Indigenous leaders call for an end to racism in the health system
Deep-seated resistance to addressing institutional and systemic racism in our health system is thwarting progress towards improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, say Indigenous leaders in an important paper published today.
The authors of the Perspective, published in Public Health Research & Practice, a peer-reviewed journal of the Sax Institute, write that institutional racism leads to a dismissal of Indigenous knowledges, worldviews and cultural practices that must be incorporated into healthcare provision if we are to close the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
“Our paper gives voice to Indigenous communities who have consistently said that racism is a critical issue in the provision of healthcare, as is the incorporation of culture into the design of healthcare services,” says lead author Dr Carmen Parter, Senior Research Fellow at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Queensland.
Continue reading Media Release: PHRP MEDIA RELEASE RACISM _10March2021
Talking about the ‘r’ word: a right to a health system that is free of racism
Carmen Partera, Donna Murray, Janine Mohamed, Boe Rambaldini, Tom Calma, Shawn Wilson, Donna Hartz, Josephine Gwynna, and John Skinner.
Key points
- Indigenous knowledges relating to cultural ways of being, knowing and doing must be front and centre to any public health response
- A deep-seated resistance to addressing institutional and systemic racism
and racist attitudes prevent the implementation and sharing of Indigenous knowledges and Indigenous cultures - Public health policy makers and practitioners must start identifying and talking about racism, to help actively address racism
Continue reading paper: PHRP_Racism in health_emb10March2021
