Factors Affecting Indigenous Health
Many studies have shown that Indigenous peoples have poorer health outcomes, such as higher infant/child mortality, lower life expectancy, and low levels of access to health care. This is due to a variety of factors, including:
Acculturation
The change in diet and lifestyle has greatly affected indigenous populations. Changing from a nomadic to a sedentary lifestyle has increased obesity and hypertension, which are linked to the risk of heart disease and diabetes. A study of the Kuna population in the Carribean has shown that some maintenance of traditional culture may be beneficial in decreasing vulnerability to disease. Kuna people who were partially acculturated had lower blood pressures than fully acculturated Kuna, perhaps due to greater levels of physical activity. In addition, the traditional isolation from modern society may prevent the spread of disease into indigenous communities.
Poverty
The indigenous people who became integrated into European society were often placed in the worst socioeconomic situations, which left them in poverty and with limited educational opportunities. Even today, the World Bank reports that “indigenous people on average earn 46-60% of the earnings of non-indigenous people.” (1) Lack of safe drinking water and other poverty-related factors have caused increased vulnerability to disease, such as tuberculosis as well as parasites.
Resource Exploitation
Environmental contamination, such as mining spills, can cause increased exposure of even isolated indigenous communities to harmful metals or other substances. A spill may even affect communities living far away by traveling through water sources. Indigenous populations living near the Pilcomayo River in Argentina were found to have been exposed to high levels of heavy metals due to a mining spill in Bolivia (1).
In addition, social contact with workers, such as miners and foresters, can affect indigenous health. Diseases may be spread to communities that may not have otherwise contacted the disease. For example, a study of Indians in Brazil found that 10-15% were infected with some form of STD (1).
The dangers of resource exploitation, both through contamination and social contact with workers, can affect the health of indigenous populations, including those living in isolation.
Sources:
1. Montenegro, R., and C. Stephens. "Indigenous Health in Latin America and the Caribbean." The Lancet 367.9525 (2006): 1859-869. PubMed. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.
2. Casas, Juan Antonio, J. Norberto W. Dachs, and Alexandra Bambas. "Health Disparities in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Role of Social and Economic
Determinants." The Lancelet 367 (2006): 1859-869. Pan American Health Organization, 3 June 2006. Web. 2 Mar. 2012.
1. Montenegro, R., and C. Stephens. "Indigenous Health in Latin America and the Caribbean." The Lancet 367.9525 (2006): 1859-869. PubMed. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.
2. Casas, Juan Antonio, J. Norberto W. Dachs, and Alexandra Bambas. "Health Disparities in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Role of Social and Economic
Determinants." The Lancelet 367 (2006): 1859-869. Pan American Health Organization, 3 June 2006. Web. 2 Mar. 2012.