Core 1. Health Priorities In Australia
CQ1. How are priority issues for Australia’s health identified?
Measuring health status
- Role of epidemiology
- Measures of epidemiology (mortality, infant mortality, morbidity, life
expectancy)
● Health status
○ overall wellness of a population
● Epidemiology
○ study of patterns of disease within a population
○ provides insight into the health issues affecting a country
○ utilised by the government and other health organisations to answer the
inquiries:
■ What issues affect the population the most?
■ Are there health inequalities between groups?
■ Where should resources be directed? (e.g CVD is quite common, however
affect more ATSI individuals, hence resources should be targeted at them)
■ limitations like its inability to answer why these specific disease affects a
population, doesn't take into account the determinants of health or
quality of life as well as the other dimensions of health
● Prevalence and Incidence
○ types of data that can be collected for epidemiology
○ prevalence- number of existing cases of a disease within a population at a specific
time
○ incidence- amount of new cases of a disease occurring within a certain time frame
● Measures
○ morbidity
■ number of cases of a particular disease within a population
■ e.g the number of obesity in Australia is increasing
■ conditions with a high morbidity affect a large portion of the community,
hence the government and health organisations will prioritise them
○ mortality
■ number of deaths within a population over a period of time
■ e.g lung cancer mortality rates are decreasing for males but increasing for
females
■ conditions with a high or rapidly increasing mortality rates takes the lives
of a large sum of the population, hence they become a priority
○ infant mortality
, ■ number of deaths among children under the age of 1 (per 1000 live births
per year) within a population over a period of time
■ e.g infant mortality in Australia is decreasing and already quite low which
suggests improvement of medical diagnosis of illnesses and public
sanitation and better health education and support services for parents
○ life expectancy
■ average number of years an individual is expected to live
■ e.g life expectancy of males has increased from 67.9 (born between
1960-62) to 80.5 (born between 2015-17) years, however the female life
expectancy is 84.6 years (2015-17) and the ATSI males are 71.6 with the
females at roughly 75.6
Identifying priority health issues
- Social justice principles
- Priority population groups
- Prevalence of condition
- Potential for prevention and early intervention
- Costs to the individual and community
● Social Justice Principles
○ social justice is the equal distribution of opportunities
○ equity, diversity and supportive environments must be satisfied
○ equity refers to the balanced distribution of resources, supporting those who need
it rather than the whole population, e.g centrelink funds those in need, that may
have a disability and low-income family
○ diversity relates to the differences that exist between individuals and how they
must be acknowledged, e.g providing informative brochures in multiple
languages or interpreters in hospitals
○ support environments are spaces that support people and encourage them to
make healthy choices, if not those spaces must be identified and improved, e.g in
Australia road safety is a recurring issue so the government formed the National
Road Safety Strategy, which incorporates more speed cameras and school zones
● Priority Population Groups
○ priority should be directed towards groups achieving poorer health outcomes
compared to the rest of the population
○ in Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island individuals and communities
have a shorter life expectancy and greater prevalence of disease, therefore the
government set in place the Close the Gap program, which addresses ATSI health
inequities by providing more health care through Indigenous doctors and other
initiatives
○ health initiatives are more effective when they are specific
● Prevalence of Condition
○ priority should be given to conditions with a high prevalence (number of of
existing cases of a disease)
, ○ e.g cardiovascular disease is one of Australia's leading cause of illness and death,
hence a $220 million initiative was invested to research and development,
clinical trials and medical study graphs
○ health initiatives that address high prevalence conditions can assist more citizens
● Potential for Prevention and Early Intervention
○ conditions with the potential for prevention and early intervention
○ e.g with cardiovascular disease it is generally caused by lifestyle choices
(smoking, poor diet, inactive), hence the government formed the jump rope for
heart to encourage the younger generation to make healthier choices and overall
reduce their risk of developing the disease
○ health promotion initiatives have a more substantial impact when prevention and
intervention is possible
● Cost to Individual and Community
○ priority should be given to high cost conditions
○ e.g cancer is the most expensive illnesses in Australia which may attain direct
costs; relate directly to the illness which may affect the individual (medication,
consult fees) or the community (medicare); or indirect costs; associated with the
illness which may also affect the individual (reduced quality of life) or the
community (emotional strain)
CQ2. What are the priority issues for improving Australia’s health?
Groups experiencing health inequities
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Socioeconomically disadvantaged people
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
● Nature and Extent
○ ATSI communities experience the largest gap in health outcomes in Australia,
meaning their health outcomes are generally much lower than other Australians
○ e.g. their life expectancy which is 10 years less (although it's increasing the gap
isn't decreasing), greater death rates (mortality) in each age group compared to
other Australians (decreasing with the gap) and they are more likely to suffer
from long term health conditions
● Determinants
○ factors that influence the nature and extent of health inequities, including:
■ sociocultural (family, peers, religion, culture and media) which displays
the effect of the elders' attitudes and behaviours onto the youth causing
them to join a cycle of high smoking rates, domestic violence and alcohol
consumption
■ socioeconomic which refers to the lower employment, education and
income rates leading them to participate in risk behaviours (smoking,
physical inactivity)
CQ1. How are priority issues for Australia’s health identified?
Measuring health status
- Role of epidemiology
- Measures of epidemiology (mortality, infant mortality, morbidity, life
expectancy)
● Health status
○ overall wellness of a population
● Epidemiology
○ study of patterns of disease within a population
○ provides insight into the health issues affecting a country
○ utilised by the government and other health organisations to answer the
inquiries:
■ What issues affect the population the most?
■ Are there health inequalities between groups?
■ Where should resources be directed? (e.g CVD is quite common, however
affect more ATSI individuals, hence resources should be targeted at them)
■ limitations like its inability to answer why these specific disease affects a
population, doesn't take into account the determinants of health or
quality of life as well as the other dimensions of health
● Prevalence and Incidence
○ types of data that can be collected for epidemiology
○ prevalence- number of existing cases of a disease within a population at a specific
time
○ incidence- amount of new cases of a disease occurring within a certain time frame
● Measures
○ morbidity
■ number of cases of a particular disease within a population
■ e.g the number of obesity in Australia is increasing
■ conditions with a high morbidity affect a large portion of the community,
hence the government and health organisations will prioritise them
○ mortality
■ number of deaths within a population over a period of time
■ e.g lung cancer mortality rates are decreasing for males but increasing for
females
■ conditions with a high or rapidly increasing mortality rates takes the lives
of a large sum of the population, hence they become a priority
○ infant mortality
, ■ number of deaths among children under the age of 1 (per 1000 live births
per year) within a population over a period of time
■ e.g infant mortality in Australia is decreasing and already quite low which
suggests improvement of medical diagnosis of illnesses and public
sanitation and better health education and support services for parents
○ life expectancy
■ average number of years an individual is expected to live
■ e.g life expectancy of males has increased from 67.9 (born between
1960-62) to 80.5 (born between 2015-17) years, however the female life
expectancy is 84.6 years (2015-17) and the ATSI males are 71.6 with the
females at roughly 75.6
Identifying priority health issues
- Social justice principles
- Priority population groups
- Prevalence of condition
- Potential for prevention and early intervention
- Costs to the individual and community
● Social Justice Principles
○ social justice is the equal distribution of opportunities
○ equity, diversity and supportive environments must be satisfied
○ equity refers to the balanced distribution of resources, supporting those who need
it rather than the whole population, e.g centrelink funds those in need, that may
have a disability and low-income family
○ diversity relates to the differences that exist between individuals and how they
must be acknowledged, e.g providing informative brochures in multiple
languages or interpreters in hospitals
○ support environments are spaces that support people and encourage them to
make healthy choices, if not those spaces must be identified and improved, e.g in
Australia road safety is a recurring issue so the government formed the National
Road Safety Strategy, which incorporates more speed cameras and school zones
● Priority Population Groups
○ priority should be directed towards groups achieving poorer health outcomes
compared to the rest of the population
○ in Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island individuals and communities
have a shorter life expectancy and greater prevalence of disease, therefore the
government set in place the Close the Gap program, which addresses ATSI health
inequities by providing more health care through Indigenous doctors and other
initiatives
○ health initiatives are more effective when they are specific
● Prevalence of Condition
○ priority should be given to conditions with a high prevalence (number of of
existing cases of a disease)
, ○ e.g cardiovascular disease is one of Australia's leading cause of illness and death,
hence a $220 million initiative was invested to research and development,
clinical trials and medical study graphs
○ health initiatives that address high prevalence conditions can assist more citizens
● Potential for Prevention and Early Intervention
○ conditions with the potential for prevention and early intervention
○ e.g with cardiovascular disease it is generally caused by lifestyle choices
(smoking, poor diet, inactive), hence the government formed the jump rope for
heart to encourage the younger generation to make healthier choices and overall
reduce their risk of developing the disease
○ health promotion initiatives have a more substantial impact when prevention and
intervention is possible
● Cost to Individual and Community
○ priority should be given to high cost conditions
○ e.g cancer is the most expensive illnesses in Australia which may attain direct
costs; relate directly to the illness which may affect the individual (medication,
consult fees) or the community (medicare); or indirect costs; associated with the
illness which may also affect the individual (reduced quality of life) or the
community (emotional strain)
CQ2. What are the priority issues for improving Australia’s health?
Groups experiencing health inequities
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Socioeconomically disadvantaged people
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
● Nature and Extent
○ ATSI communities experience the largest gap in health outcomes in Australia,
meaning their health outcomes are generally much lower than other Australians
○ e.g. their life expectancy which is 10 years less (although it's increasing the gap
isn't decreasing), greater death rates (mortality) in each age group compared to
other Australians (decreasing with the gap) and they are more likely to suffer
from long term health conditions
● Determinants
○ factors that influence the nature and extent of health inequities, including:
■ sociocultural (family, peers, religion, culture and media) which displays
the effect of the elders' attitudes and behaviours onto the youth causing
them to join a cycle of high smoking rates, domestic violence and alcohol
consumption
■ socioeconomic which refers to the lower employment, education and
income rates leading them to participate in risk behaviours (smoking,
physical inactivity)
