scholarly journals The missing voices of Indigenous Australians in the social, cultural and historical experiences of tuberculosis: a systematic and integrative review

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. e001794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Devlin ◽  
David MacLaren ◽  
Peter D Massey ◽  
Richard Widders ◽  
Jenni A Judd
Keyword(s):  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Social Determinant ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
The Social ◽  
Biomedical Diagnosis

IntroductionDisparities in tuberculosis (TB) rates exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in many countries, including Australia. The social determinants of health are central to health inequities including disparities in TB rates. There are limitations in the dominant biomedical and epidemiological approaches to representing, understanding and addressing the unequal burden of TB for Indigenous peoples represented in the literature. This paper applies a social determinants of health approach and examines the structural, programmatic and historical causes of inequities for TB in Indigenous Australia.MethodsAboriginal Australians’ families in northern New South Wales who are affected by TB initiated this investigation. A systematic search of published literature was conducted using PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus and Informit ATSIhealth databases, the Australian Indigenous Health, InfoNet and Google. Ninety-five records published between 1885 and 2019 were categorised and graphed over time, inductively coded and thematically analysed.ResultsIndigenous Australians’ voices are scarce in the TB literature and absent in the development of TB policies and programmes. Epidemiological reports are descriptive and technical and avoid analysis of social processes involved in the perpetuation of TB. For Indigenous Australians, TB is more than a biomedical diagnosis and treatment; it is a consequence of European invasion and a contributor to dispossession and the ongoing fight for justice. The introduction and spread of TB has resulted in the stealing of lives, family, community and cultures for Indigenous Australians. Racist policies and practices predominate in the experiences of individuals and families as consequences of, and resulting in, ongoing structural and systematic exclusion.ConclusionDevelopment of TB policies and programmes requires reconfiguration. Space must be given for Indigenous Australians to lead, be partners and to have ownership of decisions about how to eliminate TB. Shared knowledge between Indigenous Australians, policy makers and service managers of the social practices and structures that generate TB disparity for Indigenous Australians is essential.A social determinant of health approach will shift the focus to the social structures that cause TB. Collaboration with Indigenous partners in research is critical, and use of methods that amplify Indigenous peoples' voices and reconfigure power relations in favour of Indigenous Australians in the process is required.

Culture, a Social Determinant of Health and Risk: Considerations for Health and Risk Messaging

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet Iwelunmor ◽  
Collins Airhihenbuwa
Keyword(s):  
Health Communication ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Social Determinant ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Cultural Frameworks ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Determinant Of Health ◽  
Improve Health

We provide an overview on the role of culture in addressing the social determinants of health and risk. The fact that everyone is influenced by a set of locally defined forms of behavior means that while not overtly expressed, culture’s effects can be ubiquitous, influencing everything including the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping health and risk messaging. While the dynamic nature of culture is underestimated and often not reflected in most research, efforts to close the gap on social determinants of health and risk will require greater clarity on what culture is and how it impacts culture-sensitive health communication. Thus, the paper begins by reviewing why culture is so vital and relevant to any attempts to improve health and reduce health inequalities. We discuss what is meant by the term “culture” through a narrative synthesis of historical and recent progress in definitions of culture. We conclude by describing three distinct cultural frameworks for health that illustrate how culture can be effectively used as a vehicle through which to address culturally sensitive health communication in local and global contexts. Overall, we believe that culture is indispensable and important for addressing inequalities and inequities in health as well as for facilitating culture-sensitive health communication strategies that will ultimately close the gap on the social determinants of health and risk.

scholarly journals Editorial: Indigenous Peoples and the Social Determinants of Health. Weaving Tradition and Innovation to Advance Health for All

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 843-853
Author(s):  
Lana Sue I Kaʻopua ◽  
Bruce D Friedman ◽  
Rohena Duncombe ◽  
Peter J Mataira ◽  
Paul Bywaters
Keyword(s):  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals Melioidosis–a disease of socioeconomic disadvantage

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. e0009544
Author(s):  
Josh Hanson ◽  
Simon Smith ◽  
James Stewart ◽  
Peter Horne ◽  
Nicole Ramsamy
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Socioeconomic Disadvantage ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged ◽  
Indigenous Status ◽  
Icu Admission ◽  
The Social

Background There is growing recognition of the contribution of the social determinants of health to the burden of many infectious diseases. However, the relationship between socioeconomic status and the incidence and outcome of melioidosis is incompletely defined. Methods All residents of Far North Queensland, tropical Australia with culture-proven melioidosis between January 1998 and December 2020 were eligible for the study. Their demographics, comorbidities and socioeconomic status were correlated with their clinical course. Socioeconomic status was determined using the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage score, a measure of socioeconomic disadvantage developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Socioeconomic disadvantage was defined as residence in a region with a SEIFA score in the lowest decile in Australia. Results 321 eligible individuals were diagnosed with melioidosis during the study period, 174 (54.2%) identified as Indigenous Australians; 223/321 (69.5%) were bacteraemic, 85/321 (26.5%) required Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission and 37/321 (11.5%) died. 156/321 (48.6%) were socioeconomically disadvantaged, compared with 56603/269002 (21.0%) of the local general population (p<0.001). Socioeconomically disadvantaged patients were younger, more likely to be female, Indigenous, diabetic or have renal disease. They were also more likely to die prior to hospital discharge (26/156 (16.7%) versus 11/165 (6.7%), p = 0.002) and to die at a younger age (median (IQR) age: 50 (38–68) versus 65 (59–81) years, p = 0.02). In multivariate analysis that included age, Indigenous status, the presence of bacteraemia, ICU admission and the year of hospitalisation, only socioeconomic disadvantage (odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval (CI)): 2.49 (1.16–5.35), p = 0.02) and ICU admission (OR (95% CI): 4.79 (2.33–9.86), p<0.001) were independently associated with death. Conclusion Melioidosis is disease of socioeconomic disadvantage. A more holistic approach to the delivery of healthcare which addresses the social determinants of health is necessary to reduce the burden of this life-threatening disease.

scholarly journals A Circumpolar Experience: How Social Determinants of Health, Climate Change, Grapes, and Medical Innovation are Related

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-71
Author(s):  
Candace Nayman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Medical Innovation

This report shares my experience on an Arctic expedition with the Students on Ice Foundation. Social Determinants of Health (SDHs), including climate change, are considerably worse in Indigenous populations than the rest of Canada, and they carry profoundly negative implications for Indigenous healthcare. Climate change has a more significant effect at the poles than anywhere else globally, thus compounding the effects of SDHs and worsening Indigenous health. There are innovative ways in which SDHs and the effects of climate change can be mitigated and ways in which Indigenous healthcare can be improved, particularly with programs such as Students on Ice.

scholarly journals What is a social determinant of health? Back to basics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Hahn
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Social Determinant ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Research Education ◽  
The Social

The objective of this essay is to clarify the understanding and use of Social Determinants of Health by exploring basic characteristics of ‘determinants’ and ‘fundamental causes,’ the ‘social,’ ‘structure,’ and ‘modifiability,’ and to consider theoretical and practical implications of this reconceptualization for public health.  The analysis distinguishes SDOH from other determinants of health. Social determinants of health are defined as mutable societal systems, their components, and the social resources and hazards for health that societal systems control and distribute, allocate and withhold, and that, in turn, cause health consequences, including changes in the demographic distributions and trends of health.  A systems conceptualization holds concepts such as “race” as the creations of social systems and as having negative consequences, such as racism, when part of a racist system, but potentially ameliorative consequences when part of an anti-racist system. The integration of SDOH into public health theory and practice may substantially expand the benefits of public health, but will require new theorizing, intervention research, education, collaboration, policy, and practice.

Addressing the Social Determinants of Health

2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saty Satya-Murti ◽  
Jennifer Gutierrez
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Social Activism ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
Community Center ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
The Social

The Los Angeles Plaza Community Center (PCC), an early twentieth-century Los Angeles community center and clinic, published El Mexicano, a quarterly newsletter, from 1913 to 1925. The newsletter’s reports reveal how the PCC combined walk-in medical visits with broader efforts to address the overall wellness of its attendees. Available records, some with occasional clinical details, reveal the general spectrum of illnesses treated over a twelve-year span. Placed in today’s context, the medical care given at this center was simple and minimal. The social support it provided, however, was multifaceted. The center’s caring extended beyond providing medical attention to helping with education, nutrition, employment, transportation, and moral support. Thus, the social determinants of health (SDH), a prominent concern of present-day public health, was a concept already realized and practiced by these early twentieth-century Los Angeles Plaza community leaders. Such practices, although not yet nominally identified as SDH, had their beginnings in the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century social activism movement aiming to mitigate the social ills and inequities of emerging industrial nations. The PCC was one of the pioneers in this effort. Its concerns and successes in this area were sophisticated enough to be comparable to our current intentions and aspirations.

Health Disparities and the Social Determinants of Health: Ethical and Social Justice Issues

2019 ◽  
pp. 265-276
Author(s):  
Sridhar Venkatapuram
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Global Justice ◽  
Social Epidemiology ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Housing Conditions ◽  
Early Infant ◽  
The Social

The term health disparities (also called health inequalities) refers to the differences in health outcomes and related events across individuals and social groups. Social determinants of health, meanwhile, refers to certain types of causes of ill health in individuals, including lack of early infant care and stimulation, lack of safe and secure employment, poor housing conditions, discrimination, lack of self-respect, poor personal relationships, low community cohesion, and income inequality. These social determinants stand in contrast to others, such as individual biology, behaviors, and proximate exposures to harmful agents. This chapter presents some of the revolutionary findings of social epidemiology and the science of social determinants of health, and shows how health disparities and social determinants raise profound questions in public health ethics and social/global justice philosophy.

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