Reflective essay, also evaluate what is the level of difference in understanding since assessment 1 to assessment 3- reflection about Aboriginal culture, also have to incorporate reflection upon 3...

Aboriginal and To
es Strait Islanders- Culture, threat and health outcomes
Aboriginal and To
es Strait Islanders- Culture, threat and health outcomes
Aboriginal and To
es Strait Islander people are the ethnic minority who form the original population of Australia. Our educational cu
iculum includes learning about all people in Australia with special emphasis on the Aboriginal and To
es Strait Islanders since healthcare for this population is lagging far behind that of the rest of the population. Studies have shown that there is an estimated gap of 10.6 years for males and 9.5 years for females between the life expectancy of Indigenous and non-Indigenous population in Australia (AIHW, 2015). The death rates for all age groups have also been estimated to be approximately twice (AIHW, 2015). In spite of many initiatives made by the government like the Closing the Gap initiative, the health outcome for the Indigenous populations continues to remain low.
My first reflection paper, discussed some issues related to the Aboriginal people. Through my continuing research and study regarding the Aboriginal culture and the various issues su
ounding their healthcare, I have discovered several new things about them including the several challenges that they face in attaining equal healthcare as other Australian people.
One of the prime issues that I had discussed in my earlier paper was regarding the reluctance of the Aboriginal people to mix with other cultures. This reluctance and seclusion has made the Aboriginal people both conservative as well as resistant to availing health benefits advertised by the government (Lindstedt et al., 2017).
Another issue that I discussed was that the Aboriginal people are strict followers of their culture and in their effort to preserve it tend to avoid modern healthcare and other means of improving their quality of life. They view it as giving up on their roots and following foreign culture since Aboriginals feel they don’t have a choice when it comes health options provided by regular healthcare (Anderson and Sanders, 2018).
The Youth of the Aboriginal communities tend to waste themselves in alcohol and drug abuse. This further deteriorates their health and plunges them in another cycle of poverty that is likely to continue until the next generation. Poverty has long been associated with lowered health outcomes (Chokshi, 2018).
The issues that I discussed above formed the focus of my research as a registered nurse, regarding the health outcomes of Aboriginal Australians in Australia. Based on RN standards 1.1 of analyzing and accessing data, 1.2 of developing practice through reflection and 1.3 of respecting all culture, I was able to draw new conclusions and further insights into the issue of Aboriginal health (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (2016).
While learning about the Aboriginal culture, we were introduced in our class to several videos and examples that improved our understanding of discrimination, how people think and how this impacts the society and health outcomes for marginalized populations. Three examples are worth mentioning here that revolutionized my thinking regarding Aboriginals, their culture and how people view them.
As a part of our course, we watched the movie “Ba
ekuaria” which showed the various areas in which Aboriginals are being discriminated against. “Ba
ekuaria” is a movie that is based on role reversal where an area inhabited by Whites is occupied by Aboriginals (Cafarella, 2018). It details on the immediate and long term impacts of this occupation. This role-reversal enables us to understand the actual causes that have resulted and continue to result in poverty and low health outcomes for Aboriginals.
We also watched a TED talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie titled ‘The danger of a single story” (TED, 2009). I realized after watching it that a prime reason for discrimination against the Aboriginal Australians is that people only know a single side of their story, the dark, miserable and desperate side. However, my research about Aboriginal Australians showed that they are highly intelligent and creative possessing own folk medicine, art, a vi
ant culture, close family structure and folk education system.
We learned more about this through...