Class 6 - Health Inequities Flashcards
Complete data is difficult to come by
because some nations deny the existence of their Indigenous populations, or their Indigenous population is so small due to the devastating entry of diseases like, “smallpox, measles, and tuberculosis into” these groups
Colonization:
- Blocked access to or destroyed traditional farming, food-gathering, or hunting and fishing places
- Introduced harmful substances such as alcohol
- Marginalized Indigenous peoples politically and socioeconomically
- Forcefully moved Indigenous peoples from their land, away from society
- Introduced microorganisms to Indigenous populations had not been previously exposed and were susceptible
Health inequities as a result:
- High infant and young child mortality
- High maternal morbidity and mortality
- Greater risk of infectious disease burdens
- Malnutrition and stunted growth
- Obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and chronic renal disease
Colonization Outcomes
- Devastating exposure to smallpox, measles, and tuberculosis
- Dietary changes to foods that were nutritionally inferior
- Long-term social, psychological, and emotional damage
- Loss of traditional laws, languages, dress, religions, sacred ceremonies, rituals, healers, and health remedies
- Poverty, undereducation, unemployment, and exploitation
Health inequities as a result:
- Shortened life expectancy
- Social problems, diseases, and deaths associated with tobacco use and drinking
- Diseases caused by environmental contamination (i.e. heavy metals, industrial gases, and effluent wastes) and infectious diseases caused by faecal contamination
Health Inequities: Adolescents
- Little knowledge of determinants of health and disease risk
- Increasing use of harmful substances such as tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs
- High-risk sexual activities
- High-risk of unplanned, and “poorly supervised” (unsupported) pregnancies
- Violence and trauma in crowded communities and urban environments
- Increasing rate of obesity in increasingly urban populations
- High rate of mental and emotional disorders
Health Inequities: Children and Mothers
- Unfavourable perinatal and neonatal health care
- Improved clinical care to poorly served groups could save many lives - Lower immunization numbers due to availability and feasibility
- Prevalence of vaccine-preventable childhood viral infections - Greater rates of pre-mature birth, low birthweight, etc.
- Lack of collaboration between healthcare workers and traditional midwives
Health Inequities: Underlying Causes
Classic socioeconomic and connectivity deficits
- Social determinants
- Colonization and ensuing loss of balance between the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual self
- Loss of connection between family, land, food, and health
Cultural Prohibition
- Lack of opportunity for cultural expression
- Loss of traditional teachings and knowledge
Urbanisation & residential instability
- Land exploitation
- High mobility weakens social cohesion
- Instability positively correlates with single parent, low income families
Persistent Problems:
- Poor understanding of the complexities of Indigenous health by health professionals
- Widespread prejudice and racism within the healthcare system
- False expectations that medical strategies alone can overcome Indigenous health problems
- Government preoccupation with sickness services rather than wellness strategies
- Mishandling of “culturally sensitive” matters beyond protocol (failure to provide culturally safe care)
- Insufficient changes for Indigenous peoples to be trained in health services
- Inadequate systematic data to allow surveillance and improvement of Indigenous healthcare
- Government indifference, ignorance, neglect, and denial about the poor state of Indigenous health
Areas of Deterioration
- Erosion of the authority of Indigenous knowledge keepers
- Illnesses associated with overcrowding and environmental contamination in squatter settlements, urban slums, and disaster situations
- Rapid upsurge of lifestyle diseases
Obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. - Respiratory diseases associated with cigarette smoking
- Diseases and social problems associated with alcohol and other drugs
- Emotional, mental, and psychiatric illnesses
- Interpersonal and family violence, including child abuse, homicide, and suicide
- Sexually transmissible diseases, including HIV/AIDS
Areas with Improvement
- Suppression of some vaccine-preventable diseases
- Improved pregnancy outcomes, including birthweight
- Lower rates of some infections and related deaths
- Some reduced maternal, infant, and young child mortality
- Increased life expectancy in some populations
- Improved education in some Indigenous groups and their employment in health-related fields
- Introduction of Indigenous components to education and training in health professionals
- Training of Indigenous peoples for careers in healthcare
- Increased participation of Indigenous people and groups in policy-making
- Widening awareness of seriousness of health issues in Indigenous peoples
- Formal recognition of some national governments of Indigenous peoples’ rights
