An Individuals/communities health status is resolved by many factors that make up the determinants of health (http://www.
who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/). There are four different health determinant groups that all have an affect on how healthy we are.
These four groups can all have an impact each other causing a completely unhealthy lifestyle. For example: Someone that drinks an extreme amount of alcohol (behavioral) may be overweight in result (biological) and may not have a good social life (social) (Beaumont & Fettling, 2017). The Australian Aboriginals or Torres Strait Islanders (Indigenous Australians) equates to 2.
8 percent of the Australian population in 2016 (Abs.gov.au, 2017). In this report I will be looking at indigenous health and why this group have got a lower life expectancy than a non-indigenous Australian. I will also discuss an organization that aids this group of people and what they do to help.
I will focus on the key health differences, health determinants, services offered by the organization, how the organization aids the indigenous and what needs to be done to improve the group.Key health differencesLife expectancy is particularly a way that we measure the health of society or a community. This is measured by the age a new born baby is expected to live to or the expected number of years left in somebody’s life (AIHW, 2018). Aboriginal people have got more than 10-years below the average life expectancy. There are many variations for which this occurs, some of these include: mortality rates, burden of disease rates, more likely to experience a heart attack, higher rates in dental decay and gum infections and more (Beaumont ; Fettling, 2017). There are a range of determinants of health that goes with it which explains why this problem occurs and can suggest ways that we can help. A social example of this is that aboriginal people have higher rates in dental decay and gum infections, this is due to the lack of dental care in their area and they may not have access to a school, so they lack in education which can also come under the physical environment determinant.
Another example is that the indigenous are more prone to have a heart attack, this is caused through smoking, a big problem that the indigenous have as they are less likely to quit smoking and start from a young age (Korff. J, 2017). This is an example of behavioral and social health but can also impact the biological determinant. Organization An organization that is aiding the aboriginal people and helping to fix the problem of their life expectation is NACCHO, an organization that represent 143 Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Services (ACCHS) (NACCHO, 2017). The organization dates back to a meeting in Albury, 1974.
What they do to helpNACCHO (National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization) are “a living embodiment of the aspirations of Aboriginal communities and their struggle for self-determination” (NACCHO, 2017). Meaning that they are living hope for Aboriginal communities with their struggle for self-determination.NACCHO, the government funded organization, aid through knowledge and research in aboriginal health which they then use to educate people nation wide and indicate the problems in aboriginal health. They also represent local Aboriginal Community control to make sure that the communities are provided with access to the right health care all across Australia (NACCHO, 2017). Health promoting strategies Some health promoting strategies that they have in place are event days such as OCHRE, a two-day event on Aboriginal men’s health that targets the needs and issues of Australia’s most disadvantaged demographics (NACCHO, 2017).
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