Social Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Social Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health. Answer: Introduction The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the ethnic groups of Australia who have great attachment to their land, culture, spirituality and community. However, due to their scarred history troubled by loss of land, forced settlement in other areas and loss of family member, their emotional and social well-being has been seriously affected. Poverty, unemployment, health issues and racial discrimination has become common challenges in their life after leaving their ancestral homes and settling in new areas (Mitrou et al., 2014). Although the term social and emotional well-being is a multidimensional concept that often includes mental health, however the aboriginals prefer the term social and emotional well-being instead of mental health because of its more holistic connotation. The purpose of this report is to further explore the aboriginal perception of social and emotional well-being and mental health and find out why they give more preference to social and emotional well- being. It also gives an insight into the changes found in the Aboriginal Medical Services and its alignment with WHOs primary health care principles. In accordance with the aboriginals preference for social and emotional well-being, the services and performance of one Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service has been discussed too. Difference between aboriginal concept of social and emotional well-being and mental health As defined by WHO, mental health is a condition of social and emotional well-being where people have the capacity to cope with normal life stressors. Hence, mental health is associated with symptoms that arise due to complex interaction of biological, social, economic, environmental and psychosocial factor of an individual (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2017). It implies that social and emotional well-being is necessary to promote mental health in people. However, according to the aboriginal concept, they regard social and emotional well-being as a crucial factor to reduce stress and promote mental health. The aboriginals are closely attached to their land and culture. For them, social and well-being can be promoted by focusing on solving socioeconomic concerns in their life instead of focusing on mental health issues (Le Grande et al., 2017). This is particularly important because several social challenges in their life increase psychological distress for them. Some of the so cial issues that contribute to high stress for them include unresolved trauma, loss and grief, experiences of racism and discrimination, socioeconomic disadvantage and social exclusion (Markwick et al., 2014). Hence, implementing strategies to reduce social issues will play a role in better social and mental health outcome in the group. Great difference has been found in the perception of social and emotional well-being in Aboriginal people and the mental health concepts in the group. The non-indigenous group concept of mental health comes from illness perspective, where the focus is on addressing symptoms of mental illness and improving peoples level of functioning in the environment (UN Chronicle, 2017). This implies an individualistic concept where the focus is on improving the health of the individual alone. However, by reviewing the National Aboriginal Health Strategy, it can be said they have a broader concept of health where much emphasis is given on closeness to land and their culture to promote social and emotional well-being. Hence, according to WHO concept, social well being is a part of mental health, however according to indigenous context, mental health comes under the umbrella of social and emotional well-being. From this perception of indigenous people, it can be said that they have a holistic view o f health and well-being (Calma, Dudgeon, Bray, 2017). From the aboriginal perceptive, focusing on social and emotional well-being is considered effective because they have suffered a lost because of the negative colonial history and ongoing disadvantages such discrimination, grief, unemployment, adversity and health disparities. Hence, addressing social disadvantage in their life will help them to achieve the goal of social and emotional well being. Reducing the poor mental health outcome in indigenous people is a national priority and considering the aboriginal concept of social and emotional well being and mental health, many promising initiatives has been implemented to restore their well-being. The indigenous population is dispersed and social disadvantage acts as major barrier in access to health. High level of unmet need is the reason for high stress and poor quality of life in the group. Health care workers and social agencies are acknowledging the impact of social and cultural determinants on well-being of the group and taking the best world approach to eliminate disadvantage as well as improve mental health outcomes in the group (Calma, Dudgeon, Bray, 2017). Therefore, modifying the social factors that contributes to mental stress will be beneficial in achieving positive health outcome in indigenous people. Evolution of aboriginal medical service and alignment with primary care outlined by WHO: In 1971, first Aboriginal Medical Service was developed and it was the first Aboriginal community controlled health service (ACCHS) specifically for the Aboriginal community. The AMS was developed on a voluntary basis in Redfern, Sydney. Since them many health policies were implemented to help states and other agencies work together for optimal health of aboriginals. In 1973, after the instruction of Commonwealth Government, many states took the responsibility for managing indigenous affairs and implementing appropriate policies for them. An Aboriginal Health Branch was also established which first proposed a Ten Year Plan for Aboriginal Health (NACCHO, 2017).As experience of racial discrimination was found to be a major barrier in delivering quality care to aboriginals, the enactment of the Racial Discrimination Act in 1975 also supported AMS to make health care service available to the group. The utility of the Aboriginal Medical Service Redfern for indigenous people is that it has worked to provide accessible and primary health care to the group for more than 40 years. The primary service provided by AMS followed the WHO principles of primary health care. After the adoption of the Declaration of Alma-Ata, primary health care became the core policy for WHO. The focus was on strengthening the values of the primary health care service because it is first level of care in both middle and low countries (Marles, Frame Royce, 2012). The core principles of primary health care outlined by WHO included universal access to care, coverage on the basis of need, community participation in health agendas, commitment to health equity and social justice and inter-sectoral approaches to health (WHO, 2017).When the AMS Refern was established, the aboriginals relied on emergency department or local general practitioner for health care service. There was no Medicare at the time and the AMS acted as a source to eliminate barrier related to visiting health care service or purchasing medicines (Marles, Frame Royce, 2012). In this way, it served to fulfill the WHO principle of universal access to care. Within one year of the establishment of AMS Redfern, it became very popular and was much in demand. However, this resulted in funding challenges and federal governments arranged for funding to fulfill the demands of the target group. Currently, AMS for aboriginals have evolved and it is now a multidisciplinary health service with wide range of clinic and outreach service. In accordance with the aboriginal preference for addressing social and emotional issues in their life, community controlled model of health was adopted by all AMS and ACCHS in urban and rural Australia (Marles, Frame Royce, 2012). Its action of following the principle of holistic health care are in alignment with the WHO principle of primary health care. This can be said because holistic health care seeks to balance mind, body and spirit for well being of an individual. By such integrative approach, it can promote social justice and health equity in indigenous people. Secondly, holistic approach refers to social, e motional, and cultural well-being of the community by supporting people to achieve their full potential in the community (Hinton et al., 2015). Hence, use of holistic care approach by the AMS was beneficial in addressing all social issues in Aboriginals such as eliminating racial discrimination, poor access to health service and maintaining cultural continuity. To fulfill the health care needs of aboriginal and promote social and emotional well-being of the community, it is essential that health care staffs are prepared to understand the culture and adversities in their life. AMS recognized this important priority to educate health care professionals so that culturally sensitive care could be provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (Marles, Frame Royce, 2012). The advantage of providing culture awareness training was that increased access to health care, enhanced effectiveness of care and improved health care disparities too. Focus on cultural competency ensured that all primary care service had proper set of values, behaviors and attitudes to work cross-culturally with indigenous patients. Cultural competency contributed to flexibility in service and better participation of aboriginals in health care decisions (Clifford et al., 2015). This action of AMS also displays work in accordance with the WHO primary care principle of health equity. The strategy of cultural respect was a positive step towards health equity because cultural competence helped health care staffs to develop respect for the group and ensure equity in access to care. Achievement of cultural respect was a core strategy and this was done by AMS by action on advocacy, social determinant of health and increasing outreach and home visit (Freeman et al., 2014). Application of social and emotional well-being in an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS): The ACCHS are services committed to addressing the primary health care needs of aboriginals. There are more than 150 ACCHS in Australia and their main goal is to establish primary health care facilities for local aboriginal people. Danila Dilba Health Service is one of the examples of an ACCHS organization located in the Greater Darwin, Australia. The Danila Dilba Health Service is mainly committed to provide culturally appropriate primary health and community service to people living in Greater Darwin (Danila Dilba Health Service, 2017). Social and emotional well-being can be promoted in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by the focus on implementing socially and culturally responsive care and eliminating all social and emotional well-being concerns in their life (Couzos Thiele, 2016). The Danila Dilba Health Service has applied social and emotional well-being approach for indigenous group by reducing the sufferings of aboriginal with mental illness. This ACCHS implemente d a Dare to Dream programme which provided support and counseling to indigenous people with mental illness. The effectiveness of the programme was that it made people aware about early signs of behavioral and mental health issues. This empowered the community to take proactive step and prevent risk of mental issues in the group (Weightman, 2013). The focus on providing culturally appropriate care also ensured that young aboriginals received care and education in an appropriate manner. The core aim of any ACCHS is to deliver culturally competent care and meet the special needs of the indigenous people. The Danial Dilba ACCHS focused on promoting the specific need of identify risk behavior and mental health issues at an early phase. It provided exclusive support to counsel people with mental illness or risk of illness. All necessary guidance was provided regarding the seek treatment and counseling support from relevant mental health services and promoting coping skills in the group. By the focus on culturally appropriate care, it has fulfilled special needs and preference of aboriginals while providing care. All ACCHS also have the responsibility in the area of advocacy which provides voice to the aboriginal community so that they can express their concerns. The Danila Dilba Health service also focused on advocacy by providing services that are responsive to the local needs of the group. They have maintained fairness and accountability in their work culture (Danila Dilba Health Service, 2017). Conclusion The report gave a critical insight into the aboriginal perspective on social and emotional well being in comparison to mental health. The Aboriginal preference for social and emotional well being has been found due to prevalent of many social issues in their life such. Racial discrimination has also become a pathway that has resulted in distress, unemployment and ill health in the group. It points to the need for evolution and development of health care service specifically for the aboriginals. Important policy changes and development in aboriginal health care has been found by the discussion on evolution of the AMS and its alignment with principles of primary care. The crucial role of the ACCHS in advocating for the aboriginal community has also been understood by the action of Danila Dilba Health Service. Long term effort and policy changes in the future are also needed to fulfill the goal of social and emotional well being in the group. Reference Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet. (2017). Social and emotional wellbeing (including mental health) Selected health conditions Overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health status 2016 Health facts ,Healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au. Retrieved 4 December 2017, from https://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/health-facts/overviews/selected-health-conditions/mental-health#fnl-1 Australia's First People - Their Social and Emotional Well-being | UN Chronicle. (2017).Unchronicle.un.org. Retrieved 4 December 2017, from https://unchronicle.un.org/article/australias-first-people-their-social-and-emotional-well-being Calma, T., Dudgeon, P., Bray, A. (2017). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health.Australian Psychologist,52(4), 255-260, available: DOI:10.1111/ap.12299 Clifford, A., McCalman, J., Bainbridge, R., Tsey, K. (2015). Interventions to improve cultural competency in health care for Indigenous peoples of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA: a systematic review.International Journal for Quality in Health Care,27(2), 89-98, available: https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzv010 Couzos, S., Thiele, D. D. (2016). Aboriginal peoples participation in their health care: A patient right and an obligation for health care providers.Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal,40, 6-7. Danila Dilba Health Service. (2017).Daniladilbaexperience.org.au. Retrieved 5 December 2017, from https://www.daniladilbaexperience.org.au/about-us.html Danila Dilba Health Service. (2017).Daniladilbaexperience.org.au. Retrieved 5 December 2017, from https://www.daniladilbaexperience.org.au/ Freeman, T., Edwards, T., Baum, F., Lawless, A., Jolley, G., Javanparast, S., Francis, T. (2014). Cultural respect strategies in Australian Aboriginal primary health care services: beyond education and training of practitioners.Australian and New Zealand journal of public health,38(4), 355-361, available: DOI:10.1111/1753-6405.12231 Hinton, R., Kavanagh, D. J., Barclay, L., Chenhall, R., Nagel, T. (2015). Developing a best practice pathway to support improvements in Indigenous Australians mental health and well-being: a qualitative study.BMJ open,5(8), e007938, available: doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-007938 Le Grande, M., Ski, C. F., Thompson, D. R., Scuffham, P., Kularatna, S., Jackson, A. C., Brown, A. (2017). Social and emotional wellbeing assessment instruments for use with Indigenous Australians: A critical review.Social Science Medicine,187, 164-173, available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.06.046 Markwick, A., McNeil, J., Parsons, L., Sullivan, M., Ansari, Z. (2014). Inequalities in the social determinants of health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: a cross-sectional population-based study in the Australian state of Victoria.International journal for equity in health,13(1), 91, available: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-014-0091-5 Marles, E., Frame, C., Royce, M. (2012). The Aboriginal Medical Service Redfern: Improving access to primary care for over 40 years.Australian family physician,41(6), 433, available: https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2012/june/the-aboriginal-medical-service-redfern/ Mitrou, F., Cooke, M., Lawrence, D., Povah, D., Mobilia, E., Guimond, E., Zubrick, S. R. (2014). Gaps in Indigenous disadvantage not closing: a census cohort study of social determinants of health in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand from 19812006.BMC Public Health,14(1), 201, available: doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-201 NACCHO. (2017).History. Retrieved 4 December 2017, from https://www.naccho.org.au/about/aboriginal-health/history/ Weightman, M. (2013). The role of Aboriginal community controlled health services in indigenous health.Aust Med Student J,4, 49-52. WHO | Chapter 7: Health Systems: principled integrated care. (2017).Who.int. Retrieved 4 December 2017, from https://www.who.int/whr/2003/chapter7/en/index1.html