Whats Going On?
For years, Indigenous Peoples and communities have had very limited access to heath care, including physical rehabilitation like physiotherapy. Due to this, many Indigenous communities experience a high level of disease and disability. We can start taking action by educating ourselves on why this is happening and learning how to break the barrier between Indigenous groups and physiotherapy.
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46% of Indigenous Peoples living in remote or rural communities experience disparities in equal health care compared to 19% of the general population.
Here's something to know..
Early treatment by physiotherapists can result in better outcomes and can prevent and manage acute and chronic diseases. Physical rehabilitation should be in Indigenous health services. Due to some Indigenous communities being in remote and rural places, its hard to get access to basic healthcare, extended healthcare becomes another issue to work towards. The Canadian government still has control over most reserves affairs, making it difficult for their bands to bring in this extended care along with the cost of physiotherapy not being affordable in communities filled with unemployment and poverty.
Over 62% of Indigenous adults report having at least 1 chronic health condition. Most commonly Indigenous communities suffer from heath conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, pack pain, and high blood pressure. There are many contributing factors to the high levels of disability and illness. Things such as living conditions where many families are stuck in a small house with unhealthy living conditions, use of tobacco, and unhealthy eating habits can lead to chronic illness and disability.
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Diabetes and ObesityUnhealthy eating habits often come with high food costs, in rural communities that are far from bigger towns, this can be expected. Obesity is a large factor in musculoskeletal conditions, of course these can be treated by physiotherapists with rehabilitation and it can become a manageable condition, but what happens when you don't have access to a physiotherapist? Conditions get worse and people find themselves giving up while in constant pain. This can also lead to low motivation and unemployment which will affect the community as well as the individual.
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What's Stopping us?
There have been some attempts and actions beginning to work towards helping Indigenous communities though traveling clinics and hospitals in remote areas, but the issue is limited funding and the inability to deliver based on the distance to travel. When there are travelling clinics and visits, it's a start but it can still be hard to keep up with consistent check ups and move forward when there can be such a long wait time.
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Other issues that we face are limited resources. Many communities have very limited resources as well as limited funds to support these clinics. Some barriers we face are limited funding for travel, limited training when working with Indigenous Peoples, limited information, and limited physiotherapists who are willing to take on the job. To move forward, we need to bring attention to the issues at hand and work together towards the start of an equal heath care system.
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Truth and Reconciliation
In Canada's Calls to Action, under the heath section, number 19 talks about closing the gaps ". . . Establish measurable goals to identify and close the gaps in health care outcomes between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal communities. . " As well as number 20 ". . . to recognize, respect and address the distinct health needs of Metis, Inuit, and off-reserve Aboriginal Peoples." We can clearly see that in the Truth and Reconciliation, it states that actions should be taken towards breaking down these barriers that are restricting Indigenous Peoples and communities from accessing this care. The question is, why has so little been done?