Behind the Pandemic in Aboriginal Communities - Interagency ...

may be cut off from their family, community, and culture, which in turn will lead tofeelings of abandonment, low self worth, and poor social skills, requiring additionalsupport to prepare for success in adulthood.Mental Health, Substance Misuse and Addictions• Aboriginal communities have high rates of depression, suicide, substance misuse,and addictions. Aboriginal youth are particularly affected.• These high rates have been linked to historical and present day experiences ofcolonization and are made worse by racism and social and economic exclusion.• Some people turn to alcohol and drugs to cope with the immediate stresses of livingin poverty and the historical and present day injustices that limit their ability to earna dignified living.• Substance misuse contributes to risky sexual behaviour, including unprotected sex.Access to Health Care• Many Aboriginal people live in rural and remote areas with limited access to Westernhealth care facilities and medical professionals such as physicians, dentists, nurses,nutritionists, and mental health professionals.• Most healthcare workers are trained in the Western medical model, whichfocuses on individuals and biological aspects of health; they may have a limitedunderstanding of Aboriginal models of health and lack awareness of broader factorsaffecting Aboriginal people’s health.• Medical professionals might also make harmful assumptions about Aboriginalclients. For example, they might assume that all Aboriginal people have the samebeliefs and spiritual practices, and therefore offer one-size fits all interventions.• Aboriginal people may distrust institutions based on experiences in the past thatdid not accommodate language skills, restricted visiting hours, limited definitions offamily and impeded access to spiritual support.• Aboriginal women face barriers accessing health and social services. They are morelikely to use services when they are gender and culturally-sensitive. This includesreflecting Aboriginal models of health and wellness, providing a welcoming space forchildren, and ensuring that women and their children are safe from abusive partners,police who have a warrant for their arrest or want to take away their children, andothers who may harm them.Lack of Research on HIV and Aboriginal Peoples• Research is essential in HIV responses around the world. Decisions about policiesand funding are often guided by research about which groups are being infectedwith HIV, how people are contracting the virus, social and behaviour factors, andservice use.• The way conventional research is conducted is often rooted in Western models ofscience. These models ignore Aboriginal ways of knowing and explore issues thatmay not be a priority for Aboriginal communities. They may use research methodsthat are incompatible with Indigenous worldviews where reciprocity and respect arefundamental starting points for inquiry. Furthermore, the way that data is collected,interpreted, and reported may hide or misrepresent key socio, economic, andcultural disparities within Aboriginal communities.• It is possible for different worldviews to explore issues for mutual benefit, but theIndigenous Modelsof Health: Indigenouspeoples around the globe- including First Nations,Inuit and Métis withinCanada - have traditionalmodels of health andwellbeing that are distinctfrom the biomedicalmodel commonly usedin Western societies.These unique anddiverse outlooksmodels of health areshaped by the historicalinterconnectednessto territory, physicalenvironment, language,traditional practices andaccess to resources ofeach Indigenous group.Common features ofIndigenous modelsinclude a holistic viewof health and well-beingthat includes a balanceof four elements - thephysical, spiritual,emotional and mental -and the understandingthat the health ofindividuals and thehealth of communitiesare closely connected,reflecting the collectiveperspective withinIndigenous beliefsystems.83