Indigenous Health Issues

A health issue that is found in mental illness is that One-third (33%) of indigenous Adolescents had or experienced very high levels psychological stress and mental health (AIHW, 2011). From this research, it is found that young indigenous Australians are twice as likely to suffer from a mental illness (AIHW, 2011). This could also lead to more serve cases including self-harm and suicide by young indigenous kids. Statistics also show that Indigenous Adolescents are 5.2 times more likely to intentionally self-harm (Dudgeon et al., 2014a). The health issue of indigenous adolescents being more at risk of getting a mental illness compared to non-indigenous adolescent is just one problem found within health concerns for this population. This health issue also affects all areas of the social justice principles.
Equity is affected due to young indigenous Australian being more likely to
By supportive environment it means more than the physical environment such as where they live and go to school, it is also the social environment around them including their family situation, peer group and other social interactions (Marmot, 2011). These may also be called the determinants of health. Many indigenous families will find that their parents also suffer from a mental illness or in server cases can be abusive to the child (physical, verbal and sexual), neglectful to the child's health and needs or suffer substance abuse (Parker & Milroy, 2010). This will affect their mental health at a very young age leading on through adolescents. To overcome these issues the adolescent will need strong social relationships and networks, which some indigenous young people will not have (ABS, 2008). These social networks are important because they will help with preventing the onset of illnesses, help with recovering and prevention of them returning (WHO,