Acquired Brain Injury ( Abi ) - 2419 Words

Acquired brain injury (ABI) is any brain injury that occurs after birth and is not related to a congenital or a degenerative disease1. A variety of events or conditions can cause ABI, with traumatic brain injury (TBI) being one of them. TBI is used to describe all injuries to the brain caused by an external force. ABI is relatively common in Australia, and South Australia has the third highest prevalence, with around 2.2% of the South Australian2 population living with an ABI compared with the Australian average of 1.9% of the population3. Across Australia, the lifetime cost for moderate and severe traumatic brain injury per incident case was estimated to be $2.5million and $4.8million respectively4. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait†¦show more content†¦Individuals with ongoing deficits require the ability to access both specialist and maintenance care options throughout their lifespan. Although a lack of high-quality data limits an accurate assessment of the health dispa rities between indigenous and nonindigenous populations in many countries, the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians health status and care has been widely documented6. The causes of the health status inequalities are multi-factorial; with the major contributors related to social and environmental determinants of indigenous health7. Cultural security One method that has been suggested to reduce these disparities in indigenous health status is by providing culturally appropriate services. Unfortunately, the existing health services are not well structured to meet the needs of Aboriginal Australians. Cultural competence is an important foundation for effective clinical and patient centred care. It focuses on the capacity of the health system to improve health and wellbeing by integrating culture into the delivery of health services. Then there is cultural safety, which provides an environment that is safe for the receiver of care8. This is comparable to clinical safety, which allows the patient to feel safe in health care interactions and be involved in changes to health services, without being denied of their identity, or who they are. Whereas, cultural security