Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

How colonisation determines social justice and Indigenous health—a review of the literature

  • Published:
Journal of Population Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Disparities in health status persist for Indigenous people in Australia. In the bid to reduce the disparity gap, the concept of achieving social justice is central to advancing the services and systems that can challenge inequitable circumstances within a nation. Colonisation is well known as the underlying factor influencing the social injustices that result in inequitable health for Indigenous people. A literature review was conducted identifying how the colonial impact on social justice is described in the relationships with the health of Indigenous Australians. A comprehensive search strategy was developed, including four broad search terms of ‘Indigenous people’ and ‘health status’ and ‘colonisation’ or ‘social justice’, and applied within five databases. Publications were limited to Australia, dated from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2014. The literature acknowledging the effect that colonisation has on Indigenous Australians includes evidence from oral and political histories, and social determinants frameworks. There was a general consensus that the impact of colonisation on the health of Indigenous people is highly complex and that the legacies are experienced intra-generationally and inter-generationally. There is paucity in the evidence that examines the associations of colonisation and its impact on social injustice. Because social justice is considered central to equitable practices across all sectors in society (health, education, legal etc.), questions are raised about the magnitude of the effect that colonisation has on health disparities and importantly how the desideratum to tackle disparities that have stemmed from colonisation are adequately addressed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. With recognition of the heterogeneity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clan groups and languages the authors hereafter respectfully refer to these groups as Indigenous.

References

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. (2005). Social justice report 2005. Sydney.

  • Anderson, I., Crengle, S., Kamaka, M. L., Chen, T. H., Palafox, N., & Jackson-Pulver, L. (2006). Indigenous health in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific. Lancet, 367(9524), 1775–1785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, H., & Kowal, E. (2012). Culture, history, and health in an Australian Aboriginal community: The case of Utopia. Medical Anthropology, 31(5), 438–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arabena, K. (2006). Preachers, policies and power: The reproductive health of adolescent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 17(2), 85–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013). Life tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians 2010–2012. (Cat. no. 3302.0.55.003). Canberra: ABS.

  • Australian Bureau of Statitstics. (2013). Causes of Death, Australia, 2011. (Cat. no. 3303.0). Canberra: ABS.

  • Australian Human Rights Commission. N.d. Information Sheet—Social justice and Human rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. www.humanrights.gov.au. [December, 2015].

  • Australian Museum. (2015). Glossary of Indigenous Australia Terms. www.australianmuseum.net.au. [January, 2016].

  • Bennett, M. J. (2009). Smallpox and cowpox under the Southern Cross: The smallpox epidemic of 1789 and the advent of vaccination in colonial Australia. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 83(1), 37–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blyton, G. (2009). Healthier times?: Revisiting Indigenous Australian health history. Health & History, 11(2), 116–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braveman, P. (2006). Health disparities and health equity: Concepts and measurement. Annual Review of Public Health, 27(1), 167–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christou, A., & Thompson, S. C. (2013). Missed opportunities in educating Aboriginal Australians about bowel cancer screening: Whose job is it anyway? Contemporary Nurse, 46(1), 59–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Commonwealth of Australia. (2009). National partnership agreement on closing the gap in Indigenous health outcomes: Implementation plan. Canberra: Commonwealth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2015). Closing the gap: Prime Minister’s report 2015. Canberra.

  • Dodson, M. (1993). Annual Report of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner: First Report Canberra: Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

  • Durey, A., Wynaden, D., Thompson, S. C., Davidson, P. M., Bessarab, D., & Katzenellenbogen, J. M. (2012). Owning solutions: A collaborative model to improve quality in hospital care for Aboriginal Australians. Nursing Inquiry, 19(2), 144–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredericks, B., Lee, V., Adams, M., & Mahoney, R. (2012). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. In M. L. Fleming (Ed.), Introduction to public health (pp. 350–372). London (UK): Elsevier Health Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Funston, L. (2013). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander worldviews and cultural safety transforming sexual assault service provision for children and young people. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health [Electronic Resource], 10(9), 3818–3833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gracey, M., & King, M. (2009). Indigenous health part 1: Determinants and disease patterns. Lancet, 374(9683), 65–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland, C. (2015). The Close the Gap Campaign: Progress and priorities report 2015. The Close the Gap Steering Committee. Paragon Australasia Group

  • Horvath, R. J. (1972). A definition of Colonisation. Current Anthropology, 13(1), 45–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. (1991). Racist Violence: Report of the national enquiry into racist violence in Australia. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, L., Doyle, J., Morgan, B., Atkinson-Briggs, S., Firebrace, B., Marika, M., et al. (2013). A review of programs that targeted environmental determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 10(8), 3518–3542.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, J. (2006). Is it Aboriginal friendly? Searching for ways of working in research and practice that support Aboriginal women. Contemporary Nurse, 22(2), 317–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kilbourne, A. M., Switzer, G., Hyman, K., Crowley-Matoka, M., & Fine, M. J. (2006). Advancing health disparities research within the health care system: A conceptual framework. American Journal of Public Health, 96(12), 2113–2121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, M., Smith, A., & Gracey, M. (2009). Indigenous health part 2: The underlying causes of the health gap. Lancet, 374(9683), 76–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krieg, A. (2009). The experience of collective trauma in Australian Indigenous communities. Australasian Psychiatry, 17(Suppl 1), S28–S32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krieger, N. (1994). Epidemiology and the web of causation: Has anyone seen the spider? Social Science and Medicine, 39(7), 887–903.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krieger, N. (2001). Theories for social epidemiology in the 21st century: An ecosocial perspective. International Journal of Epidemiology, 30(4), 668–677.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kunitz, S. J. (1990). Public policy and mortality among Indigenous populations of Northern America and Australasia. Population and Development Review, 16(4), 647–672.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lea, T. (2005). The work of forgetting: germs, aborigines and postcolonial expertise in the Northern Territory of Australia. Social Science and Medicine, 61(6), 1310–1319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Littleton, J. (2005). Invisible impacts but long-term consequences: Hypoplasia and contact in central Australia. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 126(3), 295–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin-McDonald, K., & McCarthy, A. (2008). ‘Marking’ the white terrain in indigenous health research: Literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 61(2), 126–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, E., Bailie, R., Grace, J., & Brewster, D. (2010). An ecological approach to health promotion in remote Australian Aboriginal communities. Health Promotion International, 25(1), 42–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menzies, R., & McIntyre, P. (2006). Vaccine preventable diseases and vaccination policy for indigenous populations. Epidemiologic Reviews, 28, 71–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Party. (1989). A National Aboriginal Health Strategy. Canberra.

  • Nelson, A. (2009). Learning from the past, looking to the future: Exploring our place with Indigenous Australians. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 56(2), 97–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver, S. J. (2013). The role of traditional medicine practice in primary health care within Aboriginal Australia: A review of the literature. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 9, 46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, R. (2010). Australia’s Aboriginal population and mental health. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 198(1), 3–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Passey, M. E., Gale, J. T., & Sanson-Fisher, R. W. (2011). “It’s almost expected”: Rural Australian Aboriginal women’s reflections on smoking initiation and maintenance: A qualitative study. BMC Women’s Health, 11, 55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prior, D. (2007). Decolonising research: A shift toward reconciliation. Nursing Inquiry, 14(2), 162–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pyett, P., Waples-Crowe, P., & van der Sterren, A. (2008). Challenging our own practices in Indigenous health promotion and research. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 19(3), 179–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, A. (2006). The Australian experience of deinstitutionalization: Interaction of Australian culture with the development and reform of its mental health services. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 113(s429), 81–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowse, T. (2009). Official statistics and the contemporary politics of indigeneity. Australian Journal of Political Science, 44(2), 193–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shahid, S., Finn, L. D., & Thompson, S. C. (2009). Barriers to participation of Aboriginal people in cancer care: Communication in the hospital setting. Medical Journal of Australia, 190(10), 574–579.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherwood, J. (2009). Who is not coping with colonization? Laying out the map for decolonization. Australasian Psychiatry, 17(Suppl 1), S24–S27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherwood, J. (2013). Colonisation—it’s bad for your health: The context of Aboriginal health. Contemporary Nurse, 46(1), 28–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweet, M. A., Dudgeon, P., McCallum, K., & Ricketson, M. D. (2014). Decolonising practices: Can journalism learn from health care to improve Indigenous health outcomes? Medical Journal of Australia, 200(11), 626–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, K. P., Bessarab, D., Hunter, L., & Thompson, S. C. (2013). Aboriginal-mainstream partnerships: Exploring the challenges and enhancers of a collaborative service arrangement for Aboriginal clients with substance use issues. BMC Health Services Research, 13, 12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, K. P., & Thompson, S. C. (2011). Closing the (service) gap: Exploring partnerships between Aboriginal and mainstream health services. Australian Health Review, 35(3), 297–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, D. P., Bainbridge, R., & Tsey, K. (2014). Changing discourses in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research, 1914–2014. Medical Journal of Australia, 201(1 Suppl), S15–S18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsey, K., Whiteside, M., Haswell-Elkins, M., Bainbridge, R., Cadet-James, Y., & Wilson, A. (2010). Empowerment and Indigenous Australian health: A synthesis of findings from Family Wellbeing formative research. Health and Social Care in the Community, 18(2), 169–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). (2000). General Comment No. 14: The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health (Art. 12 of the Covenant), 11 August 2000, E/C.12/2000/4. http://www.refworld.org/docid/4538838d0.html.

  • Vickery, J., Faulkhead, S., Adams, K., & Clarke, A. (2007). Chapter 2: Indigenous insights into oral history, social determinants and decolonisation. In I. Anderson, F. Baum, & M. Bentley (Eds.), Beyond Bandaids: Exploring underlying determinants of Aboriginal health. Darwin: Co-operative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.

    Google Scholar 

  • Welch, V., Petticrew, M., Tugwell, P., Moher, D., O’Neill, J., Waters, E., & White, H. (2012). PRISMA-Equity 2012 extension: Reporting guidelines for systematic reviews with a focus on health equity. PLoS Med, 9(10), e1001333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead, M. (1992). The concepts and principles of equity and health. International Journal of Health Services, 22(3), 429–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, M., & Harrison, L. (2010). Providing culturally appropriate care: A literature review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 47(6), 761–769.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2008). Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health: Commission on Social Determinants of Health final report (9789241563703; 9241563702). Geneva, Switzerland.

Download references

Acknowledgments

The Sydney Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics, funded by the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Indigenous Services and Strategy and Services within the Wingura Mura-Bunga Barrabugu strategy at the University of Sydney.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sydney Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Kalinda Griffiths, Clare Coleman & Richard Madden

  2. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Vanessa Lee

  3. National Centre for the Classification of Disease, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Richard Madden

Authors
  1. Kalinda Griffiths
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Clare Coleman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Vanessa Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Richard Madden
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kalinda Griffiths.

Appendix

Appendix

A summary table of articles is provided that includes details on methodology and the specific determinants of colonial impact upon social justice and/or health that could potentially be used as measurable indicators of colonisation.

See Table 2.

Table 2 Summary table of articles included in the review
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Griffiths, K., Coleman, C., Lee, V. et al. How colonisation determines social justice and Indigenous health—a review of the literature. J Pop Research 33, 9–30 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12546-016-9164-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12546-016-9164-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation