Week 3: Raising Awareness and Knowledge of Cultural, Social and Historical Factors of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Communities Flashcards
What are some of the historical determinants of Aboriginal peoples’ wellbeing?
Historical determinants include events, memories, facts or stories which have shaped a person’s wellbeing
1967 referendum: ability to migrate
Enduring narrative of being referred to as fauna and flora
Social movements have been an important part of Aboriginal peoples’ lives
E.g. 1971 protests, Tent Embassy
AMS: non-Indigenous support, voluntary
Missions: strong narrative of growing up on missions
Stolen Generations:
Institutionalisation, based on skin colour
Many people currently emphasise having a ‘clean home’ and a reluctance to let ‘government people’ into the home due to memory or narratives
Racism:
Stereotyping –> not presenting to healthcare
Overlooked in healthcare
Role of churches:
Predominantly negative, however some positive stories
Depends on the person
Have to listen to their individual narrative
Bringing the Home Report
What are some of the cross-cultural differences which impact on Aboriginal peoples’ wellbeing?
Connection to Country:
Return to Country for health, healing, birth and death
Country is a living thing, you pass through, not over
Belonging to Country, it owns you
Spiritual world, need to be welcomed
‘Sick’ Country: place of massacres, death and institutionalisation
Language
Identity
Family: big, extended families
Image and name: capturing someone’s spirit
Time: where Western is very linear with a past, present and future, Indigenous Australian is non-linear ‘everywhen’
What are National Community Controlled Health Organisations?
Living embodiment of the aspirations of Aboriginal communities and their struggle for self-determination
How do Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services impact on Aboriginal peoples’ wellbeing?
Primary health care first level of contact for individuals, families and community
Usually provided by ACCHS or satellite clinics run by it
Services: clinical, support, special programs, advocacy and policy development
Initiated and operated by local Aboriginal community
Controlled by locally elected Board of Management
Can be large or small
Autonomous and independent
How are Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services different from mainstream healthcare?
Self-determination
Non-hierarchical, no experts
Roles interchangeable: everybody does cleaning, cooking front desk
Difficulty for non-Aboriginal services to communicate with ACCHSs, can be labelled as inefficient, incompetent or poor communicators
How do historical determinants affect Aboriginal peoples’ wellbeing?
Ill health is historical in origin and character
Living memory: introduced diseases, colonisation, genocide
Illness becomes embedded and generates policy/law
How do the Stolen Generations affect Aboriginal peoples’ wellbeing?
Still within living memory, everybody affected by Stolen Generations
Loss of care
Family separation –> loss of parenting skills, loss of heritage and narrative
Loss of identity
Intergenerational trauma
Loss of community
Wordlessness: no words to talk about it, nothing is said
Sorry: not commonplace, layers of meaning have a cultural impact
How do historical factors cause trauma?
Social and emotional trauma becomes physical trauma
The body keeps score
Interpersonal sensitivity/wounds
Once off or progressive trauma makes you more sensitive in that spot
Manifestations: anger, aggression, self harm, depression, anxiety
Affects attachment and loss: difficulty attaching, loss of parenting skills, relationships
‘Dysregulated arousal’: impulsive, less able to manage emotions, more easily overwhelmed, not able to connect easily
Healthcare fails to recognise historical trauma
Healthcare narratives
Strengths based model and recognising trauma
