Effects of Australian Culture on Health

Effects of Australian Culture on Health

Introduction

Australia is a multi-cultural country that is a mixture of several western-influenced cultures from around the world. This culture and other social structures of Australia including race, religion, traditions of Aborigines, language, ethnicity, education and economic statuses of the people influence their health and well-being, as well. In the health sector, there are commonly used four words with which it is intended frame the health action. These are: Fairness, Effectiveness, Efficiency and Efficiency (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2010a). When services are conducted fairly, that is to give more to the ones in need, requires to ensure accessibility, effectively, that is with methodologies and technologies suitable and effective; i.e. reaching adequate coverage and impact, and efficiency, that is commensurate with performance and cost. There are certain considerations in multiculturalism that tend to create an impact on the health services delivered across Australia.

Australian Aboriginal culture dating from before colonization is present in the oral traditions and the folklore of their descendants; however, more specific details in the Western sense are not accessible. Discrimination and social exclusion violates one of the fundamental principles of human rights, that results in poor helath for the entire society just due to racial dissimilarities. Cultural continuity of 53 000 years (or more) human habitation of the continent cannot be assumed. Culture of Australian Aborigines is modern rich and diverse, although severely altered by European settlement (Adams, 1995). Facing the challenge of providing health services to a multicultural population is now a major movement that is affecting health care in developed countries, primarily in Australia, but also in European countries and the United States. The concerns of racism, ethnicity, religious schools of thought and the aboriginal people' access to health services have long been the central debates in formulating and executing policies for the Australian people.

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Origin of Multi-culturalism in Australia

Australia recognizes its multiculturalism since 1788, when Europeans settled permanently in Africa. Even before that, the cultural coexistence in Australia and was complex, with the diversity of customs among indigenous peoples of the interior and Torres Strait, between Queensland and the southern island of New Guinea (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2010a). By the 19th century, most immigrants in Australia came from the British Isles, although this did not exclude others from very diverse backgrounds. The Gold Rush in 1850 intensified this process with people from around the world who come to stay. Only since the end of the Second World War, 5.6 million immigrants from 150 countries (25 percent of the population) have made Australia their home. Australians have many cultures, and that is what makes it interesting:

Aboriginal culture, and ancestral millennium, when the Australians are very interested now,

The Anglo-Saxon culture: it should still remember that they are English based, and it feels,

Aussie culture, truly Australian culture, and small features that are found nowhere else (Battaglini & Gravel, 2000).

Culture and Society

“Indigenous peoples remain marginalized in society: they are poorer, less ...