HSC230 Safety in Healthcare: Health as a Social Injustice| Essay

For your major essay, choose one of the following social justice issues:

• education
• employment
• interaction with custody and the prison system
• government intervention into Indigenous lives 


health
language loss

What is the historical trajectory of this social justice issue? How is this social justice issue related to colonisation? In the context of the issue being discussed, how does social justice the absence of social justice relate to social change? 

Answer:

Introduction

Health is a very critical sector in the community. The Australia health sector is facing a challenge concerning the life expectancy difference. To reduce the gap between the indigenous and non-indigenous life expectancy is very crucial in streamlining the health industry. There is a point of separating all the policies that have already worked and developed new commitments which they require for providing equitable health services to the whole community in the country. There is a problem with the language differences in Australia making it difficult for the people to read and understand the health policies in the country. In closing the gap needs more than just reducing the life expectancy disparity within the communities in Australia. There is more which needs to be done to improve the life expectancy of the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander which has been growing slowly over the decades.

The society consists of various communities, and social justice is the rights of all the people in a specific population in regards to fair and equitable services to every member of the city (Blyton, 2009). The social justice mainly focuses on the marginalized groups in the society like the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, the young ones specifically the children, and those people who come from different backgrounds, people living with disabilities, the aged in the society, and women. The main concerns of health as a social justice are:

All the information that is for the public should be available in the languages that the community understands. All the documented health policies should enhance equality of all the people regarding health care access (Braveman, 2006). It is very critical to have a precise translation of health information as per the different languages available amongst the community to enhance dissemination of information and also clear understanding without discrimination of any societal group in the country. Policies and rules of any health sector approved by the administrative authority should be displayed somewhere accessible to all the members of the society. There should be easy and clear access to all the policies and rules concerning the health sector.

The people living in the rural and marginalized regions should have similar access to clean water and sanitation as their counterparts living in the urban areas. The people who earn low income in the society should be able to access the same level of healthcare as their counterparts who have a high socio-economic standard in the community (Fredericks et al. 2012). The health policies should discourage any form of discrimination in the line of economic measures of the Australian people. All the people in Australia even those who are considered not originated from there should receive equal treatment and equal access to the available health services in the country.

A significant focus on health as social justice is an excellent way of reducing health disparities in Australia. This social justice will help in building an economic empowered country since, a health nation is a rich nation. There is a great disparity in the health sector of Australia, the health standards of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait is lowered as compared to the other population in the country. There is a significant difference of about 17 years of life expectancy between the indigenous and the non-indigenous people in Australia (Holland, 2015).  The socio-economic disparity in the country is the main socio justice factor that affects the health sector in Australia. There is also another factor of systematic discrimination that affects the indigenous people.

There are several principles of social justice which include the principle of equity which is about ensuring equitable and fair distribution of all the available in the health sector. The policy of access focuses on bringing all the goods and services to all the members of the society disregarding their age, ethnicity, and or gender.  Participation aspects encourage participation of the members of the community in all the areas that affect their lives. All the people should have the liberty to make an informed decision concerning their health status and any other circumstances that they feel are unfair to their lives (Fredericks et al. 2012). The principles of social justice need adherence to with no limit to any reduction in the country

Social justice relationship with colonization

Incongruities in wellbeing status persevere for Aboriginal individuals in Australia. In the effort to lessen the dissimilarity hole, the idea of accomplishing public equity becomes very crucial to propelling all administrations and frameworks that can test unjust conditions inside the country. Colonization is a notable primary aspect impacting societal treacheries that outcome in discriminatory wellbeing for Aboriginal individuals (Braveman, 2006). The effects of the international actions on the societal fairness as outlined under the interconnection of the well-being of the aboriginal people in the Australia community.

The writing recognizing the impact that annexation has on Aboriginal Australians incorporate proves from verbal and civil chronicles and societal bases structures. Research shows a universal accord stating that particular effect of colonialism on the soundness of Aboriginal individuals is profoundly mind-boggling and the specific inheritances are knowledgeable from generation to generation. Scarcity is in proof that looks at the relationship between annexation and the effect on societal foul play. Since public equity is integral to fair performs over all segments in the public arena (wellbeing, instruction, lawful ), questions arising concerning the extent of the impact that annexation brings on wellbeing variations and imperatively is the object meant to handle inconsistencies that came from colonial era (Blyton, 2009).

It isn't valid to propose that one of the wealthiest countries of the world can't understand a wellbeing emergency influencing under 3% of its nationals (Bennett, 2009).  This is a disturbing statistic because Australia stand at as one of the wealthiest countries and we expect that the state should be the leading in health services. Health social justice should be at its best in this country and helping the other countries achieve well-being awareness and reducing any discrepancy by below 1%. Health social justice aims at accomplishing decency, and uniformity of results and treatment; perceiving the poise and equal worth and empowering the confidence of all; the gathering of essential needs; amplifying the decrease of imbalances in riches, salary and life shots; and the support of all, including the most burdened. All the services offered at all the health centers should be uniform and there should also be uniform administration of medication and procedures undertaken at the hospitals by the health workers and the social workers. (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2013).

Here, critical parts of social equity are noticeable: its multidimensional, sociopolitical, and complex nature; installed ideas of reasonableness and fairness; the auxiliary premise of social imbalances; and, an accentuation on individuals' rights to get to both material assets (Health and financial status) and equivalent cooperation of chances (Anderson & Kowal, 2012). In efforts to achieve a better health ass a social justice the accompaniments of the health sector like mobile clinics, dispensaries and the underlying infrastructure like drug store should be in place.

How the absence of health as a social justice affects social change

For a better social change in the health sector of Australia should put into consideration the underlying fundamental principles of the health sector. All the policies need adherence and enhance public participation together with the equal distribution of resources to all the regions to improve great health services available to all the states in the country www.australianmuseum.net.au. (January 2016). Public participation gives the sector better development of policies which will be helpful to the people because the policies developed, are the ones affecting them directly at the grassroots. Public participation gives members of the society a sense of ownership and they are proud to be associated with the community.

The health sector has brought about division in the Australia community between the Indigenous and non- indigenous. The administrative policies of the country should advocate for equal rights across all the members of the society. There should be uniform in the defense for the rights of the people in status. And,  all the cultural believes of different cities, rights to self-determination which gives people the freedom to choose their future and decide how to address any issue arising from their lives and, finally have the liberty to land and own a safe place for cultural and spiritual practices (Anderson & Kowal, 2012). A safe place will give the community safe environment to live in in terms of better sanitation and improved access to health services from all the points of the country.

It is also very critical also to advocate for better health services for those people in the society that have low socioeconomic class, those people living in the rural area should be able to access better health services to reduce the health difficulties experienced in those regions. The absence of health facilities has brought division regarding the economic class of the people in Australia. There is also a problem with the social work community that deals with mostly the well-being of the society. The city should be Enlighted on how to treat social workers, the rights of the social worker need utmost respect and observation (Blyton, 2009). Social workers should be provided with better working conditions and, reasonable wages and, also allowances to keep them motivated to serve more people in the society. Social work should be termed communal and needs individuals with outmost faith and dedication to drive the dream of a health nation.

Conclusion

There are some notable inequalities in the health sector between indigenous and non-indigenous, most notably in the dominance of anxiety and depression, and the societal factors of health. This brings consequences for indication-rooted rule growth and can inform the advancement of the public health development and may inform the development of public health advancement. To reduce the difference and make sure that health is asocial justice to every member of Australia society the policies developed in the health sector needs to be followed and put into practice across the country. There is an excellent observation of improving the social work sector to support and help with the ad mistering of better health services in the country, especially in the rural areas and to those people with low socioeconomic standings www.australianmuseum.net.au. (January 2016).

The idea of availing equitable health services to all Australian is also notable in such that the health social justice is available to every member of the community. Social justice should be equal despite the regions that the people leave, their culture, language, ethnicity or even socioeconomic class.

The ownership of language is also an important factor in enhancing the quality of health services getting to the people. The way people communicate and how the citizens can understand the policies, their rights, how to access health services and where to obtain the services is also a critical consideration in improving the health justice in Australia (Holland, 2015).

References

Anderson, H., & Kowal, E. (2012). Culture, history, and health in an Australian Aboriginal community. The case of Utopia. Medical Anthropology, 31(5), 438–457.

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013). Life tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

Australian Museum. (2015). Glossary of Indigenous Australia Terms.

www.australianmuseum.net.au. [January, 2016].

Bennett, M. J. (2009). Smallpox and cowpox under the Southern Cross.

The smallpox epidemic of 1789 and the advent of vaccination in colonial Australia. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 7–62.

Blyton, G. (2009). Healthier times?: Revisiting Indigenous Australian health history.

 Health & History, 11(2), 116–135.

Braveman, P. (2006). Health disparities and health equity: Concepts and measurement. Annual Review of Public Health, 167–194.

Fredericks, B., Lee, V., Adams, M., & Mahoney, R. (2012). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. In M. L. Fleming (Ed.), Introduction to public health (pp. 350–372). London (UK). Elsevier Health Sciences.

Holland, C. (2015). The Close the Gap Campaign: Progress and priorities report 2015.

The Close the Gap Steering Committee. Paragon Australasia Group