In June 2013 the National Aboriginal Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) released a blueprint on Aboriginal male health, called “Male Healthy Futures for Generational Change”. The blueprint outlines 10 key goals which must be addressed in order to close the gap between male Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal health.
The figures
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates Aboriginal men on average live to 67.2 years, 11.5 years less than non-Aboriginal Australian males. The large gap in mortality rates of Aboriginal Australian and non-Aboriginal Australian males is far greater than the gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian females.
The blueprint
NACCHO lists “community controlled comprehensive, primary male healthcare services that are culturally appropriate, innovative, affordable and accessible in remote areas” as services that need to be available to ensure the health system is accessible to Aboriginal males.
The response
Timothy Moore, manager of policy at the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) says everything needs to be done to ensure innovative health programs, as advocated for by NACCHO, are implemented.
Mr Moore says Aboriginal people face many barriers in the current health care system.
“There is an experience and an expectation of racism and discrimination. 90 percent of Aboriginal people experience racism and discrimination on a regular basis, with 82 percent having experienced racism six or more times in the last 12 months,” he says.
Mr Moore says Aboriginal men experience a range of different pressures and that low school retention rates, high employment, high smoking rates and a vast range of environmental pressures contribute to poor mental and physical health among Aboriginal males.
Mr Moore stresses there can be no simplistic approach in addressing these issues.
“I think that we are obliged to seek to see and to do what we can,” he says.
Australian Medical Association president, Dr Steve Hambleton, says the NACCHO blueprint contains important initiatives that must be addressed to decrease the health gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal males.
“There is a huge cultural divide, and the system is not providing support in a meaningful way,” he says.
Dr Hambleton says it is essential for organizations to partner with Aboriginal groups to ensure the myriad of health issues present in Aboriginal communities are addressed immediately.
“The biggest barrier is trying to narrow the range of problems and develop answers and measure. Poor health is wrapped up in poverty, poor housing, lack of education. It is about providing a connection and building self-esteem”.
Dr Hambleton says the AMA and NACCHO work closely together and these partnerships must exist to ensure Aboriginal health equality is addressed.
