Critical Reflection

IMPORTANT INFORMATION; ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINE

Please take time to read the unit assessment guide with further details surrounding the requirements.

The first assessment task had you research the available physical health programs out there, their aims, what they offer and how they go about doing it. This is a really good springboard to get you thinking about why it is that despite having these programs out there, and being one of the countries with the best life expectancies/ health outcomes, there remains such a disparity between the life expectancy of someone with a mental illness vs one without. This leads to this assessment task.

Equity vs equality

Equity vs equality mean two very different things. I would suggest that you take some time to research what these mean and how these terms influence the health of such a population as those with a mental illness.

Consider the following:

As much as Australia boasts it has services that are tailored to an individual’s needs, unfortunately, this is not the reality. The health system somewhat relies on an idealistic society where by one has adequate health literacy, adequate education, adequate income, knowledge of how to access services, knowledge of such services, adequate transport to get to services and allocated appointments etc etc. Throw a dash of chaos in there and acknowledge the disruption of one’s determinants of health that is commonly experienced by people with a mental illness and what happens then?

The breakdown:

Point 1. An outline of the evidence that people with mental illness do not currently enjoy

“equity of access” to quality health care.

This is about what we currently know about the physical health of those with mental illness. What do the stats say?

Point 2. Reference to the literature on determinants of health and wellbeing outline factors,

other than access to health care, which may contribute to poor physical health in

people diagnosed with mental illness.

This point feeds back to point 1. Why is it that people with MI have poorer physical health? This is closely aligned with your readings……

 

Point 3. Include in your discussion a justification for why nutrition, exercise-based

interventions, and pharmacological treatments should be provided to people

diagnosed with mental illness.

As is states, why is it those interventions should be provided in relation to what you have said in part 1 and 2.

Point three asks you to include in your discussion a justification for why nutrition, exercises-based interventions and pharmacological treatments should be provided to people diagnosed with a mental illness. You need to justify why these should be provided- ie what is the benefit of one having support/ services for their nutrition? What does the evidence say in relation to this? BUT, you need to consider this in relation to the barriers they may face. 

If I give you an example: 

We know there are high rates of diabetes in those with mental illness which can be associated with many of the social determinants listed earlier and then some. If we are discussing the concept of nutrition in relation to this- healthy diet = less chance of developing diabetes but also improves the trajectory of the condition if one already has such a diagnosis. So, if we consider say, someone who is homeless who has a mental illness, chances are their diet isn't going to be great right? because they likely don't have an income, can't go shopping to get supplies to cook a healthy meal, don't have access to cook a healthy meal etc etc. So, if support or services were provided which tackled this issue, we would hopefully see either reduction in prevalence or a lessened negative impact of such a condition and better physical health. 

That example is really simplified down and perhaps optimistic in its outcomes, but hopefully gives you an idea of what is being sought. It is about justifying why these services should be provided. 

The finer details:

I suggest you stick to the 2000 word limit provided as the more words you use, chances are the task is not succinctly written as it could be which will impact your grades.

· Yes, you need a formal introduction and conclusion.

· Yes, you can use headings- it will help you structure your work.

· References are needed to support your work, keep them as recent as possible.

There are two examples uploaded in the assessment 2 folder under Assessment tasks and submissions. Please have a look at these. Again, you must not copy these as that will constitute academic misconduct. We are simply providing these to help guide you in the right direction.