The lack of inclusion of aboriginal representation at the policy making level is also regarded as an insurmountable barrier to formulating adequate health policies as regards the indigenous population of Australia. (Matthew, Pulver, & Ring 2008)
In Australia alone, a proliferation of data illustrates the extent to which our half million Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live in disadvantaged social conditions relative to other Australians. The level of disadvantage has left Indigenous Australians with a 17-year disparity in life expectancy, and a mortality rate 4.6 times higher than the overall population. (McMurray 2008: 166)
Public health policy, its creation and implementation, has various stages through which it must progress. These stages are often defined more by expediency than efficacy and can be either costly failures or valuable successes. Take for instance the policy initiative Building a Healthy, Active Australia. It begun in 2004 when an obesity taskforce run by several health ministers was at a standstill and shortly thereafter the then Prime Minister's office took the problem under wing and began to announce some initiatives that were unfocused and targeting a list of fast and junk food purveyors. These same companies were also large contributors to not only political parties but many events such as the Olympics. These initiatives were quickly repackaged and became the Building a Healthy, Active Australia policy. (Bazzano, He, and Ogden 2002)
The Building a Healthy Active Australia policy has produced several campaigns addressing health, physical activity and nutrition on many levels. These include: Get set 4 Life - Habits for Healthy Kids, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden National Program, Healthy Spaces and Places, Community and Schools Grants Program. Healthy Active Ambassadors. Healthy Weight Information and Resources and Go for 2&5 it was designed as a social marketing strategy campaign that had run for several years and is still in the process of winding down. It targeted children, as well as parents, to help promote healthy choices in food intake. ("Go for 2&5" 2009) However, the population of the Australian aboriginal was left largely ignored by this policy. Their exclusion was largely due to the fact that they were not included in any level or aspect of this policy and others like it.
Another alternative to help with cultural adaptation is to include more branches of research other than sociology. In fact this is currently being reviewed. "In Australia, an extensive academic literature has recently returned to the theme of exploring the relationship between applied anthropology and policy formulation." (Finlayson 2001: 20) the Aboriginal population would certainly benefit from this inclusion. In fact the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition Strategy and Action Plan (NATSINSAP) was intended to play a major role in co-ordinating the implementation of the national nutrition strategy, 'Eat Well Australia: a national framework for action...
Aboriginal & Torres Strait islander people The Torres bears the name of Spanish explorer Lis Vaez de Torres, who toured via the sea in the year 1606. The Torres Strait Island culture has an exceptional identity connected to the territorial claim. Some of the history and journals from the late 18th century have offered substantial knowledge concerning the Torres Strait Islander culture and community (Shnukal, 2001). Most of the information points
Secret River The two part series The Secret River, is based on Kate Grenvilles book of the same name. The series is about the colonisation of Australia through the story of Will and Sal Thornhill, who 'takes up land' on the Hawkesbury River. Will is a convict, his character may be seen as akin to many poor Dickensian characters. Once freed in Australia he has an opportunity to start a new
Aboriginal Elder Abuse Elder abuse is a catch-all phrase that refers to a variety of ways by which caregivers and other people in power-positions relative to the elderly can mistreat them. Elder abuse includes, but is not limited to: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, spiritual abuse financial abuse, abandonment and neglect. Elders refer to seniors, though the definition of senior can be fluid. In the general populations, seniors are generally
Colonization Features of colonization The present day global stratification is a result of the colonization and conquest by European nations of the indigenous nations most of which were in Africa. Direct colonization largely ended but the ideology that came with colonization still lingers on in people's identity within their cultural spheres as well as their political, social and economic practices. Colonization began with entry of the colonizers forcefully into the indigenous nations.
From around 1910 to 1971, members of the Stolen Generation became the casualties of one of the most egregious protection policies. After policies of segregation had failed to exterminate the Indigenous peoples in their manufactured ghettos, government officials attempted to assimilate Indigenous children into white society through instituting them in white facilities such as orphanages. Around 100,000, native Australians were taken from their families by government welfare officers in order
Part 1: Presentation The Defying Empire exhibition showcases the works of tens of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from all over Australia (National Gallery of Australia [NGA], 2017). Held to commemorate the 1967 referendum that allowed indigenous people to be included in the national census, the exhibition is aimed at celebrating the cultural identity and historical tribulations of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous communities in Australia have
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