Mental Health Nursing for Aboriginal and Torres -myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theMental Health Nursing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait. Answer: Introduction The Torres strait islander and aboriginal people are the indigenous Australians who were descended from groups and islander that existed before the British colonisation. Indigenous people are approximately 2.5% of total population in Australia. These people mostly live outside the main urban areas(Toensing, 2013). In Australia mental illness has become very common. Almost 20 percent of people between age of 16-85 years suffers from mental illness. Anxiety, substance use disorder, depression is the most common mental illness found in Australian people. In recent years, mental health conditions of indigenous people have worsened. Mental health condition of indigenous people is three time worse than non-indigenous people. There is dramatic increase in mental health issues like depression, anxiety, deaths from suicide in them. The average age of aboriginal and Torres strait islander people is 21 years compared to the average age of rest of the Australian people which is 37 years(Mundy, 2 017). So, it would be unfair to make comparison of indigenous which comprises of mostly young population with rest of Australians. This paper describes the role of mental health nurses in relation to the indigenous people of Australia. As we know, the main role of mental health nurses is to help support and provide nursing and medical care to the people suffering from mental disorders. They generally work as a part of team of medical professionals such as doctors, therapists, psychiatrists and social workers(Tohota Heslop, 2016). Mental health condition of Indigenous people Indigenous people prefer the term social and emotional wellbeing instead of mental health as it sounds more positive and has holistic connotations. They never believed that health is not only related to physical state of the body but also the emotional, spiritual and social well being of the whole society is important(Hunter, 2014). According to 2014-2015 data, around 67% of adult age between 18 years and above experienced moderate or low level of psychological distress in comparison to rest 33% of below 18 years having very high level of stress(Jorm, Stewart, Bourchier, 2012). There was arise of 6% in those having high level of psychological distress from 2004 to 2015. The indigenous adults were 2.6 times more susceptible in comparison to non-indigenous population experiencing high level of psychological distress(Parker, n.d.). Further among these the female population were more affected in comparison to male population. The people falling in theses groups were either having low income, lower education or were unemployed. The issues faced by the indigenous population along with the factors responsible for deteriorating their mental health are: Grief and loss: This mainly includes the grief arising from the loss of land culture, connection and other areas, linked to invasion in the past. Trauma of stolen children: The past incidences on stolen childrens have put these people under lot of mental distress and trauma. These incidences are still existing and moreover the government authorised departments causal approach towards this serious issue worsens their conditions. Unsolved trauma: Trauma is the main cause and contribution to many health problems in indigenous population. This resolved trauma worsen a person mental health and even passes to the next generation. Loss of land, culture and identity: When these people are separated from their traditional homelands, culture then they feel incomplete and search for who they are and where they belong to. This feeling of loss of identity affects their physical and mental state. Discrimination on the basis of race, culture: The discrimination based on colour, caste, creed or culture or racism have significant impact on ones mental health. Fewer opportunities: Several factors lead to poor economic condition of these group of people and due to this they are at disadvantage in comparison to the non-indigenous group. The constant worry about the money and ways to resolve. This issue further worsens mental condition. Violence and substance abuse: The use of drug or substance to ease their tension leads to violence depression other issues. These domestic violence or other places contributes to poor health conditions. Role of mental health nurses Mental health nurse plays vital role in Australian health care system, serving thousands of patients on daily basis. This role can be challenging at both mental and physical level but it gives positive results as nurses work directly with their patients on regular basis(Fisher, 2013). This job places nurses in different environments like hospital wards, community centres homes, outside patient departments and residential units. The care for patients with mental illness is full of challenges. In case of patient with acute condition, the nurses have to build a relationship with the patient to understand their emotional and physical needs. The constant monitoring of medication and their results is also very important to track patient progress. They have to track patient progress on time to time(Nesnera, 2016). The patient should be kept away from stressful situations, so that it can be helpful in treating patient suffering from mental trauma. It is also important to interact with the family members of the patient and other staff who can often provide suggestion and information to improve patients health. Similarly, while treating mental health of indigenous people, nurses or health personnels should understand the culture and traditions of the indigenous community while assessing their mental illness. The treatment of the patient without understanding their culture identity, connection with the homeland is worthless. These nurses should try to understand the underlying reasons for the grief, loss, distress of their patients, so that nurses can know how they can be consoled and treated(Roles of a Mental Health Nurse, 2013). They should help them to move on from their past incidences that have caused them distress and pain. As non-indigenous people, these Aboriginal and Torres strait islanders should also have same choices and rights to know, understand the process of treatment before being applied to them. They should also have right to accept or reject treatment they are being provided. So, these nurses respect the patients belief, wishes, values, decisions and provide treatments acc ordingly(Manuel, 2012). The role of mental health nurses to treat and improve indigenous mental health are described below: Respect is what every individual seeks and it is no different with these group of people too. They should be respected and encouraged for practising their own culture and tradition so that their identity is not lost. There should not be any discrimination on the basis of caste colour, creed and culture. So, these nurses show respect and care to them so that these indigenous people trust medical professionals and let them help for the betterment of their health(Focus on health, 2014). Mental health nurses are committed to the values of equity and social justice so they treat everyone equally. This is why they give equal importance to the health of vulnerable people as well. These nurses can act as an educator and empower the group by providing knowledge or education on several issues related to mental health at individual groups and community at large. This helps to reduce the number of mental health problems existing in these community(Wyder, 2014). They assess mental health of patient, performs screening and diagnosis to know the exact mental condition of them. They establish ethical, moral and therapeutically relationship with their patients. They assess appropriate nursing interventions so that they could help patients to cope with risky behaviours like self-harm, addictions, aggressive behaviour etc(Roden, Jarvis, Campbell, 2016). They help by monitoring medicines, educating them and monitors the response of the treatment they are providing. The nurses should organize awareness programmes on the drug usage and its side effects. This will certainly bring down the cases of domestic violence, violence among groups, thefts etc. These nurses should work with indigenous people and community so that they can provide culturally appropriate treatment to these people. They act as a direct care provider and motivates individually and also the whole community and educates them to learn to take care of their health. They also act as an addiction counsellor and provide treatment like counselling, therapies etc for different drug addiction issues. Their another important role is to act as a consultant for indigenous and other community people as well. They help you by providing important health care practices and policies about the health care providers and also shares knowledge about suitable medical facilities. Conclusion: From the above discussion, it is apparent that the cases of mental illness in people is not natural but is due to the problems and environment which they are in. The less availability of health facilities infrastructure, clean water, education, fresh food, employment opportunities, etc are main contributors towards mental health issues among indigenous people. This can be controlled when all the causes are taken care off. Along with these causes they should be encouraged for practising their culture traditions and respected for who they are. they should have access to proper medical health care facilities. The nurses and medical health providers should understand the need and availability of primary health care and other medical infrastructure for the indigenous people as well, so that they start receiving treatment right from the start instead of waiting for their conditions to worsen. There are not enough medical facilities for these people which leads to the huge gap of mental ill ness between indigenous and non-indigenous people(Little, 2016). So, with the help of mental health nurses along with other health professionals these differences can be minimized and can help to understand and treat these peoples mental health conditions. References Fisher. (2013). The use of psychological therapies by mental health nurses in Australia. Psychiatric and mental health nursing. Focus on health. (2014, July). Retrieved from Making Mental Health Count: https://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Focus-on-Health-Making-Mental-Health-Count.pdf Hunter, E. (2014, January). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Retrieved from Mental health in Indigenous settings: https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2014/januaryfebruary/mental-health-in-indigenous-settings/ Jorm, A., Stewart, G., Bourchier, S. (2012). Mental health of Indigenous Australians: a review of findings from community surveys. The Medical Journal Of Australia, 118-121. Little, J. (2016, March 16). Closing the gap on Indigenous mental health. Retrieved from SaneAustralia: https://www.sane.org/the-sane-blog/wellbeing/closing-the-gap-on-indigenous-mental-health Manuel, J. (2012, June). Clinical Responsibility: The Mental Health Nursing Perspective. Retrieved from https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10523/2629/ManuelJenni2012MHealSc.pdf.pdf?sequence=1 Mundy, R. D. (2017, May 4). Social and emotional wellbeing (including mental health). Retrieved from Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet: https://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/health-facts/overviews/selected-health-conditions/mental-health Nesnera. (2016). Expanding the Role of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners in a State Psychiatric System. Psychiatric Services, 482-483. Parker, M. (n.d.). Mental Illness in Aboriginal and Torres Strait. Retrieved from Working Together |: https://www.telethonkids.org.au/globalassets/media/documents/aboriginal-health/working-together-second-edition/wt-part-2-chapt-7-final.pdf Roden, J., Jarvis, L., Campbell, S. (2016). Australian rural, remote and urban community nurses' health promotion role and function. Health Promotion International, 704-714. Roles of a Mental Health Nurse. (2013, August 20). Retrieved from NursingTimes: https://www.nursingtimesjobs.com/article/roles-of-a-mental-health-nurse/ Toensing, A. (2013, June). First Australians. Retrieved from Nat Geo: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2013/06/australia-aboriginals-tradition-cultural-preservation/ Tohota, J., Heslop, K. (2016). MENTAL HEALTH NURSES CONTRIBUTIONS TO COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CARE: AN AUSTRALIAN STUDY . International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 426-433. Wyder. (2014). Nurses Experiences of Delivering Care in Acute Inpatient Mental Health Settings: A Narrative Synthesis of the Literature. PubMed.