Disparities Within the Native American Healthcare System
Written by Allison Baker
Over time Native American communities have been in
constant battle over the need for more improved healthcare. I would like to
focus on the lack of healthcare both mentally and physically within this blog
post. While there is access to healthcare within Native communities, it is not
up to par in comparison to non-Tribal communities.
First
I would like to point out that a lack of access to mental health resources
negatively impacts the communities. Without help for issues such as alcoholism,
suicide, and depression there becomes an increased rate of death. In an article
that I read written by Annie Belcourt, she states that “as a collective,
American Indians and Alaska Natives live more challenging and shorter lives”
(Belcourt). In her article she speaks about her experience of pursuing a
doctoral degree in clinical psychology. She mentioned that growing up she never
realized the inequalities that existed amongst her healthcare system until she
started going through her program and learning what things are like in the
non-Tribal healthcare system. She speaks about the family and friends that she
herself had lost due to a lack of proper care both mentally and physically. She
even exclaims that she “nearly lost one child due to lack of access to proper
medical care” (Belcourt).
In
general, Indian Health Services is the core provider of healthcare for the
Tribal communities. Overall, Indian Health Services has improved over the
years. It has not, however, improved quite enough. What put it into perspective
for me is the following portion of Belcourts article:
American Indians continue to have
lower life expectancies than other Americans and lose more years of productive
life. They also have the nation’s highest rates of death due to suicide. High
rates of premature death due to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and
accidents plague Native Americans (Belcourt).
Belcourt
attributes many of these issues to the ways of life that Tribal communities are
forced to live in on their reservations. They are generally surrounded by
poverty, giving them “limited access to health care, adequate housing, quality
education, and adequate law enforcement services” (Belcourt). There is also a
large amount of physical abuse that occurs amongst the community. This could be
sexual or domestic abuse, but could also vary into other categories. This
exposure to trauma can often lead to a lower quality of life which then can
translate into bad health. Aside from physical trauma, there is also the factor
of historical trauma within the communities. We often neglect to remember that
there are still living tribal members that participated in Indian boarding
schools, which intended to erase Native American culture and shift their
culture to become more Westernized. There is still a lot of tension surrounding
the topic, and many are still permanently damaged from the experience. To this
day, there are many Native American cultures that no longer exist because of
the forced Americanization that went on during these times. Languages, rituals,
and members permanently lost because of forced assimilation.
There
is also a lack of funding for Indian Health Services. According to Belcourt,
“federal funding only provides for 54% of needed services” (Belcourt). This
leaves the rest of the services to be provided for through the Tribal
communities. There is also the issue of location. There are not very many
Indian Health Services facilities, especially in areas off of the reservation.
This results in Indians utilizing treatment that is not through Indian Health
Services, which can lead to unfair prices. In Indian Health Services
facilities, there can also be a lack of employees as well as proper training.
This can cause long wait times for often urgent procedures, as well as
inadequate treatment.
There
does seem to be hope for better healthcare amongst Tribal communities.
According to Belcourt, organization such as the National Council of Urban
Indian Health, the National Indian Health Board, and the National Congress of
American Indians are constantly working towards equitable healthcare. There are
initiatives to provide accurate information regarding ways to increase life
expectancy and mental/physical health that are being shared amongst healthcare
providers. This will help cut back on “obesity, violence, suicide, and
substance abuse prevention” (Belcourt). There is also work being done to change
the way that health services are being provided as well as funded within Native
communities. This would ensure more efficient and effective implementation of
healthcare. Some communities are even working on bringing back some of their
traditional methods. This movement is assisting with the push for adequate
healthcare because it means that people do not have to go without when in need
of smaller remedies. It allows major issues to be dealt with at healthcare
centers while traditional remedy can bring back both a sense of community as
well as a healing method.
Reading
the thoughts and opinions of a Tribal member being trained in the healthcare
services industry has really opened my eyes to the disparities that Native
communities face. It was not until understanding her shock of seeing how
non-Natives are treated in comparison to Natives that I knew the issue was far
greater than I ever could have imagined. There is no remedy to this solution,
but I do hope that one day the issue can be resolved so that equitable
healthcare is available to all.
Works Cited
“Limited Health Funding for
AIANs.” Public Health Post. Accessed March 22, 2019. https://www.publichealthpost.org/databyte/limited-health-funding-american-indians-and-alaskan-natives/.
“Native Americans Are
Fighting Against Health Care Inequality.” GOOD, January 26, 2018. https://www.good.is/articles/native-american-health-care.
Comments
Post a Comment