Publication Details
Hill, S.,
Ewen, S.,
Paul, D.,
&
Wilkin, A.
(2016).
Can my mechanic fix blue cars? A discussion of health clinician's interactions with Aboriginal Australian clients.
Australian Journal of Rural Health, Early View (Online First).
Abstract
We expect our professional mechanics to ‘diagnose’ and 'treat' our cars irrespective of colour, but are we expecting less from our health professionals? There is an increasing focus in the literature on health practitioner decision-making and its influence on the nature and quality of health care. In this article we explore how the basic diagnostic and therapeutic skills that health care practitioners have should be utilised equitably for all clients and propose ways this might be realised. Could the development of Indigenous specific curricula be teaching our medical students to think that Aboriginal patients are different from the norm? We conclude that despite the gains in introducing more comprehensive Aboriginal health curricula there remains considerable work to be done before we can be confident that we are ensuring that health practitioners are no longer contributing to health disparities.
Keywords
Aboriginal health, indigenous health, health professional, racism in health, health disparities
