Write a 1500-word essay that responds to the topic provided in the task
Key words: stages of colonisation, institutional & systemic racism, cultural safety, access to appropriate healthcare.
In a professional healthcare setting, it is important to consider the importance of different cultures and their individual and communities’ approach to health. Whilst treating Indigenous Australians it is important to remember how they view and prioritise their health and treatments. Ensuring there is no underlying racism, or bias is crucial to creating a safe environment when treating individuals so they are comfortable and feel safe enough to be vulnerable and receive appropriate treatment. Social determinants such as housing, employment, & community, etc. play a heavy role in the influence of decisions affecting Indigenous Australians health status’. Many social and economic factors can change how much an individual is involved in the community whether it be sports, volunteering, social connections and groups, etc. which has a major affect on the psychological health of an individual (Saggers, 2007). The colonisation of Australia has had a deep lasting impact on Indigenous Australians, leaving an intergenerational trauma that to this day needs more recognition, consideration, sensitivity, and treatment (Paradies, 2016). When applying the principle of cultural safety into professional practise it is important the focus is the patients experience of care and treatment, rather than focusing on the approaches of knowledge implemented by the healthcare worker (Clough, 2024).
The colonisation of Australia has forever changed the culture and practises of Indigenous Australians, whom are still recognising and healing their intergenerational trauma to this day. The trauma of loss, grief, hurt, distrust and physical abuse towards Indigenous Australians is an underlying issue in Indigenous communities becoming a factor that impacts their daily lives (Paradies, 2016). This trauma and previous ‘rivalry’ between the new English settlement and Indigenous Australians has created a generational distrust which is a factor to why there are less positive health outcomes between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians and more harmful outcomes such as substance abuse, self harm and incarceration
Brief summary of assessment requirements
This assessment requires a focused, evidence-informed essay that examines how historical and contemporary forces shape health outcomes for Indigenous Australians. The core aim is to explain how the stages of colonisation and their legacies:especially institutional & systemic racism:continue to influence health, and how applying the principle of cultural safety can improve access to appropriate healthcare. The student must demonstrate an understanding of:
- the historical context and specific stages of colonisation and how those stages produced intergenerational trauma;
- the ways institutional and systemic racism operate within healthcare and other social systems to produce inequitable outcomes;
- how social determinants (housing, employment, community connectedness, education) interact with culture and trauma to affect health;
- the definition and practical application of cultural safety in clinical practice, with emphasis on centring the patient’s experience of care; and
- strategies and recommendations that improve access to appropriate healthcare for Indigenous Australians.
Assessment criteria include clarity of argument, use of relevant literature (e.g., Saggers, 2007; Paradies, 2016; Clough, 2024), critical analysis of systems and policy, culturally respectful language and perspective, integration of social determinants, and professional presentation (referencing, word limit, structure).
How the academic mentor guided the assessment
Below is a practical roadmap of how the academic mentor structured guidance for the student. Each step maps to a section of the final essay and describes the mentor’s coaching points and the student’s deliverables.
- Clarify the task & frame learning objectives (planning)
Mentor action: Begin by restating the assessment brief and extracting learning objectives: (a) historical analysis (stages of colonisation); (b) systems critique (institutional & systemic racism); (c) application of cultural safety; (d) evaluation of barriers to access. The mentor encouraged the student to write a short plan (500–700 words outline) before drafting.
Student deliverable: A document listing the objectives, proposed headings, preliminary references (Saggers, Paradies, Clough), and how each objective maps to marking criteria. - Literature scoping and selection (research)
Mentor action: Demonstrate how to search academic databases and authoritative policy sources. Emphasise selecting sources that cover historical colonisation stages, Indigenous health outcomes, theoretical frameworks for systemic racism, and best-practice cultural safety approaches. The mentor recommended prioritising peer-reviewed articles and government or Indigenous health organisation publications.
Student deliverable: A short annotated bibliography noting how each source will inform specific essay sections. - Develop an evidence-based thesis and structure (argumentation)
Mentor action: Coach the student to formulate a clear central thesis: e.g., “The staged processes of colonisation established institutional and systemic racism that, compounded by adverse social determinants, continue to restrict Indigenous Australians’ access to culturally safe and appropriate healthcare; adopting cultural safety principles is essential to redress these inequities.” The mentor modelled how to create a coherent paragraph-to-paragraph flow that links history to current practice.
Student deliverable: A thesis statement and a structured outline with topic sentences for each paragraph. - Introduction (context and scope)
Mentor action: Advise the student to open with a concise contextual paragraph that defines scope (timeframe, population, definitions). Specifically, the mentor suggested defining “stages of colonisation” and briefly citing Paradies (2016) to signal the link to intergenerational trauma. The intro should also preview key sections: historical overview, systems analysis, cultural safety, access barriers, recommendations, and conclusion.
Student deliverable: A 150–200 word introduction that sets reader expectations. - Background: stages of colonisation and their health consequences (historical analysis)
Mentor action: Direct the student to summarise colonisation in stages (initial contact, dispossession, frontier conflict, forced removal and assimilation policies, and ongoing structural marginalisation). The mentor emphasised evidence of how each stage eroded land, social structures and cultural practices:creating trauma that transmits across generations. Use Paradies (2016) to support claims about intergenerational effects.
Student deliverable: A coherent section (250–350 words) linking historical stages to contemporary health determinants. - Institutional & systemic racism (systems critique)
Mentor action: Coach an analytical approach: distinguish between interpersonal prejudice and institutional & systemic racism:how policies, funding models, service design, and workforce composition can disadvantage Indigenous people. The mentor recommended using concrete healthcare examples (service access barriers, culturally inappropriate protocols, discriminatory triage or assessment practices) and drawing on literature that documents these mechanisms. Encourage critical but evidence-based language rather than emotive rhetoric.
Student deliverable: A section (250–300 words) that identifies mechanisms of systemic racism and connects them to health outcomes. - Social determinants and community-level impacts
Mentor action: Guide the student to integrate social determinants:housing, employment, education, community connection:and to reference Saggers (2007) for evidence of the psychological and social impacts (reduced community participation, substance use, social isolation). The mentor advised tying determinants back to health service utilisation and engagement.
Student deliverable: A concise section (150–200 words) showing how determinants mediate health outcomes. - Cultural safety: principles and application in clinical practice
Mentor action: Emphasise the centrality of cultural safety as defined by the patient’s experience of care (Clough, 2024). The mentor modelled how to translate principles into practice: reflective practice by clinicians, organisational reforms (co-design with Indigenous stakeholders), workforce diversification, use of cultural brokers, flexible service delivery, and trauma-informed approaches. The mentor recommended offering short case examples to show practical application.
Student deliverable: A section (250–300 words) describing cultural safety and actionable recommendations for clinicians and organisations. - Access to appropriate healthcare: barriers and enablers
Mentor action: Point out key barriers:geographic distance, cost, distrust due to past harms, stigma, inflexible hours:and enablers:community-controlled services, outreach, culturally adapted health promotion, and policy levers. The mentor recommended linking each proposed enabler to evidence or policy examples and being realistic about implementation challenges.
Student deliverable: A problem-and-solution style section (200–250 words). - Recommendations and conclusion (synthesis and reflection)
Mentor action: Help the student craft targeted recommendations for practice, education, and policy, and finish with a strong concluding paragraph that reasserts the thesis and notes implications for future practice. The mentor suggested including brief reflection on the limitations of the essay and areas for further study.
Student deliverable: A recommendations paragraph plus a 100–150 word conclusion. - Editing, referencing, and cultural safety check (finalisation)
Mentor action: Run a final rubric-aligned checklist: ensure the essay meets word count, uses culturally respectful language, includes in-text citations and a reference list, and maps content to marking criteria. The mentor also suggested a cultural safety check:either an Indigenous peer or a mentor with cultural expertise review:to avoid inadvertent harm.
Student deliverable: Final draft, revised per feedback, formatted and referenced.
How the outcome was achieved and learning objectives covered
Outcome achieved: By following the above mentor-guided process the student produced a structured, evidence-based essay that meets the assessment brief. The final product ties the stages of colonisation to contemporary determinants of health, provides a systematic analysis of institutional & systemic racism, and presents cultural safety as the central clinical and organisational framework to improve access to appropriate healthcare. The work uses the provided foundational literature (Saggers, 2007; Paradies, 2016; Clough, 2024), integrates social determinants, and concludes with realistic recommendations for practice and policy.
Learning objectives covered:
- Historical understanding : demonstrated comprehension of colonisation stages and intergenerational trauma.
- Critical analysis of systems : identified mechanisms of institutional & systemic racism and linked these to health outcomes.
- Application of theory to practice : operationalised cultural safety into concrete clinical and organisational actions.
- Integration of social determinants : connected housing, employment and community factors to health service engagement and outcomes.
- Evidence-based reasoning : drew on peer-reviewed and policy sources to justify claims and recommendations.
- Professional communication : produced a clear, structured essay with appropriate academic conventions and culturally respectful language.
- Reflective practice and ethical awareness : recognised the need for culturally safe review and limitations of analysis.
Final remarks
This mentor-led process emphasises scaffolding: planning, targeted research, structured drafting, culturally informed critique, and iterative revision. The assessment not only measures academic skills but also encourages practitioners to centre Indigenous voices, apply cultural safety in daily practice, and pursue systemic changes that expand equitable access to healthcare.