Indigenous Health Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative

Question: Discuss about theIndigenous Health for Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative. Answer: Population Profile Introduction Health communication is defined as the mass or interpersonal communication activities that aim at ensuring improved health of individuals. Effective and respectful health care and way of life is a desire of every individual. Engaging in respectful and effective communication is vital in the process of delivering health services to the indigenous communities. This paper presents a key analysis of Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative and the health services it provides to the aboriginal communities within the region in regard to effective health care service delivery. The paper articulates the services or the organization concerning the wellbeing and the welfare of the community and with focus on the indigenous health care and professional development. Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative (BADAC) is an Aboriginal community controlled organization found in the Ballarat district area, in the Gold field and the Central Highlands regions of Victoria in Australia on the latitudes 14352'1"E and the longitude 3733'49"S. The organization is strategically located in the highlands of Central Victoria approximately 110km to the northwest of Melbourne City. Ballarat district is one of the largest Australian inland cities with a population of over 95, 000 in 2016 and an annual population increase of 1.48%. The demographics also show that out of the 100, 237 individuals, 77% are considered to be aboriginal that also increase by 7.4 % every year majorly by birth. The local traditional custodians of the Ballarat district were the Wathaurung people who with time led to the formation of the Ballarat Aboriginal Co-operative organization (Hannessy, 2016). The organization served as an incorporated organization from 1979. It was established with a major aim of providing assistance to the Aboriginal people in the district of Ballarat. The organization is charged to deal with issues concerning welfare, housing, and health. From the time of its formation, it has grown considerably and currently delivers a range of services to the Aboriginal communities such as culture, education, social well-being, art, welfare, and health. The organization also offers a wide range of services as underpinned by the adoption of its social inclusion principles that incorporates cultural connection programs, vacation programs, administration, children support, and active lifestyle. With a client-centered approach, Ballarat focuses on the early prevention and intervention to ensure their aboriginal clients are personally engaging in the nurturing and development of their futures and well-being (BADAC, 2016). Indeginous Health Service Self-determination is the right of an individual to freely pursue or determine their political, social, economic, and cultural development status. According to Austin (2013), self-determination is a collective right and not an individual right. The claim by the self-determination on the indigenous people thus raises the questions of whether the indigenous groups have the right of breaking from the existing nation or whether they satisfy the definition of people. In Australia, the right of self-determination requires the recognition by the government of their cultural norms, social organizations, decision-making, and governance. Self-determination is hence essential as it gives the aboriginal communities the freedom of decision-making towards issues affecting them such as their health services. Additionally, self-determination also gives the indigenous communities a general understanding of the essential principles of self-determination that can affect the communities and their healthcare. The understanding of the self-determination principles, the aboriginal communities get the power to competently accept or make decisions concerning their health conditions so as to promote healthcare services that promote their health and well-being. In their study, Wilmott and Knox (2012) point out that self-determination enables things to happen in an individuals life without letting others work out things for them. The professionals and the aboriginal communities who are aware of what they want hence have the opportunity of setting out goals and work towards reaching the goals. The can advocate on their health issues and make decisions towards solving the challenges they face as aboriginal communities in Australia. In their study on the overview of the indigenous health services, Halloy (2016) denotes that the vision of Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative is to ensure the achievement of self-determination for the aboriginal communities living in the area. The vision is aimed at enabling stronger families with equal opportunities for housing, health, education, justice, and employment through a culturally holistic and relevant approach. The organization has thus adopted different social inclusion challenges and problems of the indigenous communities as its major principles of underpinning its service delivery, strategic vision, as well as program development activities leading towards the self-determination of the communities. These guiding principles were hence developed by the key stakeholders of the organizations such as elders, staff, external agencies, management, and the BADAC aboriginal community as a whole (BADAC, 2016). Summary of the Range of Programs and Services for the Local Community According to Wilmot and Knox (2012), without adequate housing, the general emotional well-being and health are at higher risk. As a result, other social issues such as relationships become very difficult to manage. Such challenges also make it difficult for other people to make the most out of employment opportunities and education that can benefit them and their families. Ballarat hence supports home ownership as it is a concrete start in raising the living standard and quality of life to the aboriginal population. The members are thus given financial opportunities for securing the ownership of their rental property. The organization thus aims at assisting the community who face hardship as a result of emergencies and crisis that end up making others temporary homeless. Ballarat has increased the development of other mainstream health services. These include Yanikan-Merritt Center for vocational programs, Cultural Education Centers for cultural connections, Koori Family Services Cen tre for mental health services, and Martin St for children support among other services within the district. Ballarat also carries out strategic communication framework as an essential driving force towards the social and economic well-being of the indigenous communities hence promoting a healthy lifestyle within the people. Strategic Health Communication Framework Health literacy has been global, nationally, and locally recognized as an essential factor influencing the safety and quality of healthcare provision among the indigenous communities. Durey et al. (2016) point out that effective and respectful communication is an essential factor in the process of understanding the illiteracy and health requirement among the communities. However, there is a considerable concern on how different individuals conceptualize the need for effective communication in healthcare provision among such communities. Linguistic and cultural diversity causes further complexity and thus requires a high degree of health care frameworks. Given the diverse indigenous population, language and culture are crucial components of responsive and effective healthcare provision. They influence not only the consumption level but also accommodate the needs of the healthcare service consumers. It is for this reason that cultural competency, communication competence, and cultural competence requires being systematically addressed at the international, national, and community level to ensure healthcare that can respond to the diverse needs of the indigenous communities. In their study, Thanmpson et al. (2015) point out that the competencies and frameworks cannot be met effectively without proper communication with the indigenous communities. Therefore, effectiveness in communication is vital as it contributes to the health and wellbeing of the Aboriginal communities in the various ways as denoted by Minichiello et al. (2016). It helps in understanding the relationship between cultural security, cultural competency, health literacy , and health communication as well as analysis of the implications of linguistic and cultural diversity for addressing the health care challenges affecting indigenous communities. Strategic health communication among the aboriginal communities is essential in adopting universal precaution approaches that can effectively meet their diverse health needs of the rather than focusing on the limitations of the communities towards better healthcare provision. It is thus vital in measuring the health literacy encompassing the literacy in indigenous health service provision and a healthy environment. Professional Development Professional development is essential in the attempt of increasing the cultural safety skills appropriate for caring for the indigenous people. According to Thampson et al. (2015), Professional development is essential for the integration of communication, health literacy, and cultural competence. This is essential in reflecting the extension of interrelation so as to enable appropriate actions in all the levels of healthcare among the aboriginal communities. In the process, having a clear and relevant understanding of the information relevant to the specific indigenous communities is also very essential for professional development. It gives a nursing professional the opportunity to understand the relationship between the cultural healthcare competencies, literacy, and strategic communication framework among the communities. McLennan and Khavarpour (2014) Point out that health is holistically viewed among the indigenous population and is inclusive of the cultural, social, emotional, and physical well-being of an individual. As a result, specific health issues as well as their contributing factors need to be assessed in the lives of the indigenous population as well as the resulting challenges as compared to the non-indigenous population. Nurses should hence create a supportive environment for healthcare delivery, strengthen aboriginal community action towards a healthy society, and develop effective personal and professional communication and healthcare delivery skills. Such strategies will help in supporting the building of a healthy public healthcare policy among the aboriginal communities. Conclusion There are many factors affecting the well-being of aboriginal communities in different parts of the world. Issues like poor housing, healthcare services, proper governance and justice, and self-determination are just a few of these factors that need to be addressed by different federal states and professionals. Responsible healthcare and the emotional well-being of the Aboriginal communities are some of the major issues affecting the aboriginal communities of Australia. For a nurse to effectively promote or contribute to professional development in the process of safe care delivery among indigenous communities, nurses can adopt different strategies geared towards achieving the goal. Health promotion among the indigenous communities requires a nurse to take into account the culture, socio-economic circumstances, population diversity, dialects and language, and geographic location among other factors. References AustinH.(2013).Community profile for the city of Ballarat. 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