Providing Safe Health Care Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

Question: Discuss about theProviding Safe Health Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Answer: Introduction A good and safe health care is the right of every person, but the health care services are not enjoyed by all the people with so much ease. There are some obstructions and barriers that restrict some people from fully availing the health care services. There are various components that account for a culturally safe health care. In this essay, I am going to discuss various problems faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people and how better health care services can be provided to them. Barriers to health care access experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders There are certain factors that hinder the access to health care services (Chapman, Smith and Martin, 2014). I have mentioned some of them below: Language: According to the statistics provided by ABS, it is observed that in 2008 around 13% of the Aboriginal and Torres Islanders (in the age group 15 and above) speak languages other than English and about 15% of this group faced difficulty in communicating in English. So, the language sets a barrier in accessing quality health care services as a person from the aforementioned group is not able to discuss his health condition properly (ABS. Gov. au, 2016). Trust: This is another factor that causes people to avail the health care services. Data provided by ABS revealed that about 80% of adults have strong belief in their local doctors and hospitals (Abs.gov.au, 2016). Transport facilities: Around 71% adults live in the remote area where there is a lack of local transport facilities and they are not able to reach the health care providers when needed (Abs.gov.au, 2016). Telecommunication facilities: Majority of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders does not have internet access and this causes a problem in locating the health care providers in the vicinity (Nangala, 2008). Creating an Interpersonal Relationship I believe that the beliefs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people vary from the healthcare providers. Aboriginals focus on issuing respect and developing an interpersonal bonding between them and the healthcare provider. On the other hand, the healthcare providers are more interested in making the people comfortable to the physical environment changes. I think one should respect the culture and beliefs of others. Developing an interpersonal relationship is as important as making the patient comfortable with the system and physical environment changes. The patient should be treated with dignity, and there should not be any assault on an individuals identity. Every individual is different with a different perspective and the health care providers should respect that. They should be treated as they want themselves to be treated and not the way you want to treat them. As a health care provider, I think following the above-mentioned principles would help me treat my clients in a better way. They would be more comfortable in sharing every detail of their health conditions if they have a strong interpersonal relation with me (Hayman and Armstrong, 2014) Cultural Safety in Health Care Cultural safety is defined as an environment where an individual enjoys spiritual, social, emotional, and physical safety. An individuals identity is not challenged, assaulted, or denied in a culturally safe environment. Cultural safety is about sharing respect, knowledge, and learning together. The concept of cultural safety was started in 1980 in New Zealand to improve the quality of health care services provided to Maori people, who are the indigenous people of New Zealand. Now the concept of cultural safety is being introduced in the Australian nursing system also through educational institutions (McBain-Rigg and Veitch, 2011). People who feel culturally safe are more likely to avail health care services frequently, discuss their health concerns with ease. They tend to follow their health care providers routinely. As a result, cultural safety ensures increased patient outcomes (Willis, Smye and Rameka, 2006). I think the patients should not be asked to focus on any cultural dimension that does not belong to their own culture. Instead, we should be more flexible in our thinking and attitude towards different cultures. The people who do not possess a good command over the same language that we speak should be treated with patience. We should try to understand their concerns. Some of the key points to create a culturally safe environment are that one should reflect ones own culture, beliefs about others and attitude. I think establishing trust with the patient helps to achieve a more comfortable environment. One should recognize and avoid the stereotypical barriers that cause hindrance in providing quality hea lth care services (Sajiv, 2013). Improving Health Care Services I believe there is still a rift between the ideal health care quality and the actual health care that is being provided (Fredericks, 2006). There are certain factors that define ideal health care quality viz. safety, efficiency, equity, timeliness, patient-centeredness and effectiveness. Most important of these factors is equity, which aims at ensuring quality health care services for all regardless of their ethnicity, race or any other personal characteristic of the patient (Hayman, 2011). Other factors can be defined explained as: Safety: to treat the patient safely without causing any care related injuries. Timeliness: to reduce waiting time and delays for the person seeking care to provide quality services on time. This can avoid severe health conditions. Efficiency: to avoid any waste of resources such as the waste of equipment, energy, and supplies. Patient-centeredness: to provide care that respects the values, beliefs and preferences of the patient. Effectiveness: to provide health care services based on the scientific knowledge so that the patient could get most benefit from the health care services. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people have as much right over the quality health care services as any other citizen of our country. They should be treated equally in a culturally safe environment where they do not feel reluctant in sharing their health concerns. Their values and beliefs should be honored. Programs that include Aboriginal studies should be introduced in the education system at the base level so that health care providers can understand the culture and protocols of the Aboriginal people in depth (Molloy and Grootjans, 2014). Conclusion Every individual of our country demands an equal right to avail good health care facilities, but the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people are still not getting the quality care services. Unfortunately, the inborn racial attitude and colonial mentality towards the Aboriginal people of our country are taking some time to change. There are various barriers such as language, culture, lack of local transport system that restricts the Aboriginal people from availing the quality health care services. Health care providers are not fully aware of the protocols of the Aboriginal people and thus, I think education regarding the cultural safety is needed to be introduced at the root level in the education system. 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