Doctors Reform Society of Australia
			supporting health care reforms to ensure justice, equity and quality care for all
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by David Paul

Discussion about the on-going poor health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples in Australia needs to be better informed about both history, and the nature of health determining factors. Access is only one of many factors of importance in health seeking behaviour. This paper explores how the cultural appropriateness of health care services is a vital determinant of whether they are accessed or not. Contemporary attitudes, and their historical roots, are key issues which need to be addressed by health care providers and services. The onus is on health care providers to be informed and appropriate in all their interactions with health care consumers. The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody provides some useful suggestions for improving the quality of health care services for Indigenous Australians.

It has been repeatedly stated in the public arena that the health status of Indigenous Australians is much lower than that of the broader Australian community (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, 1979; Anderson, 1988; National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Party, 1989; Saggers and Gray, 1991a; The Social Justice Collective, 1991; Thompson, 1991; Australian Bureau of Statistics 1997). Recent reports indicate that whilst the health status of the Australian population as a whole has improved from 1988 to 1994, there has been no such change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 1996). This has resulted in a widening of the gap in health status between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

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			This page was last updated on 10th February, 2003.
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