Aborginals

Aboriginals
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Aboriginals
Biomedical professionals often experience difficulties in health care service delivery to the Aboriginals and other indigenous people in Canada for instance the Metis, Inuit and the North American Indians. This is primarily due to the disparity that exists between Western health belief systems and Aboriginal medical practices. This paper discusses the main trends, implications, arguments, theories as well as approaches I mentioned in my annotated research. The goal is to synthesize the information in my resources into the most salient issues as well as debates related to the topic. In this paper, I will include some of my informed thoughts and analysis of the issues and debates, which I discovered through my research.
Western biomedical health professionals in most instances experience challenges with regard to providing care to the Native indigenous communities in Canada because of the cultural distance between Aboriginal culture and the mainstream western medicine, chiefly in regard to health system beliefs (Dolson, 2011). Since the arrival of the European settlers in North America, the lifestyles of the Canadian Aborigines have undergone momentous change. However, despite the immense changes and stress that the colonizing settlers forced upon the Aboriginals, they have been successful in maintaining much of their health and healing practices notwithstanding periods of cultural suppression (Obomsawin, 2007). They have passively resisted many western practices and beliefs with regard to health care. According to Obomsawin, the traditional Aboriginal health systems consist of properly thought-out frameworks for classifying animals, plants, climatic conditions and landscapes relative to their effects on disease and health. These taxonomies represent culturally pertinent empirical frameworks for assessing the uses of plants for both medicine and food (2007). To the Aboriginals, diet is highly considered as the key basis for supporting and/or health and well-being.
Robbins and Dewar (2011) stated that the traditional beliefs of the indigenous Canadian communities have adapted to the changing circumstances and conditions in which they live, and their perspectives of treatment have changed over this time. Nevertheless, there has been less change in their beliefs with regard to the cause of diseases and healing, and their health beliefs continue to play a role in giving meaning to events thereby helping people cope with serious illnesses and even death.
The Aboriginal medicine is a complex system that is closely linked to the beliefs and culture of the people, with knowledge of their land and its fauna and flora. Traditional indigenous communities and the mainstream biomedicine differ in different aspects with regard to health and healing systems. For instance, the Aboriginal approach to healthcare is holistic and recognizes the physical, spiritual as well a...