Cardiovascular Disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

Question: Discuss about theCardiovascular Disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. Answer: Introduction The rate of cardiovascular diseases is higher among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than the rest of the non-indigenous communities across Australia. Nationally, cardiovascular diseases account for 30% of deaths. This is higher amongst the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are 3 times more likely to suffer from the diseases, 70% times more likely to die from a cardiovascular disease. This is why the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accounted for over 40% of the 43,603 cardiovascular-related deaths in 2013 (Donato Segal 2013). In order to address the worsening situation of cardiovascular diseases amongst the indigenous communities, the government has been forced to come up with viable policies and strategies. One such policy is the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 20132023 that is exclusively aimed at addressing health needs like cardiovascular diseases of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by partnering with the local organizations to deliver culturally-acceptable quality healthcare (Fredericks, Lee, Adams Mahoney 2015). One of the major causes of cardiovascular diseases amongst the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is smoking (Donato Segal 2013). The inhalation of tobacco cigarettes leads to cardiovascular diseases because it contains nicotine and tar which leads to the constriction of the coronary arteries and blood cells in the body. The poor health status of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is caused by a wide range of socio-cultural factors. Some of these include unhealthy lifestyle and low level of education. Unlike the rest of the empowered non-indigenous communities, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a low level of education. This puts them at a risk because they are ignorant of health issues and have limited chances of getting job opportunities to economically empower themselves. A poor person cannot afford quality healthcare no matter how urgently it may be needed (Fredericks, Lee, Adams Mahoney 2015). Besides, these indigenous persons lead unhealthy lifestyle characterized by poor eating habits, physical inactivity, and engagement in risky behaviours like smoking. References Donato, R. Segal, L., 2013. Does Australia have the appropriate health reform agenda to close the gap in Indigenous health?. Australian Health Review, 37(2), pp.232-238. Doolan, I., Najman, J., Henderson, S., Cherney, A., Plotnikova, M., Ward, J., Kemp, R., Dev, A. and Smirnov, A., 2015. A retrospective comparison study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander injecting drug users and their contact with youth detention and/or prison. Australian Indigenous Health Bulletin, 15(4). Fredericks, B.L., Lee, V., Adams, M.J. Mahoney, R., 2015. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health. Introduction to Public Health [3rd Ed.], pp.355-376.