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Impact of Poverty on Access to Health among the Aboriginal Communities in Australia

Poverty and poor health are two aspects which have an undeniable link. Among indigenous communities in Australia, a wealth of evidence exists to show a huge gap in inequality related to health access between the poor and non-poor (Isaacs et al., 2010). In Australia, the pattern of variation regarding access to health is alarming as a widening gap exists between access to health of low and high-income populations (Durey & Thompson, 2012). Additionally, the trends are even more different when examined between the aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities. Regarding health and income status, the differences are wide. The use of the social determinants of health approach can be utilized in the explanation of the ill-health of the aboriginal communities. When people have the low income, they are unlikely to afford health services. Additionally, according to Demaio, Drysdale, & de Courten (2012), it is also likely that they will not have a proper education which can make them make appropriate health decisions. Moreover, poverty makes it hard for aboriginal populations to have access to nutritious and healthy foods which are critical to ensuring a healthy living.

The impact of poverty on the ability of the indigenous communities to access health services is a matter that requires the attention of policymakers as well as the government of Australia. Marmot (2011) provides the reason for this assertion as that poverty is a key determinant of the relative position of aboriginal people in the social-economic hierarchy. Additionally, poverty results in various issues such as psychosocial stress, social exclusion, addiction, among other factors. Such matters if not adequately addressed can lead to a health epidemic. Additionally, according to Durey & Thompson (2012), without resources to access health and healthy foods, the aboriginal communities will continue to experience various conditions such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular complications among other diseases. Closing the widening income inequality gap is key to ensuring that all other social issues have been cured. This essay analyses various Australian based media articles on access to health and how poverty impacts it. The analysis will contain the most important points in each of the articles, link to the learning modules and readings, and personal reflections based on the issues espoused in each of the items discussed.

Gooda, M., & Huggins, J. (2017). Our national shame: Closing the gap for Indigenous Australians is more important than ever. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 October 2017, from http://www.smh.com.au/comment/our-national-shame-closing-the-gap-for-indigenous-australians-is-more-important-than-ever-20160316-gnkquf.html

Summary and Analysis of Key Points

After the implementation of ‘Close the Gap campaign,’ this article presents the experience of Lynore Geia who doubles up as a registered nurse (RN) and a midwife. The article shows how Lynore has worked in closing the gap regarding access to health outcomes. According to Gooda & Huggins (2017), despite the fact that the government and other agencies have tried to close the gap of inequality, people have continued to die when they are too young in particular among the Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander populations. The article categorically states that poor health, which has resulted in young deaths is intertwined with the high levels of poverty among the indigenous communities. Life expectancy of the native population is less than ten years shorter than the non-aboriginal people. As such, Gooda & Huggins (2017) recommends that core health service models, as well as funding arrangements, should be made as a matter of priority to address the relatively poor health and high-level of poverty among the indigenous communities.

How Article Fits Into Unit Overall and Topics Covered

The various discussion modules have underscored the importance of providing mechanisms to reduce health inequalities between the aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities in Australia. The utilization of funding as a way of closing the gap is in tandem with the course readings on a partnership model between policymakers and the aboriginal populations (Marmot, 2011). When the government and other agencies collaborate with the Aboriginal communities, they are likely to come up with mechanisms which reduce the income and poverty gap between the two communities and ensure that access to healthcare is guaranteed. According to Australian Human Rights Commission, is critical only to empower but also support indigenous communities in their determination of brighter futures. As such, the article links to course models and reading materials.

How Media Item Contributes To the Topic Discussion

Gooda & Huggins (2017) media item provides a valuable continuation to the issue of the relationship as well as the impact of poverty on access to health. Specifically, the article has proved that closing the gap is the only way that inequality to health access can be reduced. Additionally, according to the media report, poverty resulting from lack of employment and low income has been a key contributor to poor access to health services by the aboriginals. Empowering aboriginals will make them have a permanent and sure way of reducing their poverty levels which will translate to more access to health services and hence a healthy living and wellbeing.

Personal Reflection

The media article discussed above provides valuable information on how indigenous communities with poor background have been affected by failing to access the required health services. Based on the experiences of an Aboriginal registered nurse, the article just demonstrates how poor access to health has resulted in the death of young people as well as 10-year differences in life expectancy between the aboriginals and non-aboriginals. The solutions provided in this article which include government empowerment and funding, are critical to ensuring increased access to health and reduction in inequality gap. The fundamental concept of empowerment of the indigenous communities espoused in this article can be essential to ensuring healthy lives for the Australians. The key point obtained from this article is that the government and other agencies have a role in ensuring that they empower through funding, the indigenous Australians to get out of below the poverty line and have more access to healthcare services.

Carter, A. (2017). Poverty a major barrier to good health for urban aboriginals: study. CBC News. Retrieved 1 October 2017, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/poverty-a-major-barrier-to-good-health-for-urban-aboriginals-study-1.2701497

Summary and Analysis of Key Points

This article provides critical data on the rates of poverty among the urban Aboriginal people in the Hamilton area and how it is a barrier to healthcare. According to Carter (2017), aboriginal people in the urban center of Hamilton have significant rates of not only emergency room visits but also chronic ailments compared to the rest of the individuals in the city who are non-Aboriginals. According to the study by Carter (2017), of the first national adults residing in Hamilton, 73 percent of those people reported an upper respiratory tract infection while 25 percent had been injured. Additionally, 70 percent of those living in the area come from the lowest-income neighborhoods. The primary cause of the trends shown is the high levels of inequality compared to non-aboriginals. Additionally, Aboriginals access healthcare at a late stage of the various conditions that they have. As such, they are likely to succumb to such diseases compared to their counterparts who are non-Aboriginals.

How it Fits Into Unit Overall and Topics Covered

This article has supported the topic on inequality as the contributing factor to health disparities. Specifically, the differences, regarding health between the aboriginals and non-aboriginals, are caused by inequalities regarding income and access to health services (Behrendt et al., 2012). Additionally, closing the gap of inequality is fundamental to ensuring that aboriginals access healthcare services just like other people. The article fits into the main ways of closing the gap as it proposes that healthcare facilities should be increased in the Aboriginal communities and that people in such areas are educated on the importance of accessing health services at an early stage to avoid the progression of diseases.

How Media Item Contributes To the Topic Discussion

Carter (2017) adds to the topic about poverty and access to healthcare as the article presupposes that poor health is associated with low-income levels. Poverty has, in most cases, been the key causative factor of the major chronic illnesses which have been experienced by the indigenous Australian communities. Without resources, the education levels in the indigenous communities have been low. As a result, the populations in such areas have failed to understand healthy lifestyles and factors which contribute to healthy living. Additionally, they cannot afford foods considered healthy such as those which do not have many calories. Moreover, they cannot access healthcare services which are expensive. Such factors are just but some of the evidence of inequalities between the aboriginals and non-aboriginals. As such, the article fits well with the topic that poverty is a prerequisite for poor health and limited access to health services.

Personal Reflection

This article has offered various lessons on the impact that poverty has on accessibility to health services in particular among the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders. Specifically, the article has provided critical data on the inequalities that the indigenous populations face and ways they have affected how they access health services, how they experience chronic conditions and fatalities from the lack of healthcare services proportionate with their healthcare needs. The key point which can be taken away from the article is that even in urban areas, inequalities between the indigenous and non-indigenous communities are evident. Additionally, chronic illnesses and poverty are related as native populations seek health services only as a last resort and, therefore, find that their conditions have already deteriorated to the final stage. Such an article is key to putting relevant agencies into action in ensuring that the gap is closed.

ABC News. (2017). Millions of Australians living in poverty: ACOSS. Retrieved 1 October 2017, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-12/poverty-levels-among-australians-on-the-rise-acoss-report-abs/5807624

Summary and Analysis of Key Points

The article, in this case, provides the results of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) on the national poverty levels and their effects on the health of Australians. According to the report, more than half a million people, as well as one-third of children in single-parent families, live below poverty line. Among those people, the report stated that women, individuals with disabilities, indigenous and Torres Strait Islander populations were the worst affected. The cause of such high incidences of poverty among the disadvantaged members of the society has arisen out of the inequality gap as well as exclusion of such people from participation into the matters affecting the community. Specifically, differences caused by discriminatory budgetary allocations reduce the pension payments and also isolate some of the communities. Such high levels of poverty have resulted in the provision of health services in a limited manner. Specifically, since such people cannot afford quality services, healthcare providers have failed to provide services in areas resided by the Aboriginals. As such, the article proposes that the inequality gap should be narrowed.

How it Fits Into Unit Overall and Topics Covered

The unit materials talk about ways of narrowing the inequality gap and how this can be a key factor in ensuring healthy lives for all Australians. One of the proposed methods for the reduction of inequality gap is providing services to the Aboriginal communities in the same manner as they are given to the non-Aboriginals (Demaio, Drysdale, & de Courten, 2012). Additionally, the government should provide subsidized health services to the communities. This article states that the poverty levels have increased over the years between the aboriginal and non-aboriginals and proposed that government intervention during budgeting is crucial. Such sentiments obtained from the course reading and the article point to the fact that poverty reduction through empowerment can increase the access to healthcare services by the aboriginal Australians.

How Media Item Contributes To the Topic Discussion

The media article has supported the idea that low-income, which is a characteristic of most indigenous populations, is a contributing factor to poor health. The high poverty prevalence among the indigenous communities arises from high levels of unemployment, discrimination, racism, and lack of job opportunities. The ABC Media item discusses the importance of reducing such inequalities through government interventions. The report in the media item has provided enough evidence of the differences in poverty levels as well as the high number of Aboriginal people who have to live below poverty line and how such a factor has resulted in a bad health access. As such, the article provides further support to the idea in the topic that poverty is a key factor which results in a low access to health services by the Aboriginal communities.

Personal Reflection

ABC News article on poverty scores among all Australians has set out various revelations which reflecting on them has shown the level of inequality in the Country. The national survey has shown that the poverty gap between the aboriginals and the non-aboriginals is such a huge one that interventions must be made to narrow it lest the populations continue to suffer in silence. From the article, it has been established that the government has contributed to the inequalities by its discriminative budgetary allocations. The article has clearly shown that the disadvantaged communities who include the disabled, women, and aboriginal populations are the most people who live below the poverty line. The key point which the article stresses is that such inequality ought to be narrowed to ensure a just society and healthy lives, especially from the aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander populations.

McKeith, S. (2017). Poverty in Australia at ‘Shameful’ Level. Huffington Post Australia. Retrieved 1 October 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/10/15/poverty-in-australia-at-shameful-level_a_21583450/

Summary and Analysis of Key Points

The article by McKeith (2017) was on analyzing the report by ACCOSS on the worsening poverty levels in Australia. According to the report, almost one in every five Australian children have been reported to live below poverty line. Additionally, the Report revealed that more than 700,000 Australian children do not have access to healthcare quality services despite the fact that Australia has experienced more than 25 years of economic growth. The most affected children are those from single families as they are three times more likely to live in poverty compared to children who have both parents. Moreover, Aboriginal children were affected as most of them contributed to the high number of children living below poverty line. McKeith (2017) terms such a trend a shame as it touches on the dignity of the Australian people. The report according to McKeith (2017) should be used as an appeal to the Senate to reduce any further cuts to payments made to Aboriginal families.

How it Fits Into Unit Overall and Topics Covered

The overall topics covered were focused on the significant inequalities in the Australian society as well as how such disparities have resulted in poor health for the disadvantaged members of the community. Additionally, the course readings were more concerned on how the inequality gap should be reduced. The article by McKeith (2017) just analyses the poverty situation in the Country in particular among the Aboriginals and describes it with terminologies which are befitting. Specifically, the article terms it as a shame and an affront to the dignity of the people. Additionally, the article ends what proposal that the Senate should consider increasing payments to the low-income families as opposed to cutting the reimbursements (Zubrick et al., 2010). The article and the course modules are in tandem as the course readings propose empowerment through funding by the government among other things.

How Media Item Contributes To the Topic Discussion

The media item by McKeith (2017) has a significant contribution to the main topic which is about the effects that poverty has on access to health in particular among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. The article confirms the analogy that Aboriginals have high levels of poverty and as a result, receive more funding from the government as they fall under the low-income earners category. The article goes further to provide the relationship between poor health and low income. Specifically, low-income families and children do not experience healthy lives as they cannot afford health services cannot then get healthy foods. These issues make the article an important contributor to the main topic of discussion. 

Personal Reflection

From the article, various lessons and points can be obtained. One of those is that the government is one of the major contributing factors to the poverty of the aboriginals as it has failed to take measures meat to ensure equality and that the gap is reduced. One of the key points from the article is that it is such a shame that a Country which has continued to have economic growth over the last 25 years can have such massive proportions of poverty and inequality. Additionally, the report has faulted the Upper House of the Country which proposes reductions in the payments made to low-income countries. Moreover, the article suggests that measures should be taken to reverse this alarming trend and ensure that the inequality gap is reduced and eventually closed. The lessons from the article are that inequality in wealth and income should be reduced through efforts from major players in the economy including the legislature. Additionally, access to healthcare will only be made possible if poverty levels are reduced.

In conclusion, poverty and poor health are two aspects which are in most cases intertwined. High levels of poverty result in lack of ability to access healthcare services which are costly. Additionally, Aboriginals cannot lead healthy lives as they cannot afford meals which contain low levels of calories. The media articles analyzed in this case have espoused various issues which support the topic and are linked with course modules. One of those is that the only way in which poverty can be reduced and healthy living can be ensured through empowering the Aboriginals. Additionally, enabling the indigenous Australians can make them have a bright future. Moreover, closing the inequality gap should be something which should have been done long ago considering that the Australia has been experiencing an economic growth over the last 25 years. As such, the government, legislature, and other agencies should urgently take initiatives meant to reduce the inequality gap and hence solve the health access challenges which are a source of shame to Australia.