Primary Health Care

Introduction to Social Determinants of Health

The social health determinants are referred to the factors influencing the health of an individual based on the conditions into which they are born such as culture, place of birth, employment status, environmental exposure, and others. This essay will look into the impact of these factors based on ten categories of social determinants of health assessment circle to understand its impact on the Gadigal community of Sydney in Australia (Clendon & Munns, 2018).

The Gadigal community are the clan of the “EORA NATION” and the name “Eora people” was given to the coastal aboriginal people in around Sydney (Australian Government, n.d.). They were discovered by Britishers, upon the arrival of their first fleet in 1788, around the bay of Port Jackson. It had been assessed that half of the Sydney’s Aboriginal population perished due to the epidemic caused by the smallpox in 1789, This caused decline in the Gadigal community population from 60 in 1788 to only 3 in 1791 and the current Gadigal population is only about a 100(Barani, n.d.). This social collapse was led to grief and bewilderment in the Gadigal community. However, various researchers such as Attenbow (2010) and Hinkson & Harris (2010) postulated that the Gadigal survivors, suffered great alienation from other Aboriginal people and had to fight for resources of food as well as the land for the purpose of re-establishment and survival. Attenbrow’s anthropological survey also mentioned that the Gadigal aboriginal people continued to live in the various other parts of the Sydney such as in places like Mulgoa Valley, the Emu Plains, La Perouse, Salt Pan Creek, Plumpton, Manly as well as Campbelltown until mid-1800s and continued to follow their traditional life in a a dissociative manner from the other aboriginal communities and the non-aboriginal societies (Working with Aboriginal People and Communities, n.d.; Attenbrow, 2010 Brani, n.d).”

Social Determinants Impacting the Well-Being of The Gadigal Community

Physical environment: The land of the Gadigal community is surrounded by the sea, which makes it a good source of fish and plantation to meet the basic necessity of life which is food. However, due to competition for food in the presence of various other clans, results in lack of adequate nutrition in the community people (Vakilian, Abasi & Ebrahimi, 2019). It has been noted the primary reason which affects the well-being of this community is malnutrition (Miles & Francis, 2019). Furthermore, the main source of their food is uncooked or partially cooked meat which they gather utilizing hunting. This can cause severe health issues or diseases which are present in the meat and other reptiles (Brari, n.d.).
Social environment: There is no social development in the areas inhabited by the aboriginal population, and they have nearly no access of social institutions and education facilities or medical facilities which leads to complications in maintaining health and health promotion of the community (Bhui, Quantick, & Ross, 2019). Language is the also the main barrier which hinders the participation of the community members in social activities of the non-aboriginal community members, who extended their health through community development programs, therefore it is necessary that the healthcare disparity is addressed in the rural and remote areas and involve community developers and the healthcare professionals who exhibit the skills of cultural competency in indulging in health promotional activities in the community. The George Institute of Global Health is committed to close the gap between aboriginal and non-aboriginal population by addressing the gap (The George Institute, (n.d). They support the government’s community development activities in reaching out to the rural communities including the aboriginal community of Gadigal, providing for their healthcare needs.
Education: Lack of effective schooling institutions and reluctancy to education in the community has led to depression and have not demolished unhealthy religious and cultural practices, leading to stunted growth of the children of the community (Assari, 2017).
Employment Status: The lack of education in the community population has offered very little help to them in the employment sector. This is also the major concern which leads to the situation of poverty and inability to access sources such as medical health facilities for themselves.
Gender: Inequality in gender is an issue which impacts the health of the female, as they are the overworked and fatigued from doing the majority of the chores, including hunting and gathering of the food and meeting other needs of the family such as raising the children (Gumà, Solé-Auró & Arpino, 2019). These factors accelerate the ageing process of the females and decrease their longevity.

Conclusion on Social Determinants of Health

The community research highlighted the challenged faced by the Gadigal community due to the lack of resources, lack of education and poor economic status, gender inequality and improper social environment. The community of Gadigal being significantly reduced in number faces more challenges than the other communities who are co-inhabiting their land. Due to the high competition of the clans residing in the area of Sydney, there is the dearth of medical and other facilities, which directly impact the well-being of the community. The government must reduce the healthcare inequality in the indigenous population to restore their well-being and promote the health of the community. The healthcare disparity can be addressed in the rural and remote areas by involving community developers and the healthcare professionals who exhibit the skills of cultural competency in indulging in health promotional activities in the community.

References for Social Determinants of Health

Australian Government, (n.d.). Aboriginal Health Strategic plan 2018-2022. Retrieved from

https://www.slhd.nsw.gov.au/pdfs/AboriginalHealthStrategicPlan2018-2022.pdf

Assari, S. (2017). Social determinants of depression: the intersections of race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Brain Sciences, 7(12), 156.

Attenbrow, Val., (2010), Sydney’s Aboriginal Past: Investigating the Archaeological and Historical Records, 2nd ed, University of NSW Press, Sydney

Barani (n.d.). Aboriginal People and Place. Retrieved from https://www.sydneybarani.com.au/sites/aboriginal-people-and-place/#:~:text=It%20is%20estimated%20that%20almost,xx).

Bhui, K. S., Quantick, O., & Ross, D. (2019). The Mental Social Health Determinants of. Social Scaffolding: Applying the Lessons of Contemporary Social Science to Health and Healthcare, 43.

https://www.slhd.nsw.gov.au/pdfs/AboriginalHealthStrategicPlan2018-2022.pdf

Clendon, J., & Munns, A. (2018). Community Health and Wellness: Principles of primary health care. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Gumà, J., Solé-Auró, A., & Arpino, B. (2019). Examining social determinants of health: the role of education, household arrangements and country groups by gender. BMC public health, 19(1), 699.

The George Institute, (n.d). The George Institute for Global Health. Retrieved from https://www.georgeinstitute.org.au/news/closing-the-gap-on-healthcare-inequality

Hinkson, M., & Harris, A. (2010). Aboriginal Sydney: A guide to important plcaes of the past and present Second edition. Aboriginal Studies Press.

Miles, M., & Francis, K. (2019). The Australian and New Zealand health care systems. In Chronic care nursing: A framework for practice. (65-79). Cambridge University Press. London.

Vakilian, K., Abasi, F., & Ebrahimi, S. (2019). Relationship Between Some Social Determinants of Health and Physical, Psychological and Social Health of Women in 2015 in Arak. The Open Public Health Journal, 12(1).

Working with Aboriginal People and Communities, (n.d.). A Practice Resource. Retrieved from https://www.carersaustralia.com.au/storage/2011Working%20with%20Aboriginal%20People%20and%20Communities.pdf

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