Main description:

Indigenous Australians and Health assists the student reader, through simple and practical strategies, to appreciate and understand the importance of 'Getting it right', when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in urban and remote areas.

Key themes emerging from the text outline the fundamental and underlying components that continue to influence good health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It further seeks to provide an understanding of Indigenous Australian perspectives of their own health, and examines the historical connections between health and the impacts of colonisation, both past and present in Australia.

In covering the broad disparity between the wider Australian community and Indigenous Australians in health outcomes and life expectancy Indigenous Australians and Health promotes awareness of culturally-based issues which can impact on access and response to clinical health services.

Contents:

Foreword: Sally Goold PART 1: INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: HISTORY, CULTURE AND IDENTITY Chapter 1: Culture, identity and Indigenous Australian peoples Ron Hampton, Maree Toombs Race Culture, identity and indigenous people Contemporary issues for indigenous people Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the Australian identity Perceptions of Indigenous Australians' identity Aboriginal Australian cultures and history Indigenous communities today Chapter 2: Racism, colonisation/colonialism and impacts on Indigenous people Ron Hampton, Maree Toombs Racism Colonialism and colonisation The Australian experience Chapter 3: Contemporary Indigenous Australians Ron Hampton Contemporary Indigenous Australia Aboriginal political activism Federation and 'shared' history A cry for recognition Aboriginal Australia in the 1960s and beyond A period of change Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) The Redfern Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS) Tent Embassy Torres Strait Islanders PART 2: PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL-BEING AMONG INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES Chapter 4: Indigenous Australian concepts of health and well-being Ron Hampton, Maree Toombs, Michelle Crawford Social, emotional, spiritual health-a cultural and holistic approach Chapter 5: Indigenous access to health and health services Ron Hampton, Maree Toombs, Michelle Crawford Access to primary health care Access to health services in rural and remote communities Indigenous health services and practitioners Barriers for access to GP services and specialist care Impacts of social capital and social exclusion Chapter 6: Ethics and Indigenous health care: cultural competencies, protocols and integrity Andrew CrowdenOverview of ethical dimensions and health care Chapter 7: Communication for working with Indigenous Australians Ron Hampton Communication-an essential tool Consultation and communication Working within Indigenous communities PART 3: PRIMARY HEALTH CARE AND INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS Chapter 8: Case examples of primary health care Geoffrey Spurling, Noel Hayman, Michelle Crawford, Alicia Henman Metropolitan-the Inala experience Regional-Rural-the AMS experience Treating members of an Aboriginal family Chapter 9: Physical health among Indigenous Australians Ron HamptonTraditional medicine and healing Cultural beliefs around health Chapter 10: Nutrition and diet in Indigenous communities Alyce Wilson, Judith Myers, Marissa Arnot, Edna Sambo, Megan Ferguson, Julie Brimblecombe, Jennifer Browne, Sharon Thorpe, Steven Stevets Nutrition and diet Building on the evidence Chapter 11: Mental health among Indigenous Australians Ernest Hunter, Neeraj Gill, Maree Toombs Mental health practice in Indigenous contexts Mental disorders in Indigenous populations Cultural sensitivity and holistic framework in mental health services Mental illness and the Indigenous voice Chapter 12: Impacts of substance abuse, violence and self-harm in Indigenous communities Maree Toombs, Ron Hampton, Raelene Ward Intergenerational trauma Substance abuse Alcohol abuse Illicit drugs, solvents and prescription medicine Violence The NT Intervention-a different reality Chapter 13: Disability in Indigenous Australians Peter Baker Disability Chapter 14: Allied health and Indigenous Australians Ailsa Munns, Janine Wyatt, Darren Garvey, Anne-Marie Thomas, Faye McMillan Indigenous Allied Health Association Aboriginal peer-led home visiting-remote communities Oral health in Indigenous communities Indigenous Australians and psychology-a personal perspective Ocular health in Indigenous communities: Fred Hollows through our eyesPharmacy and Closing the Gap in Indigenous communities Chapter 15: Final word Ron Hampton, Maree Toombs Glossary Bibliography Index