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Book Review
The Health of Indigenous Australians
Neil Thomson (ed)
ISBN: 978-0-195512-20-5 2004 552 pages Oxford University Press, USA
Susannne Becker
Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of South Australia, Adelaide SA
Editor Neil Thomson has brought together a team of experienced clinicians, academics and researchers to create this valuable resource on the health of Indigenous Australians. The title of the book could lead the casual observer to think that here is another text depicting the health status of Indigenous Australians, but as Professor Fiona Stanley AC remarks, 'this landmark treatise is a benchmark against which progress can be measured' (p.iv).
Eighteen chapters are dedicated to the 'facts', presenting statistics from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, The World Health Organization and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), among others, showing comparisons between the health status of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This book delivers these data in a straightforward manner that can be depressing when reading from cover to cover. However, as Henry Councillor writes in his forward, it 'is essential reading, particularly for anyone who doubts that the current health of Aboriginal people is a national disgrace' (p.iv).
Thomson opens the book with a chapter entitled 'The need for Indigenous health information' setting the scene from a historical perspective. The second chapter explores social indicators highlighting the need for both the Australian Government and Indigenous leaders to ensure that improved Indigenous health is firmly on the national agenda. Chapters 3 through 20 each specifically address one aspect of health. Topics covered include births, deaths and hospitalizations; mental health; nutrition and growth; substance misuse; eye health; skin infections and infestations; and injury and disability to name a few. All of these chapters again present statistical data along with past, present and future challenges Indigenous Australians face in the area.
In the final chapter, 'Responding to our spectacular failure', Thomson discusses some of the factors that have impinged on the limited improvement in health status by Indigenous Australians. Thomson explores Government policies and programs that have failed to result in significantly improved health outcomes, but does point out that there are some encouraging signs. Thomson states that increased government funding and infrastructure changes are a move in the right direction and require further expansion in the future.
A major strength of this book is the extensive use of references in every chapter allowing interested readers (students, policy makers and researchers) a multitude of places to go for more information. Along with presenting valuable information on the health status of Indigenous Australians the book provides readers with an empathic glimpse of their lived experience. This combination of fact and detail should prove a quality resource for interested readers and ensure that this book makes a vital contribution to current literature about the health of all Indigenous Australians.
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