Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health: Key Issues

Introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

The Torres Strait bears the name of Spanish explorer Luis Vaez de Torres, who navigated its waters in 1606. The Torres Strait Islander culture has an exceptional identity closely connected to territorial claims. Some of the histories and journals from the late eighteenth century have offered substantial knowledge about Torres Strait Islander culture and community (Shnukal, 2001). Most of this information points to the diversity of the Islander community, which arose from the varying conditions on each island. The primary economic activities of the Torres Strait were agriculture and fishing. The people established communal villages that revolved around hunting, fishing, gardening, and barter trading (Shnukal, 2001). Inter-trading activities involved food, weapons, and artifacts, revealing the intergroup relationships between peoples.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples compose the indigenous population of Australia. They represent a distinct indigenous category separate from one another, though both face similar health challenges across the country (Sargison, Marsh, and Craigie, 2005). These peoples suffer a disproportionate burden of illness and social disadvantage compared to the non-indigenous population — a pattern also seen among indigenous populations in other countries, though the situation in Australia is particularly severe. Life expectancy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is approximately 20 years less than that of non-indigenous Australians. Furthermore, the proportion of the population expected to survive to age 65 is very low compared with many developing countries.

Significant Historical Issues Affecting Indigenous Health

Understanding the health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples requires an appropriate knowledge of the historical background of their health issues. Documentation of Aboriginal health policy has occurred on numerous occasions, and research from Australia provides empirical evidence about the social and environmental determinants of health that substantially affect the indigenous population. Statistics indicate that the current state of Aboriginal health is worse than in earlier periods (Morgan and Morgan, 1997). The following sections outline the significant historical issues that have influenced the health and cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The immediate and surrounding environment had a significant influence on the pre-contact health of Aboriginal peoples. The existence of a complex social support network also shaped the population's health. Despite relatively limited ecological knowledge by Western standards, Aboriginal peoples were skilled at harvesting and hunting protein-rich, high-fiber, high-complex-carbohydrate, and low-fat "bush tucker" foods. These foods had a strongly positive impact on health. Owing to their semi-nomadic lifestyle, communities retained both their physical vitality and their close relationship with the land.

An active and well-established kinship system helped ensure psychological integrity and family support. Among communities sharing similar cultures, 40–60% of deaths occurred in children under five years of age, which translated to lower morbidity rates in adults. This pattern arose primarily from relative isolation from Western society and its associated diseases.

Impact of Colonization and Social Disruption

With the emergence of European colonization, dramatic changes to the environment occurred due to the displacement of Aboriginal land use by stock farming. Aboriginal peoples were pushed toward a sedentary lifestyle, settling on the outskirts of European townships in order to access goods distributed by the colonizers. Europeans also introduced harmful products, including infectious diseases such as smallpox, measles, whooping cough, influenza, typhoid, tuberculosis, leprosy, and sexually transmitted diseases. Because Aboriginal peoples had no prior immunity, these diseases had a devastating effect on communities.

Communities also experienced violent conflicts that resulted in the deaths of approximately 20,000 people in the southeastern states during the 1920s. The forced integration and child displacement policies of the Aboriginal Protection Council between 1909 and 1969 contributed significantly to the cultural and social degeneration of these communities (Morgan and Morgan, 1997). The loss of land and cultural heritage, combined with a forced reliance on social security systems ill-suited to indigenous ways of life, had deeply negative consequences for family structures and social cohesion.

Although efforts were made to address health issues by combining infectious disease control with nutritional and environmental programs — such as immunization, improved water supply, and housing — these measures reduced infant mortality and overall death rates in the general population but had little effect on the Aboriginal population.

Bibliography

Dunne, P. et al. (1994). Health services provision in rural and remote areas: A needs analysis. Medical Journal of Australia, pp. 161–162.

Morgan, D., Slade, M., & Morgan, C. (1997). Aboriginal philosophy and its impact on health care outcomes. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 21(6), pp. 597–601.

Sargison, H., Marsh, B., & Craigie, L. (2005). Good hearing, good talking, strong futures: Establishing a model of service delivery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Australian Communication Quarterly, 7(2), pp. 65–68.

Shnukal, A. (2001). Torres Strait Islanders. In M. Brandle (Ed.), Multicultural Queensland 2001: 100 years, 100 communities. A century of contributions. Brisbane: Department of Premier and Cabinet.