Mental Health and Inequality in Schizophrenia

This essay will discuss inequality in schizophrenia with particular schizophrenia in NZ and Schizophrenia in Maori population. Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is chronic as well as a server mental disorder that cognitively affects how a person behaves, thinks and feels. Several types of research linked to the ailment indicate that a person who has schizophrenia can exhibit its respective symptoms from the age of 16 to 30 years (Galletly et al. The common symptoms of schizophrenia are usually categorized into three groups, positive, negative as well as cognitive. The positive systems symptoms indicate the psychotic trends rarely seen in people who are considered as healthy, like hallucinations and illusions (Galletly et al. However, the ailment was the fourth most common, first admission, cause of mental disorder in New Zealand health institutions.

In the last 10 to 20 years, the first admission rates have drastically decreased Wheeler, A. J. On the other side, the readmission rates have relatively increased due to the poor diagnosis and clinical practices. Experts, in the recent years, have been able to determine that the huge disparity regarding admission and readmission rates in New Zealand have a detrimental effect on institutions capability to manage the disorder. Also, it features the services applicable y the culture in response to their accessibility. According to Programme for the integration of Mental Health Data for one year period, April 2013-2014, there were 2,333 and 1,770 Maori, 805 and 557 Pacific and 4,592 and 2,621other Ethnicity diagnosed with Schizophrenia and paranoid schizophrenia respectively. Concerning the three communities, it is evident that there is an overrepresentation of Maori, especially having paranoid schizophrenia.

Article published 2008 show that estimated 12 months prevalence of schizophrenia in NZ for Maori(0. 97%) and non-Maori (0. First, despite the fact that mental health disability accounts for 12% of global burden of disease, more than two-thirds of the countries over the world spend less than 1% of their health budget on mental health vs. physical health. Spending for mental health in New Zealand vary from year to year but is still underfunded. Biased Diagnoses Various studies have been able to prove that a bad diagnosis has contributed to the ineffective treatment interventions for schizophrenia. The common trend noted with this unbiasedness is that majority if the diagnosed patients came from low-income family backgrounds. The discrimination is even worse in some culture and results from the incapability of treating the disease using traditional medication.

With this, many people with schizophrenia would be considered as outlaws to their respective societies. Considering that people with schizophrenia are discriminated, any treatments intervention for the respective patients would be pointless since these people would have dismayed their hope of improving health wise. Colonisation as a factor for inequality Ward Churchill (1996) notes that colonization is based on dehumanizing indigenous people in many ways, from genocide to neglect as well as paternalism, Coloniser believes in own superiority biological, genetic, social and intellectual, so together with taking rights over territory, they wanted to change the culture as well. Colonisers regarded themselves superior and indigenous people barbaric and ignorant. In the 2013 Maori and Pacific people were over-represented in negative health outcome but underrepresented in employment in the health sector( 14,9% identify themselves as a Maori, and 7.

4% as Pacific people but only 2. 7% of doctors were Maori and 1. 8 %Pacific). In the national survey (Harris at all 2006) Maori reported racial discrimination 34%, so adverse health outcomes that are linked to racism will disproportionately affect Maori people. The reason being is that these methodologies have the capability of detecting the ailment before it develops to critical conditions and also treatment interventions are quite effective considering that they have been tested before. However, many families that experience such cases find it hard to cope with the finances that come along with the treatment packages (Kake, Arnold & Ellis, 2008). Considering that the individual has to go for several tests before confirmation of the ailment and if confirmed, the same person is subjected to a series of therapies.