The Vietnamese Community
Social Determinants of Health
Among the factors that have shaped the health status of Vietnamese people living in Australia, the effects of the war that took place in 1955-1975 should be mentioned first. The political tension, deprivation of crucial items required for maintaining good health, and the lack of an effective healthcare system have created the premise for developing numerous chronic diseases in Vietnamese migrants. These health issues would, later on, affect younger members of the Vietnamese community within the Australian society, thus remaining persistent.
Sociocultural issues can also be seen as important determinants of health within the specified community. Despite the efforts of the Australian healthcare system in promoting high-quality services, a significant number of Vietnamese people remain ignorant about the significance of using these services. As a result, a range of disorders acquired in the Australian environment transfer to the chronic stage in Vietnamese patients (Australian Capital Territory Government, n.d.). Also, the presence of strong cultural beliefs and traditions associated with alternative healthcare practices makes an impressive impact on the well-being of the target demographic. For example, the propensity among Vietnamese Australian women to receive treatment only from female healthcare practitioners restricts the choices that they have when considering the available healthcare services (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018). Thus, to approach the needs of the target demographic. On the one hand, it is necessary to treat the cultural traditions and beliefs of Vietnamese patients with respect. On the other hand, a healthcare practitioner must make choices based on the principles of healthcare ethics by striving to help a patient to recover.
Health-Related Risk Factors
The lack of patient education can be seen as the primary risk factor that is bound to affect the well-being of the specified demographic extensively. Because of the absence of awareness concerning current health threats, a range of Vietnamese residents in Australia fails to locate the symptoms of diseases and disorders such as CVD (Giallo et al., ‎2017). Consequently, these health issues grow to the point where they become chronic. The specified phenomenon can be explained by the presence of socio-economic issues such as the unavailability of educational options for Vietnamese residents of Australia due to low incomes and cultural concerns. Furthermore, the lack of enthusiasm among Vietnamese Australians in exploring the health threats to which they are exposed in the specified environment can be seen as a crucial obstacle in the way of promoting health management. The specified impediments can be removed by introducing a coherent program aimed at building awareness among the members of the specified group.
The presence of certain health beliefs that prevent the specified population to access high-quality health services and create obstacles for nurses is another health-related risk factor. Being closely connected to the previous one, it stems from the lack of appropriate health education and implies that there is a strong need for a coherent program for managing the culture-specific needs of the Vietnamese population living in Australia. At present, they follow health-associated beliefs based on the use of traditional medicine, such as herbal one and acupuncture (Kamimura, Sin, Pye, & Meng, ‎2017). Furthermore, the vast majority of Vietnamese people believe that Western medicine is not sufficient to help one recover from a specific disease or disorder (Nguyen, 2016). The specified assumptions affect how Vietnamese people view the Australian system of healthcare, in general, and nursing services, in particular hence the dismissal of the relevant opportunities for managing health.
Also, the unique specifics of the Vietnamese culture, in general, must be taken into consideration when administering healthcare services to them. For instance, the concept of privacy is upheld very high in the specified community (Chaves et al., 2017). Consequently, there is a certain element of mistrust between a Vietnamese patient and an Australian nurse. The specified barrier is very difficult to overcome, yet an elaborate cross-cultural technique for negotiating and reaching an adequate compromise is possible.
Healthcare Strategies
Seeing that the key health concerns among the representatives of the specified community are defined by the presence of prejudices, the unwillingness to use the available healthcare services, and the mistrust toward Australian nursing experts, it is necessary to develop a profound insight into the beliefs and traditions of the selected community. For this reason, a program aimed at interdisciplinary collaboration between Australian nurses and Vietnamese healthcare workers is essential. By establishing a dialogue between the two cultures, one will be able to expand the knowledge system of the target demographic and convince them to explore the opportunities provided by the Australian healthcare system. Specifically, patients will be educated about recognizing the symptoms of key disorders and diseases, such as CVD and hypertension, as well as locating trustworthy information about the identified health concerns. Moreover, the program has to stress the importance of communicating with a nurse. As a result, the target demographic will remain updated on the latest information regarding health threats and the means of mitigating them.
When designing the program, one must strike a perfect balance between encouraging patients’ independence and restricting their propensity toward clinging to the traditional Vietnamese healthcare strategies. For this reason, a collaboration between Australian and Vietnamese nurses has to be encouraged. By encouraging a cross-cultural and multidisciplinary approach toward managing the needs of Vietnamese residents of Australia, one will create the setting in which the vulnerable groups will feel safe and secure enough to share the relevant information and acquire crucial skills.
Addressing Deficits
To introduce the program to the specified community, one will need to utilize a wide array of resources containing crucial health-related information, including the significance of health education. Also, patients must be provided with clear instructions for detecting the presence of common health issues such as CVD, STIs, or obesity (Chaves et al., 2017). For this purpose, one will require a range of visual aids, including posters and various types of infographics. Thus, the target population will be able to embrace a wide range of data and learn to manage essential health issues.
The Sudanese Community
Social Determinants of Health
When considering the social factors that shape the health status of older Sudanese members of the Australian community, one must keep in mind the conditions under which they had to migrate to Australia. The Sudanese civil war has taken its toll on Sudanese migrants, causing them psychological trauma and major health issues. The famine that the Sudanese population witnessed in the 80s and 90s has also had a profound effect on the current health status of its victims, who migrated to Australia afterward (Amara & Aljunid, 2014). Therefore, socio-political and economic factors that had affected Sudanese people before they migrated to Australia need to be taken into consideration when creating health policies, designing interventions, and administering appropriate treatments and interventions. Previous experiences and conditions that may have involved exposure to famine, lack of healthcare services, and poor health education have a profound effect on Sudanese migrants in Australia, as well as the Australian Sudanese community, in general.
Education-related issues and especially the lack of health education need to be viewed as another crucial social determinant of health when considering the specified demographic. The specified concern serves as the umbrella concept under which an array of different health determinants can be discovered. For instance, the lack of vaccination, which is caused by the dismissal of its significance by Sudanese people in Australia, is a reason for concern (Sievert et al., 2018). As a result, infectious diseases pose a significant threat to the health of the Sudanese population in Australia.
Health-Related Risk Factors
Because of a drastic change in the environment and the lack of proper health education, Sudanese residents of Australia face a range of health-related risks, the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) being one of the primary concerns.
Also, the members of the Sudanese community in Australia suffer from a range of vitamin deficiencies due to poor dieting choices. The latter, in turn, are defined by their socioeconomic status. Due to the difficulties associated with finding a job in a new socio-cultural environment, as well as the problems related to accommodating to the new setting, Sudanese residents of Australia face the risks of developing iron deficiency, as well as facing a massive drop in the levels of Vitamins A and D (Wilson & Renzaho, 2015).
Hypertension is another source of concern since the target demographic has a rather vague knowledge of the factors that cause it, the nature of the disorder, the means of detecting the presence of hypertension, and the tools for managing it. Thus, any factors contributing to a steep rise in the levels of blood pressure can be seen as evident risk factors for Sudanese residents of Australia. These factors include stress, poor dieting choices, and a sedentary lifestyle.
Healthcare Strategies
To encourage a gradual yet consistent change in the current health status of the target population, one should consider a combination of several measures, the promotion of health awareness and patient education being the essential one. A program aimed at raising awareness levels among Sudanese Australians will have to be viewed as crucial (Wilson & Renzaho, 2015). Also, since there is a massive cultural gap between the Sudanese community in Australia and the residents, strategies for enhancing patient-nurse communication will have to be employed.
Thus, the quality of communication will improve consistently. Since economic and financial instability plays a very big role in defining the levels of health within the specified community, Australian nurses may need to pay close attention to the opportunities that social networks and other types of modern media provide. Using popular social sites as the places for posting crucial health-related information will boost the levels of health awareness among Sudanese people in Australia (Wilson & Renzaho, 2015). Specifically, essential guides for identifying, managing, and preventing health concerns such as CVD, obesity, hypertension, STIs, and other health issues faced by the Sudanese community in Australia are to be designed.
Furthermore, the proposed approach will open a direct conversation between nurses and the vulnerable demographic. Sudanese members of the Australian community will overcome the cultural and linguistic barrier once assisted by a community of nurses and other patients. As a result, a gradual rise in the levels of health is expected. The first steps for building a connection between a Sudanese patient and an Australian nurse may require the active use of visual tools such as flip booklets (Mannion, Raffin-Bouchal, & Henshaw, 2014). After deploying the specified techniques, a nurse is likely to observe a gradual rise in the levels of understanding among patients and, thus, an increase in their education levels.
Addressing Deficits
The program described above has to be supported by a vast range of resources, including educational and financial ones. The use of the specified elements as the platform on which the program will be built will allow handling some of the current issues associated with the economic challenges faced by the target population, the absence of proper education among them, and other factors that may hinder the process of managing patients’ needs. For this reason, one should deploy a field epidemiology program. The proposed tool will help locate the hindrances in administering the appropriate treatment and patient education techniques to the specified demographic. Moreover, the use of the suggested technique will lead to the removal of essential impediments such as the presence of unknown comorbid issues. The study of the factors that define the health status of Sudanese residents of Australia will offer an insightful analysis of the effects that socioeconomic, technological, financial, and cultural factors have on the well-being of Sudanese Australians within the specified community. As a result, a coherent program for managing the needs of the specified community will be built.
References
Amara, A. H., & Aljunid, S. M. (2014). Noncommunicable diseases among urban refugees and asylum-seekers in developing countries: A neglected health care need. Globalization and Health, 10(1), 24-38. doi:10.1186/1744-8603-10-24
Australian Capital Territory Government. (n.d.). Vietnam. Web.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018). Culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Web.
Chaves, N. J., Paxton, G. A., Biggs, B. A., Thambiran, A., Gardiner, J., Williams, J.,… Davis, J. S. (2017). The Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases and Refugee Health Network of Australia recommendations for health assessment for people from refugee-like backgrounds: An abridged outline. Medical Journal of Australia, 207(7), 310-315. Web.
Giallo, R., Riggs, E., Lynch, C., Vanpraag, D., Yelland, J., Szwarc, J.,… Brown, S. J. (2017). The physical and mental health problems of refugee and migrant fathers: Findings from an Australian population-based study of children and their families. BMJ Open, 7(11), 1-12. Web.
Kamimura, A., Sin, K., Pye, M., & Meng, H. W. (2017). Cardiovascular disease-related health beliefs and lifestyle issues among Karen refugees resettled in the United States from the Thai-Myanmar (Burma) border. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, 50(6), 386-392. Web.
Mannion, C. A., Raffin-Bouchal, S., & Henshaw, C. J. (2014). Navigating a strange and complex environment: Experiences of Sudanese refugee women using a new nutrition resource. International Journal of Women’s Health, 6, 411-422. Web.
Nguyen, V. (2016). Comparing the Australian national health system with the Vietnamese national health system from the perspective of future challenges. Health System Policy Resource, 4(1), 1-4. Web.
Sievert, K., O’Neill, P., Koh, Y., Lee, J. H., Dev, A., & Le, S. (2018). Barriers to accessing testing and treatment for chronic hepatitis B in Afghan, Rohingyan, and South Sudanese populations in Australia. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 20(1), 140-146. Web.
Wilson, A., & Renzaho, A. (2015). Intergenerational differences in acculturation experiences, food beliefs and perceived health risks among refugees from the Horn of Africa in Melbourne, Australia. Public Health Nutrition, 18(1), 176-188. Web.