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Improve Income Status, Improve Health

  • Jennifer Beaudry
  • Jul 16, 2018
  • 3 min read

There are many different interpretations of the term "vulnerable person". According to Health Canada (2011) children, pregnant women, and seniors are considered vulnerable. In Manitoba the Vulnerable Persons Act defines a vulnerable person as an adult living with a mental disability in need of assistance to meet basic needs (Government of Manitoba, DATE). When I think of a vulnerable population I think of any population experiencing social or economic hardships (Giger and Dividhizar, 2007). This can be due to any number of reasons whether that be racial or ethnic background, disability, or the impoverished. Vulnerable populations are at increased risk due to lack of access to health care resources and inadequate available resources (Giger and Dividhizar, 2007).

Aboriginal people represent 17% of the population in the province of Manitoba, and 11% of the population living in Winnipeg (Statistics Canada, 2014). When looking at the determinants of health listed by Health Canada (2018) the aboriginal population in Manitoba are significantly underserved in many areas including income and income distribution, which in turn affects many other factors (Richmond and Cook, 2016). The Southern Chiefs Organizations represents 32 of Manitoba's southern First Nations and they have highlighted the lack of adequate financial resources as one of the key detriments to maintaining a holistic quality of life. High rates of unemployment, low income, and higher rates of those requiring welfare assistance directly impacts the health of First Nations people, families, and communities (Southern Chiefs Organization, 2016).

Barriers for aboriginal people when it comes to income and employment include lack of a driver's license and transportation, child care, literacy and education, cultural differences, and racism and discrimination (Southern Chiefs Organization, 2016). A large portion of the unemployed aboriginal population attribute the difficulty in finding work to not having enough education or training for available jobs, not enough job experience, and not being able to find permanent employment (Government of Canada, 2010).

There is a need to reform policies on Aboriginal health and healthcare at both the provincial and federal levels to promote equity for this population (Richmond and Cook, 2016). Increasing assistance levels and increasing the minimum wage is an example of how policies could help improve the health of this population (Mikkonen and Raphael, 2010). Aboriginal people should also have equal opportunities in hiring, pay and training, as well as adequate income and training when they are unemployed to improve their employment opportunities (Mikkonnen and Raphael, 2010). In summary, there must be a change in policy to support the aboriginal population when it comes to income levels and employment stability. This in turn will lead to an improvement in many other aspects of health and wellbeing.

References

Giger, J.N., and Davidhizar, R. (2007). Promoting Culturally Appropriate Interventions Among Vulnerable Populations. Fitzpatrik, J., Koniak-Griffin, D. & Nyamathi, A. (Eds.), Annual Review of Nursing Research (293-316). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Government of Canada. (2013). Report on Equality Rights of Aboriginal People. Cat. No. HR4-22/2013E-PDF. Retrieved from http://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/sites/default/files/equality_aboriginal_report.pdf

Government of Manitoba. (2014). The Vulnerable Persons Living with a Mental Disability Act. Retrieved from http://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/pwd/what_is_vpa.html

Health Canada (2018). Social determinants of health and health inequalities. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/what-determines-health.html

Mikkonen, J., & Raphael, D. (2010). Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts Toronto: York University School of Health Policy and Management. Retrieved June 1, 2018 form http://www.thecanadianfacts.org/

Richmond, C.A.M., & Cook, C. (2016). Creating conditions for Canadian aboriginal health equity: The promise of public health policy. Public Health Reviews, 37. doi: 10.1186/s40985-016-0016-5

Southern Chiefs Organization (n.d.) Factors affecting determinants of health for Manitoba's 32 Southern First Nations. Retrieved from http://scoinc.mb.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/SCO-Determinants-of-Health-Overview1.pdf

Statistics Canada. (2016). Aboriginal peoples: Fact Sheet for Manitoba (Catalogue no. 89-656-X2016008). Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada


 
 
 

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