Australia was colonised by Great Britain in the late 18th Century.

From the

outset, the impact on Aboriginal peoples was detrimental on many levels. As has been

well documented, this impact has taken many forms, from semi-official extermination

(Jacobs, 2020; Lakehead University 2020) through to social engineering policies of less

obvious brutality. Colonial policies such as the Assimilation Policy (1897-1965) were

underpinned by the “principle of isolation on reserves, and total exclusion of whites”

(Australian Human Rights Commission, 1997, para. 8). Hence, history and culture have

always had an impact on the lives of Aboriginal people of Australia. When white people

first came to Australia, Aboriginal peoples have been uprooted, the victims of genocidal

laws and practises, had their families dismantled by the forceful removal of children, and

still struggle to survive in a society that consistently undervalues their culture and

people. Such events have a significant impact on people's physical and mental health

as well as their social and emotional wellness as individuals, families, and communities

(Klenowski, 2020). These experiences have been met with resistance, and both the

histories of resilience and resistance are present in modern Aboriginal culture and

identity. It's crucial to keep in mind that there are several forms of Aboriginal culture and

people; none are homogeneous (Queen’s University,2019). Recognize that portrayals of

Aboriginal peoples in settler cultures like Australia can be linked to colonial notions of

Western superiority and indigenous inferiority. Internalize these linkages in return, which

are then strengthened by health services, institutions, and systems, as well as through

instruction and training (National Indigenous Australians Agency, 2020).

In terms of education, housing, work, mental health, family violence, children in

foster care, youth detention, imprisonment, deaths in custody, and health, there is a
huge chasm between Australians of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal descent.

Furthermore, it is necessary to acknowledge that no issue occurs in a vacuum in order

to comprehend the health catastrophe that the Aboriginal population is currently

experiencing (Best, 2018). The problems are tightly entwined and have reverberating

effects. Racism, forced assimilation, forced removal of children, colonisation, and

dispossession left behind a trauma that is too deep and rooted to be contained within a

single generation. The study of Chen (2019) states that racism is inherited and builds up

through time, and even though it may not always seem to be overt, it still exists today.

Moreover, according to the new National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health

Plan 2021–2031, which establishes the policy direction for Aboriginal health and

wellbeing, acknowledges the significance of culture. The execution of each priority area

will require a comprehensive strategy that takes into account cultural variables across

the life span, according to the plan. For instance, it states that in order to maintain the

health and wellness of Indigenous Australians, modern housing must incorporate

culturally-responsive design, taking into account close relationships, families, and

communal living arrangements (Department of Health 2021).

Regardless of the improvement and advocacies of the government in uplifting the

status of the Aborigines people there are still issues faced by these Aborigines for

instance: the investigative journalism programme concentrated on a remote region of

north-western Queensland and the rheumatic heart disease mortality of several Native

people (RHD). Less than a year ago, Ms. Speed, an Aboriginal cultural consultant,

wrote an editorial on this condition that was included in the Australian Journal of

General Practice (AJGP). The ABC broadcast included the terrible account of 18-year-
old Betty Booth, who was diagnosed with RHD. RHD is currently incredibly uncommon

among white Australians and is wholly preventable.

One of the Cultural Safety concepts that may have been applied to enhance

Betty Booth's health results is engagement and discourse. This should centre on Betty

Booth's care, where it should have been clarified what the patient (or relative) wanted

and how it should be delivered. The medical staff need to have made an early

commitment and paid attention to Betty Booth's concerns. Let them finish. Also, they

ought to elicit the patient's perspective, which entails asking the patient what they see

the issue to be and/or what they believe the feasible fix to be. Compassion is a key

component of empathy It's critical to consider the patient's psychological feelings.

Furthermore, they ought to have exhibited the kindness and care that would eventually

lead to better health results. In order to accommodate varying cultural values, the

healthcare practitioners should have formed a shared concept of therapy. This leads to

another principle which is cultural competency. According to Australia’s National

Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (2018), addressing cultural competency to

health outcomes goes beyond just relating it to culture. Medical professionals don't

concentrate on how Aboriginal culture relates to the problems that they are facing like

the incident that happened. After the death of Betty Booth, a grieving and angry

community protested at the hospital. Queensland Health launched a review which found

clinical risk and poor clinical governance, low expectations for Aboriginal patient’s

health, and an unwelcoming hospital environment where staff had “limited

understanding of Rheumatic Heart Disease”. According to Australian Institute of Health

and Welfare (2022) there is the viewpoint that claims professionals should have figured

out how to properly set up the system, not Aboriginal people, who are the issue.

The incident corresponds with many Aborigine people also discharge themselves

against medical advice, which I think is a sign of being unhappy with how they are

treated, and not having access to their families The documentary shows how Betty

Booth still missed the mark despite a paediatric cardiologist's unequivocal identification

of her condition. Another important factor is expanding the scope of clinical

considerations and enhancing cultural competence in primary care and the larger health

system (Wilks et. al, 2020). Nonetheless, Betty Booth belongs to a Aboriginal

community who always experience significant socio-economic disadvantage, which is

strongly related to poor health outcomes. This projects a concept of knowing a lot of

emphasis in the past and being reflective, but most people pay less attention to what

culture is and what its biases are.

REFERENCES:

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare . (2022). Cultural safety in health care

for Indigenous Australians: monitoring framework, AIHW, Australian

Government, accessed 24 February 2023.

Australian human Rights Commission, (1997).

Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety. (2018).

Culturally

and Linguistically Diverse Projects with Action Research initiative: Cultural

Safety Principles and Guidelines. Sydney: ANROWS.

 Best, O. (2018). The cultural safety journey: An Aboriginal Australian nursing and

midwifery context. In O. Best & B. Fredericks (Eds.), Yatdjuligin: Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander Nursing and Midwifery Care (pp. 46-66).

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

doi:10.1017/9781108123754.005

Chen, J. (2019). Intersectionality Matters: Guide to engaging immigrant and

refugee communities to prevent violence against women. Melbourne:

Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health.

Department of Health (2021) National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Health

Plan 2021–2031- external site opens in new window, Department of

Health, Australian Government, accessed 24 February 2023.

Jacobs, D. T. (2020). The Red Road (Čhaŋkú Lúta): Linking Diversity and

Inclusion

Initiatives to Indigenous Worldview. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.

Lakehead University (2020). Indigenous Terminology. Available at:

https://teachingcommons.lakeheadu.ca/indigenous-terminology.

Klenowski, V., Tobias, S., Funnell, B., Vance, F., and Kaesehagan, C. (2020).

Culture-fair Assessment: Challenging Indigenous Students through

Effortful

Mathematical Teaching. Paper presented at the Australian Association of

Research in Education, Melbourne, Australia, Available at:

https://www.aare.edu.au/publications/aare-conference-papers/show/6055/
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MacLean S, Ritte R, Thorpe A, Ewen S, Arabena K (2018). Health and wellbeing

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https://www.queensu.ca/indigenous/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.oiiwww/

files/files/QU-Indigenous-Terminology-Guide.pdf

Wilks, J., Dwyer, A., Wooltorton, S., and Guenther, J. (2020). We Got a Different

Way of Learning:’ A Message to the Sector from Aboriginal Students

Living and Studying in Remote Communities. Aust. Universities’ Rev. 62

(2), 25–38. Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1267569.pdf.