at least six other academic sources `(e.g., journal articles, research reports from the HLSC120 eModules`)` to support your answer`.  `Locate these academic sources through your information search`.  `Analyse how these resources helped you to expand and deepen your original reflections on this topic.

SI template includes a sociological analysis of a given topic using four factors namely: historical, structural, cultural and critical factors (Germov & Marylin, 2014).  According to them, historical factors capture how past events have impacted the present. Cultural factors involve what influence cultural values, traditions and specific belief system have on our conduct and social interactions.  Structural factors capture how different forms of social institutions and organizations influence our lives, and they vary over time and between regions and countries.  Finally, critical factors explain why things are as they are, how they could be otherwise, what alternative futures are likely and how sociological insights associate with our own life experiences.  It was developed by an Australian Sociologist known as Evan Willis (Levine, 2004).

This template is extensively employed because it provides a vivid framework to sociologically analyze a topic that requires sociological imagination (Levine, 2004).  This means that it is widely applicable to questions or topics which need to be tacked from a sociological imagination perspective.  The analysis is holistic in that it adequately captures all the relevant structural, historical, cultural and critical aspects of the topic of interest.

Following a thorough reading of the (Dunn, Forrest, Burnley, & McDonald, 2004), my thoughts and feelings concerning the Australian health care diversity have quite shifted.  This journal article precisely pointed out the disparities within the present operations of the diversified health care system in the country and the need to bridge those existent gaps for a more equitable, accessible and diversified health care system.  Previously I thought and felt that the Australian health care system fully met the needs of the diverse cultural groups in the country.  However, I now believe that there exist gaps regarding accessibility, equality, and diversification of the health services to the Australian population.  A majority of the people affiliated with the different cultural groups are unable to access the services either because of affordability or geographical constraints.  This implies that the cost of getting some of the health care services is out of reach for many people who are in dire need of such services.

Additionally, there is a monumental absence of equality in providing the health care services.  This means that the services are not provided in equal measure regarding quality to all the Australian population.  This makes it hard to have a universally harmonious health care service provision regarding quality in the country.  It implies that some people get exceptionally high-quality health care while others get poor quality health care.  The journal article stressed the need to diligently and progressively address some of these conspicuous disparities.  One of such measure that was unique to me was that of significantly subsidizing the cost of accessing the services.  I believe that this is a prudent move although a lot needs to be executed within the sector to bring total sanity in it, increase universal accessibility and enhance its diversity.

Australia comprises many cultural groups (Moran, 2011).  This means that the nation has different people from diverse cultural backgrounds regarding race and language among others.  Australia started as a white settlement within a land occupied by indigenous people (Joppke, 2004).  He adds that the clash between the white settlers and indigenous population was hateful and cruel.  The resistance was widespread and extended fighting between 1788 and the 1920s caused the killing of over 20,000 indigenous people and between 2000 and 2500 Europeans (Kelaher & Manderson, 2000).

Conflicts emerged between the Chinese and white miners in the 1850s (Beltman & MacCallum, 2006).  They add that however, the country interned nearly 7000 people during WW1 Comprising of British nationals, Germans, Japanese and Italians.  The abolition of White Australian Policy in 1948 was also critical (Joppke, 2004).  Currently, Australia has a non-discriminatory global immigration intake founded on skills besides having a generous refugee intake program of about 20,000 people annually (Moran, 2011).

During the precolonial and colonial periods, healthcare was primarily a private affair (Kelaher & Manderson, 2000).  According to them, the first public health units were established in Australia in 1788 and the consequent initiation of first Board of Health in 1881. They add that however, Medicare was established in 1984 to cover free universal treatment access in public hospitals and subsidize medical services.  The Health Service Act was enforced in 1997 to consolidate a modern healthcare system with emphasis on health promotion and education, community health services and diversification (Beltman & MacCallum, 2006).  This increased healthcare accessibility.

The White Australian Policy was a government policy used to mitigate past conflicts in Australia (Moran, 2011).  The conflicts were evident along religious lines, political and social among others.  The government used the policy to bring harmony between such conflicting groups.

Culture depicts the customs, attitudes, belief and value systems of a given group of people (Cunningham, 2002).  The Australian culture is richly diverse since it is composed of different cultural groups such as the Australians, Indigenous Australians, Torres Strait Islanders, Italian Australians, and Anglo-Celtic Australians among others (Kelaher & Manderson, 2000).  Individuals from these diverse cultural backgrounds hold varied values and attitudes regarding healthcare.  For instance, the Indigenous Australians differ with Italian Australians regarding health and illness concepts.  Cardiovascular health illnesses are rampant among the Torres Strait Islanders cultural group (Vos, Barker, Begg, Stanely, & Lopez, 2009).  It is caused by the lack of exercise, poor diet, heavy alcohol drinking and obesity among others.

Primary healthcare describes the most basic healthcare that is universally accessible to people (Starfied, Shi, & Macinko, 2005).  They add that social healthcare model is the framework that guides the provision of such services to the people.  The most conspicuous care models in the nation include social and biomedical models of health (Starfied, Shi, & Macinko, 2005).  The biomedical model has promoted the universal accessibility of healthcare in Australia.   It has remarkably aided in managing and or curing diseases (Cioffi, 2003).  This is by providing Medicare, access to surgery, health insurance, healthy eating information and chemotherapy among others.

The health system needs of the different Australian residents are greatly shaped by different factors like age, gender, behaviour, location, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds (AIHW, 2014).  The Australian healthcare system has fairly provided culturally suitable care to her people (Spector, 2002).  The most appropriate care model to commendably offer culturally diversified healthcare is the social model (Bandura, 2004).  According to him, it is more holistic since it involves biomedical and preventive elements.  He adds that it goes beyond just informing by enabling individuals to make healthy decisions and accessing healthcare.  Its principles include lowering social inequality, addressing all healthcare determinants, empowering individuals and the community, healthcare accessibility and sectorial collaboration.

Step four

`Finally, `explain `how answering this question has helped you to achieve one of the four ACU graduate attributes`, `aligned with HLSC120 by reflecting and critically,` analyzing your thoughts and feelings about the original question based on your research`.

According to me, Graduate Attribute 2 (Recognize their responsibility to the common good, the environment, and society), has been immensely appropriate to this evaluation essay.  I have found extensive comprehension on the need to observe my responsibility to the common benefit, the surrounding and society at large regarding equitable access to diversified health care. The extensive information that I have collected on this topic has aided me in appreciating the indispensable need to acknowledge the responsibility that everyone and I have towards the common good, our surrounding and the society in general.

However, based on my research, I believe that some improvements and polishing needs to be implemented to remarkably bridge some of the identified gaps in providing an increasingly diverse health care to the Australian population.  Such dominant disparities include inequalities and accessibility to the diversified health care services.  Essentially, it is worthwhile to appreciate the milestones achieved this far in steering the Australian healthcare towards meeting the diversified need of the different cultural groups in the country.  This should act as a motivation to achieving even more in the health care system.   

References

AIHW. (2014). Australia`s health system. Retrieved from https:// www.aihw.gov.au/australias-heallth/2014/health-system/

Bandura, A. (2004). Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health education & behaviuor, 143-164.

Beltman, S., & MacCallum, J. (2006). `Mentoring and the development of resilience: An Australian perspective`. International Journal of mental health promotion, 21-36.

Cioffi, J. (2003). `Communicating with culturally and linguistically diverse patients in an acute care setting: nurses` experiences`. International Journal of nursing studies, 299-306.

Cunningham, S. (2002). `From cultural to creative industries: theory, industry and policy implications`. Media International Australia incorporating Culture and policy, 54-65.

Dunn, M., Forrest, J., Burnley, I., & McDonald, A. (2004). Constructing racism in Australia. Australian Journal of social issues, 409-430.

Germov, J., & Marylin, P. (2014). Public Sociology: An Introduction to Australian Society. Allen & Unwin.

Joppke, C. (2004). `The retreat of multiculturalism in the liberal state: theory and policy`. The British Journal of Sociology, 237-257.

Kelaher, M., & Manderson, L. (2000). `Migration and mainstreaming: matching health services to immigrants` needs in Australia`. Health policy, 1-11.

Levine, F. (2004). `Enriching the sociological imagination: How radical sociology changed the discipline`. Brill.

Moran, A. (2011). Multiculturalism as nation-building in Australia: Inclusive national identity and the embrace of diversity. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2153-2172.

Spector, E. (2002). Cultural diversity in health and illness. Journal of Transcultural nursing, 197-199.

Starfied, B., Shi, L., & Macinko, J. (2005). `Contribution of primary care to health systems and health. The Milbank quarterly`, 457-502.

Vos, T., Barker, B., Begg, S., Stanely, L., & Lopez, D. (2009). `The burden of disease and injury in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples`: the indigenous health gap. International journal of Epidemiology, 470-477.