Sample Information

13 Nov 2023 By - Project Help Global

Sample Work - ‘Close The Gap’ Campaign - A Critical Analysis

Academic Discipline: Nursing
Referencing Style: APA
Word Count: 1086

‘Close The Gap’ Campaign - A Critical Analysis

            ‘Close the Gap,’ is a social justice campaign, started to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in Australia (HealthInfoNet, n.d.). The Campaign aims to bridge the gap between life expectancy and the health outcomes for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (Humanrights.gov.au, 2021). Since the role of a nurse as a leader is crucial while working as full partners with physicians, and other healthcare professionals in a clinical setup (Institute of Medicine, 2011), the nurses have a significant role to play as a leader and an advocate for the cause of social justice for Aboriginals and Torres Islanders. From bedside to boardroom, the nurses should bring in the leadership qualities to become accountable for their contribution to delivering high-quality healthcare, along with other leaders from other healthcare professions (Institute of Medicine, 2011). This paper herein takes a closer look at the campaign, ‘Close the Gap,’ and the role of nurses to act as leaders in realizing the closure of the gap for Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. 

A Critical Analysis of the Campaign, ‘Close the Gap’ and its strategy 

‘Closing the Gap’

The campaign ‘Close the Gap’ was built on the evidence that the health outcomes of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders people can be improved, and that the campaign ‘Close the Gap’ would bring in significant health improvements in the health status of these people by 2030. However, on reviewing the campaign’s ten years’ performance in 2018, the Australian Human Rights Commission (2021) examined that the Australian government has not succeeded in closing the gap and will not succeed by 2030 if they keep up the work with the same course (Humanrights.gov.au, 2021).

Whereas ‘Close the Gap’ is a social justice campaign (HealthInfoNet, n.d.), ‘Closing the Gap,’ on the other hand is a strategy by which the lives of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders will be improved (HealthInfoNet, n.d.). Currently, in continuation of the effort of bringing justice to the Aboriginals and Torres Islanders, a strategy, National Agreement on Closing the Gap has been made between the National Federation Reform Council (NFRC), and the Coalition of Peaks where the former represents the government body and the latter is a representative body of about fifty Aboriginal and Torres Islanders’ members or community-based peak organizations (HealthInfoNet, n.d.). The National Agreement outlines seventeen socioeconomic targets along with four priority reforms, that had been agreed upon and signed by the NFRC and the Coalition of Peaks in July 2020 (HealthInfoNet, n.d.). The ‘Closing the Gap’ campaign works at all levels of governance including national, state, territory, and local levels (Closingthegap.gov.au, n.d.). 

Although, much has been written about the implementation plans of the campaign, ‘Closing the Gap,’ the Indigenous groups criticize the failure of this campaign as even by the year 2020, the targets remained unmet (Allam, 2020). According to the Aboriginal organizations’ leaders, the campaign will see a seemingly endless cycle of failure as it does not have the input of Aboriginal people (Allam, 2020). The chief of the Coalition of Peaks claimed that the reports of the campaign will remain a failure every year, as the campaign misses out on the voice of the Aboriginals (Allam, 2020). Not only, would such reports bring complacency and sarcasm but also excuse those who are in power (Allam, 2020). It is true that unless the campaign is inclusive of and backed by directly the communities of Aboriginals, the success of the campaign is far from turning real. In light of this campaign, such policies should, therefore, be drafted directly by Aboriginals and Torres Islanders who have been witnessing unlawful and unjustified behaviors throughout their lives. 

Nurses’ Role as leaders in advocating for Closing the Gap

            Around 476 million Indigenous people are living in over 90 countries worldwide (Brockie et al., 2021). Around 7 million of these people live in high-income countries, including the United States, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia (Brockie et al., 2021). Indigenous people makeup about 5 percent of the world’s population and still experience alienation from land and resources, face racism, stigma, and discrimination, and are victims of murders and violence (Brockie et al., 2021). Since, 60% of the world health workforce is comprised of nurses (World Health Organization, 2020), they are the ones who ideally meet the needs and requirements of Indigenous people as the philosophy of nursing is based on human dignity, autonomy, social justice, and altruism (Brockie et al., 2021). However, nursing has failed to meet the needs of Indigenous populations (Brockie et al., 2021) owing to reasons such as a shortage of Indigenous nurses (Smiley et al., 2018; Wilson et al., 2011); lack of Indigenous nursing content taught to the nurses, limited nurse educators belonging to Indigenous group (Rochecouste et al., 2016) and absence of health surfaces complying with the culture of Indigenous people (Li, 2017). However, it cannot be denied that nurses can be powerful agents in bringing social change and justice, but they need to be backed by governments, professional organizations, and healthcare institutions (Institute of Medicine, 2011). 

            There is a range of tasks that require nurses to show leadership qualities such as enhancing patient care, relying upon teamwork, increasing association within the organization and the community, utilizing the best resources available, and communicating well across departments to bring out the best of the organization (Holm and Severinsson, 2010). Thus, a nurse’s role is critical in showing leadership across various sects in a clinical setup. For Indigenous people like Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, they would have altogether more culturally appropriate responsibilities that can only be met if they get optimum support from the governments. 

Conclusion

            The Nurses have a critical role to play in catering to the needs of the Indigenous people including Aboriginals and Torres Islanders. Being the world’s largest healthcare workforce and being an equal participant in providing healthcare along with doctors and other medical staff, nurses can play a pivotal role in meeting the healthcare needs of Aboriginals and Torres Islanders. However, they have been failing to meet those needs because of reasons not being supported by the Government. If given support by the Governments at the local, state, and national levels, they can indeed Close the Gap in meeting ends in healthcare delivery for Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. Concluding, nurses can emerge as world leaders and can help bridge the gap between the actual and healthcare needs of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.

Referencing Style: APA
Word Count: 1086
Sources: 12