Health Status Of the Indigenous Communities †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Health Status Of the Indigenous Communities. Answer: Introduction This paper is a narrative that seeks to present the story of the health status of the indigenous communities. The narrative achieves this through the focus on a single individual indigenous Australian, Andrew Smith (not his real name) who will be hereafter referred to as Mr. A, whose life and health manifest a neglected community where health-seeking behavior, as well as health literacy, are at their worst. The story depicts the picture of a family man who was just seven years ago very active and a sole bread winner to his family of one wife and five children. I first met Mr. A when working with a volunteer group in a remote village north of Alice Springs. The narrative herein has been compiled from an interview I had with the subject and a retired health-worker (Mrs. K) who have journeyed together with the subject for the better part of his health ordeal. For the sake of confidentiality and anonymity, the real name of all the people who are related to this case has not been disclose d. It is a story of how a brief and simple moment can lead to major life changes especially with low levels of health literacy. Biodata Name: (real name withheld) Mr. A Date of Birth: 1971 (present age 46 years) Place of Birth: a remote village 350 kilometre north of Alice Springs, Australia. Aboriginal decent. Family: Three brothers all living in the same community and married. Parents long dead. A wife and four children two daughters and two sons; oldest son 20 years and doing casual labour at the nearest town. Others aged 17, 12 and 9 and all in school. Mr. As Story The ease of access to Mr. A was due to the popularity of the subject in the village. Before the incident that changed his life and that of his entire family, Mr. A was working as a self-confirmed tour guide. In a community that is dependent largely on domestic and international tourism, Mr. A had already been too familiar with the surrounding and all the scenery that could attract people. He also was aware of the terrain and could advise tourists on the best way to follow depending on the weather and the destination. He was therefore always consulted and often carried along in the tourist's vans. He was popular for this, and he obtained almost all his livelihood from the tips given by the tourists for his guidance. From the same, he was able to educate his last three children as his eldest son was already away to the urban areas even before he was 15 years. The Incident While walking home one evening after being dropped by a tourists van, Mr. A stumbled and stepped on what appeared to him as a nail left on the ground by children playing on the path. Having no flashlight, however, he did not locate the nail and hence proceeded home. He noticed that the wound did not bleed as much but only felt numb for a few hours. The following day, Mr. A collected some herbs and using his experience treated the wound, and he reports that the wound felt okay for a few days, such that he resumed his tour guiding activities for almost two weeks. He, however, noticed that the numbness increased and he could not walk as much or even lift the leg at ease the leg was also inflamed. He was confined at home for a few days before Mrs. K, an old friend who had recently retired from community health service came visiting and advised him to urgently seek medical advice. On physical examination at the hospital, Mr. A was informed that his leg had been adversely infected from ins ide. The examination also involved a venom expert who associated the tingling and numbness to venomous bite which was not severe enough to cause permanent paralysis. This made Mr. A question the incidence which he had always related to a prick. The level of infection was so high that the leg was not functional and had to be amputated at just above the knee. His life was bound to change for good. He had an option to refuse the amputation and risk septicaemia which would have killed him. But thinking about his family, he opted for amputation, hoping that while still alive he would still be able to do something for the family. Life after the Incidence According to research most of the people in rural Australia have very low health literacy. This means that they do not see the need to seek healthcare services (Mcbain-Rigg Veitch, 2011); (Kelaher et al., 2014). In addition to this, there is also reduced accessibility to proper healthcare as the community sometimes is referred to as living in the fifth world. (Kruske, Belton, Wardaguga, Narjic, 2012);(Browne, Hayes, Gleeson, 2014) Mr. Ks life turned to the worst almost a month after the amputation. Psychologically, post amputation patient has a period of mental instability related to the loss. This is directly related to post-traumatic stress disorder, and with inadequate help, they can be disturbed for the rest of their lives (Durey, 2010); (Yehuda et al., 2015). With limited psychiatric follow-up, Mrs. K struggled with the patient until he was well. However, what could not return was his source of income and ability to walk. She assisted him to use crutches as prosthetic was dee med too costly and unavailable. Although Mr. A was able to move around and even started earning a few coins from a shoe repair stand he had constructed, his life was already changed. His wife and children were suffering and living a life that they were not used to. He had to get rid of most of his animals to take them to school and cover his medical bills as a result of the poverty levels in the area (Couzos Theile, 2007). The Impact of the Incidence All the domains of his own life were adversely affected by the incidence. These are himself, his family and the community. On himself, Mr. A was already partially disabled. He had lost a large part of his body and had a hard time accepting the life of an amputee. He was no longer able to move as he wished and did his most experienced and productive work. For sometimes, also he could not do even the personal care without assistance. The impact on the family was also quite significant. Mr. A was no longer able to feed himself and the family as he used to and had to learn new tricks to survive. His wife had to go out of her way to assist with selling artefacts and curios to tourists. The children did not enjoy bountifulness as they used to and had to sometimes go without proper meals and care. The school was no longer a norm as the parents sometimes lacked the necessary fees. The community also suffered the loss of one of the most respected tour guide who was completely aware of the environment and struggled to conserve the heritage. He was retired only for consultation at an early age and now required their assistance instead. Conclusion I met Mr. A through a friend who had previously visited the area as a tourist and had a first-hand experience with Mr. A as a tour guide. The narrative demonstrates the health disparity in a country that is strongly divided on social lines (Durey, 2010); (Wilson Cardwell, 2012). There are still people within the country who cannot access adequate health information, and hence they have a poor health seeking behaviour. Statistics have indicated that a total of 4 million people in the country have just the basic literacy levels in health (Kariminia, Butler, Levy, 2007); (Priest, Mackean , Davis, Briggs, Waters, 2012). The government is doing very little to change the situation and save for the concern by the international community, religious and non-governmental organizations; the situation could be worse. It bothers to think how people like Mr. A would view their condition compared to that of people in the rest of the country. References Browne, J., Hayes, R., Gleeson, D. (2014). Aboriginal health policy: Is nutrition the gap in Closing the Gap? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 38(4), 362369. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12223 Couzos, S., Theile, D. D. (2007). The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the right to health: Is Australia meeting its obligations to Aboriginal peoples? Medical Journal of Australia, 186(10), 522524. https://doi.org/10.1177/096701067700800312 Durey, A. (2010). Reducing racism in Aboriginal health care in Australia: Where does cultural education fit? 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