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HSC CORE ONE- HEALTH PRIORITIES IN AUSTRALIA
HOW ARE PRIORITY AREAS FOR AUSTRALIA’S HEALTH IDENTIFIED?
Measuring Health Status
Role of Epidemiology
– The study of causes and distribution of health and illnesses in populations
– A major measure of health status
– Provides us with information on distribution of disease, illness and injury and on likely causes within groups or populations.
– Measures include mortality, infant mortality, morbidity and life expectancy.
– People who use epidemiology include manufacturers of health products, providers of health services and policy developers at all levels of government.
– Helps with monitoring the major causes of sickness and death to identify any emerging issues and inequities between groups and
– Determining priority areas for the allocation for government funding.
– Cannot tell us everything about health status as it doesn’t take socioeconomic status into account.
– Statistics don’t always present the full story as they aren’t always correct and haven’t always been recorded properly.
· Mortality
– Death rates and the causes and distribution of these deaths over the population by age, gender, population group or geographical location.
– Can be used to compare health status across groups e.g. between males and females.
· Infant mortality
– the number of deaths in the first year of life
– considered the most important indicator of health status of a nation
– can predict adult life expectancy
– Can be divided into neonatal (deaths in first 28 days of life) and post neonatal (deaths in the remainder of the first year of life).
– Has decreased over the last decade.
· Morbidity
– Rates of illness and diseases and their distribution
– Reduce our quality of life, either temporary or permanently.
– Information about these incidence and prevalence of conditions gives us a boarder perspective on the nation’s health than that provided by mortality rates.
– Measures and indicators include hospital use, doctors visits and Medicare stats, health surveys and reports, disability and handicaps.
· Life Expectancy
– Measure of current mortality
– Defined as the average number of years of life a person of a particular age had remaining.
– We are living longer. Males 78 years and Females 83 years.
– Improvements in life expectancy since the 70’s have resulted in reduction in death rates in all ages.
The Health Status of Australians
– Current trends in Australian epidemiological data can provide a general picture of the health of Australians.
– Trends reflect the political, social and economical environment of the time and reveal inequities in health amongst population subgroups.
· Current Trends
– Life expectancy; in 2000, life expectancy at birth was 76 years for males and 82.1 years for females. It has increased in both men and women over the years. This doesn’t apply to all groups in Australia.
– Major causes of illness and death;injuries and poisoning are the most common causes of death for males and females ages 25-44.
– Cancer is the most common cause of death in females aged 45-64.
– Cardiovascular Disease is the main cause of death for people aged over 65. Death from CVD is decreasing and is attributed to declines in risk factors such as smoking and improved levels of physical activity.
– Suicide rates continue to be higher for males. The rate in 2000 was 19.4% per 100000 males and 5.2% for females.
· Groups Experiencing Health Inequities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
– Reduced quality of life due to ill health and earlier death rates
– Greater levels of cardiovascular disease and diabetes
– Socioeconomic disadvantages affecting health, including higher unemployment, poorer education and housing outcomes
– Participate in risk factors such as smoking, drinking, increased exposure to violence and family breakdown.
– Geological remoteness for 20% of indigenous people leading to poor access.
– Kidney disease more prevalent with less likelihood of transplants.
Socio-economically Disadvantages People
– People in this group more likely to live below the poverty line and be long term unemployed.
– Have low levels of education and health educations
– Find it difficult to access health care
– Not own home or car
– Live chaotic lives due to substance abuse in some cases.
Australians Born Overseas
– Health status may be influenced by lack of English
– Unemployment
– Cultural differences if they are not able to access health care from doctors where language is not understood
– Depression about the country or family left behind
– Low wages, crime and exploitation
– Rascim
Rural and Isolated People
– Experience health inequalities due to geographic and social isolation
– Environmental factors such as droughts, floods and bushfires
– Occupational hazards in rural industries
– High rates of accidents and death in farming
– Poor access to health services
– High unemployment rates, declining infrastructure affecting economic resources, education, social support, living and working conditions.
People with Disabilities
– Disabilities place restrictions on the ability for people to function normally and to live their full potential.
– May be physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric or another mental health condition.
– Individuals need access to special health care and education and training programs to provide employment opportunities.
– Physical access is require to buildings via ramps ad reserved parking spots.
– Need freedom from the stereotyping that can make life difficult.
Men
– Experience gender specific cancers including prostate and testicular cancer
– Need to access health care more and to have a greater awareness of the need for cancer screening
– May suffer depression and anxiety at the prospect of retrenchment and periods of unemployment.
– Have higher death rates from suicide and road accidents when young.
Women
– Are vulnerable to breast cancer and cervical cancer
– Need to access health screening such as Pap smears and mammograms
– Are vulnerable to domestic violence
– May experience unwanted pregnancies
– Experience health difficulties associated with menstruation and menopause
– May suffer from iron deficiency
– Sometimes suffer from pre natal depression
Older People
– Will use more health services as they age
– Place a greater demand on health services
– Are more likely to suffer from CVD over age of 65
– Risk of dementia, arthritis, depression, cancers, injuries, diabetes.
– Require home care
· Indentifying Priority Areas
Social Justice Principals
Social justice is the notion of eliminating inequity in health, promoting inclusiveness of diversity and establishing supportive environments for all Australians. The four principals of Social Justice as they relate to health are-
1. Equity; Fair allocation of all resources and entitlements without discrimination
2. Access; availability of health services, information and education.
3. Participation; empowerment of individuals and communities to be involved in planning and decision making for good health.
4. Rights; equitable opportunities for all individuals to achieve good health.
Priority Population Groups
– Those experiencing inequalities.
– Identification of these subgroups in the population with equitable health status is important for determining health priority areas.
– This allows health authorities to determine the health disadvantages of groups within the population.
– To better understand the social determinants of health
– Identify the prevalence of disease and injury in specific groups.
– Determine the needs of groups in relation to the principals of social justice.
– Indigenous populations have much higher death rates from heart disease, injury, respiratory disease and diabetes.
– People from low socioeconomic groups have higher incidence of disease risk factors such as high blood pressure.
– People in rural areas have higher incidence of injury compared to metropolitan areas.
– Women are more likely to be treated for illness; biological factors such as childbirth can be attributed to mortality rates. Difference between men and women had decreased in the past decade.
· Prevalence of Disease
– The major causes of death and illness, as shown in statistics, point to a need to prioritise.
– Identification of risk factors can indicate the potential for change in a health area.
– High prevalence rates of disease indicate the health and economic burden that the condition or disease or condition places on the community.
· Costs to Individuals
– Disease can place a great economic and health burden on the individual e.g. financial loss, loss of productivity, diminished quality of life.
– Emotional stress and social upheaval
– Difficult to estimate the pain and suffering that one may experience.
– Physical; discomfort and pain
– Social; loss of social contact and increased dependency on others.
– Emotional; decreased resilience, seesawing of feelings
– Spiritual; potential questioning of reasons for life and faith.
· Cost to Community
– Illness, disease, and premature death place an economic burden on the community which can be useful for health authorities when they are determining health priorities and health interventions.
– Direct Costs; money on diagnosis, treatment and prevention and research.
– Indirect Costs; are the value of the output lost when people become too ill to work pr die prematurely.
· Potential for Change
– Majority if priority areas results from poor lifestyle choices.
– Individuals encouraged to make better choices
– Difficult to change due to socioeconomic status, access to information, health services, employment.
– Individual behaviours and environmental determinants must be addressed.
HSC CORE ONE- HEALTH PRIORITIES IN AUSTRALIA
HOW ARE PRIORITY AREAS FOR AUSTRALIA’S HEALTH IDENTIFIED?
Measuring Health Status
Role of Epidemiology
– The study of causes and distribution of health and illnesses in populations
– A major measure of health status
– Provides us with information on distribution of disease, illness and injury and on likely causes within groups or populations.
– Measures include mortality, infant mortality, morbidity and life expectancy.
– People who use epidemiology include manufacturers of health products, providers of health services and policy developers at all levels of government.
– Helps with monitoring the major causes of sickness and death to identify any emerging issues and inequities between groups and
– Determining priority areas for the allocation for government funding.
– Cannot tell us everything about health status as it doesn’t take socioeconomic status into account.
– Statistics don’t always present the full story as they aren’t always correct and haven’t always been recorded properly.
· Mortality
– Death rates and the causes and distribution of these deaths over the population by age, gender, population group or geographical location.
– Can be used to compare health status across groups e.g. between males and females.
· Infant mortality
– the number of deaths in the first year of life
– considered the most important indicator of health status of a nation
– can predict adult life expectancy
– Can be divided into neonatal (deaths in first 28 days of life) and post neonatal (deaths in the remainder of the first year of life).
– Has decreased over the last decade.
· Morbidity
– Rates of illness and diseases and their distribution
– Reduce our quality of life, either temporary or permanently.
– Information about these incidence and prevalence of conditions gives us a boarder perspective on the nation’s health than that provided by mortality rates.
– Measures and indicators include hospital use, doctors visits and Medicare stats, health surveys and reports, disability and handicaps.
· Life Expectancy
– Measure of current mortality
– Defined as the average number of years of life a person of a particular age had remaining.
– We are living longer. Males 78 years and Females 83 years.
– Improvements in life expectancy since the 70’s have resulted in reduction in death rates in all ages.
The Health Status of Australians
– Current trends in Australian epidemiological data can provide a general picture of the health of Australians.
– Trends reflect the political, social and economical environment of the time and reveal inequities in health amongst population subgroups.
· Current Trends
– Life expectancy; in 2000, life expectancy at birth was 76 years for males and 82.1 years for females. It has increased in both men and women over the years. This doesn’t apply to all groups in Australia.
– Major causes of illness and death;injuries and poisoning are the most common causes of death for males and females ages 25-44.
– Cancer is the most common cause of death in females aged 45-64.
– Cardiovascular Disease is the main cause of death for people aged over 65. Death from CVD is decreasing and is attributed to declines in risk factors such as smoking and improved levels of physical activity.
– Suicide rates continue to be higher for males. The rate in 2000 was 19.4% per 100000 males and 5.2% for females.
· Groups Experiencing Health Inequities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
– Reduced quality of life due to ill health and earlier death rates
– Greater levels of cardiovascular disease and diabetes
– Socioeconomic disadvantages affecting health, including higher unemployment, poorer education and housing outcomes
– Participate in risk factors such as smoking, drinking, increased exposure to violence and family breakdown.
– Geological remoteness for 20% of indigenous people leading to poor access.
– Kidney disease more prevalent with less likelihood of transplants.
Socio-economically Disadvantages People
– People in this group more likely to live below the poverty line and be long term unemployed.
– Have low levels of education and health educations
– Find it difficult to access health care
– Not own home or car
– Live chaotic lives due to substance abuse in some cases.
Australians Born Overseas
– Health status may be influenced by lack of English
– Unemployment
– Cultural differences if they are not able to access health care from doctors where language is not understood
– Depression about the country or family left behind
– Low wages, crime and exploitation
– Rascim
Rural and Isolated People
– Experience health inequalities due to geographic and social isolation
– Environmental factors such as droughts, floods and bushfires
– Occupational hazards in rural industries
– High rates of accidents and death in farming
– Poor access to health services
– High unemployment rates, declining infrastructure affecting economic resources, education, social support, living and working conditions.
People with Disabilities
– Disabilities place restrictions on the ability for people to function normally and to live their full potential.
– May be physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric or another mental health condition.
– Individuals need access to special health care and education and training programs to provide employment opportunities.
– Physical access is require to buildings via ramps ad reserved parking spots.
– Need freedom from the stereotyping that can make life difficult.
Men
– Experience gender specific cancers including prostate and testicular cancer
– Need to access health care more and to have a greater awareness of the need for cancer screening
– May suffer depression and anxiety at the prospect of retrenchment and periods of unemployment.
– Have higher death rates from suicide and road accidents when young.
Women
– Are vulnerable to breast cancer and cervical cancer
– Need to access health screening such as Pap smears and mammograms
– Are vulnerable to domestic violence
– May experience unwanted pregnancies
– Experience health difficulties associated with menstruation and menopause
– May suffer from iron deficiency
– Sometimes suffer from pre natal depression
Older People
– Will use more health services as they age
– Place a greater demand on health services
– Are more likely to suffer from CVD over age of 65
– Risk of dementia, arthritis, depression, cancers, injuries, diabetes.
– Require home care
· Indentifying Priority Areas
Social Justice Principals
Social justice is the notion of eliminating inequity in health, promoting inclusiveness of diversity and establishing supportive environments for all Australians. The four principals of Social Justice as they relate to health are-
1. Equity; Fair allocation of all resources and entitlements without discrimination
2. Access; availability of health services, information and education.
3. Participation; empowerment of individuals and communities to be involved in planning and decision making for good health.
4. Rights; equitable opportunities for all individuals to achieve good health.
Priority Population Groups
– Those experiencing inequalities.
– Identification of these subgroups in the population with equitable health status is important for determining health priority areas.
– This allows health authorities to determine the health disadvantages of groups within the population.
– To better understand the social determinants of health
– Identify the prevalence of disease and injury in specific groups.
– Determine the needs of groups in relation to the principals of social justice.
– Indigenous populations have much higher death rates from heart disease, injury, respiratory disease and diabetes.
– People from low socioeconomic groups have higher incidence of disease risk factors such as high blood pressure.
– People in rural areas have higher incidence of injury compared to metropolitan areas.
– Women are more likely to be treated for illness; biological factors such as childbirth can be attributed to mortality rates. Difference between men and women had decreased in the past decade.
· Prevalence of Disease
– The major causes of death and illness, as shown in statistics, point to a need to prioritise.
– Identification of risk factors can indicate the potential for change in a health area.
– High prevalence rates of disease indicate the health and economic burden that the condition or disease or condition places on the community.
· Costs to Individuals
– Disease can place a great economic and health burden on the individual e.g. financial loss, loss of productivity, diminished quality of life.
– Emotional stress and social upheaval
– Difficult to estimate the pain and suffering that one may experience.
– Physical; discomfort and pain
– Social; loss of social contact and increased dependency on others.
– Emotional; decreased resilience, seesawing of feelings
– Spiritual; potential questioning of reasons for life and faith.
· Cost to Community
– Illness, disease, and premature death place an economic burden on the community which can be useful for health authorities when they are determining health priorities and health interventions.
– Direct Costs; money on diagnosis, treatment and prevention and research.
– Indirect Costs; are the value of the output lost when people become too ill to work pr die prematurely.
· Potential for Change
– Majority if priority areas results from poor lifestyle choices.
– Individuals encouraged to make better choices
– Difficult to change due to socioeconomic status, access to information, health services, employment.
– Individual behaviours and environmental determinants must be addressed.