HSC Core 1: Health Priorities in Australia
How are priority Epidemiology - refers to the study of patterns & causes of health & disease in populations
issues for ⇾ Utilised by the government & organisations to picture the health status of Australians and demonstrates patterns of disease through;
Australia’s ⇾ Prevalence - the number of cases of a disease in a population at a time, eg 20,000 people in Australia are infected with HIV
health ⇾ Incidence- the number of new cases of disease occurring in a population, eg Approximately 800 new diagnosis of HIV annually
identified? ⇾ Indicators & determinants - causes
⇾ The stats enable governments/organisations/medical researchers to
- Understand patterns of health in groups
- Evaluate health behaviours & strategies
- Determine priority areas for the allocation of govt. Funding
- Determine policy in levels of govt
- Eg epidemiology indicates that deaths from heart disease are decreasing
- Epidemiology generally uses the negative statistics to increase the health status such as; birth, deaths, disease incidence etc.
Limitations of Epidemiology: Doesn’t always show the variations between population subgroups (eg. Non-Aboriginal vs Aboriginal
- Fails to explain why health inequities persist and doesn’t give the full grasp of the health picture
- Eg. The National Health Surveyaimed to gain an insight into dwellings, it showed trends in illnesses (colds), however didn’t demonstrate cancers etc. They
could have used hospital records instead of casual conversation with people living in home
Benefits of Epidemiology: Provides knowledge and insight into various diseases/cases, addresses inequities in health, eg Poor health promotion
Measures of epidemiology:
Infant mortality rate: The number of infant deaths in 1st year of life, per 1000 live births
- Can be broken into:
- Neonatal: deaths in the first 28 days and Prenatal: deaths in the remainder of the first year of life
Morbidity: The incidence/level of illness, disease or injury in given population, does not result in death
Mortality: The number of deaths in given population from a particular cause &/or over period of time
Life expectancy: The length of time a person can expect to live
- More specifically refers to average no. of yrs of life remaining to person at particular age based on current death rates
1
, Priority Health Issues:
social Social justice as it relates to health comprises four principles:
justice ⇾ Equity – fair allocation of resources without discrimination
principles ⇾ Diversity – the promotion of inclusiveness
⇾ Supportive Environments – establishing environments that empower individuals and communities to be involved in their health.
The selected priority issues must reflect these principles as inequities encompass both differences in the incidence and prevalence of sickness and
death and inequities in the social, economic, political and cultural factors that influence health. In doing this, we can determine the impact the
social justice principles have on reducing health inequities and improving the health of the nation.
priority ⇾ Some groups encounter abnormally higher prevalence of health inequities than the general population. Prioritising these groups helps to
population achieve better overall health outcomes.
groups - Eg. ATSI suffer increased mortality rates from CVD
⇾ Diverse & multicultural Aus = subgroups present
⇾ Identification allows authorities to:
- Determine health disadvantages of groups
- Better understand social determinants
- Identify prevalence of disease/injury in specific groups
- Determine needs of groups in relation to SJ principles
⇾ Identifying ‘at risk’ groups, govt health care expenditure directed towards groups to reduce prevalence
- Eg. low SES = higher incidence of disease risk factors (high BP & cholesterol, smoking, lower use of preventative health
services)
- Eg. more men at risk than women of developing a number of diseases (CVD, lung cancer)
prevalence ⇾ Current number of cases of a disease at a point in time.
of condition ⇾ A high prevalence indicates significant eco & health burdens on individual & community
⇾ Prioritise these for greater effect on improved overall health outcomes
⇾ Epidemiological data provides guiding path
- Reveals prevalence, incidence & risk factors
⇾ Eg. stats reveal CVD is the Aus leading cause of preventable death
potential for ⇾ As a result of many diseases, injury and illness being caused by modifiable behaviours it is more efficient to prevent and intervene than
prevention cure.
2
, and early - Prevention: Immunisation initiatives Intervention: skin checks/screenings
intervention ⇾ Majority of leading causes result from poor lifestyle behaviours
- Difficult to change because often reflect environmental situation
⇾ For change to occur, both individual behaviours & environmental determinants must be addressed
⇾ Eg. in 2007, govt funded cervical cancer vaccinations, offering free vaccs to all women aged 12-26 to protect against the cause of most
cervical cancers
costs to the ⇾ Higher cost = higher priority
individual ⇾ Cost to community
and ⇾ Indirect:
community - Value of output lost when becomes too ill to work/die prematurely (cost of foregone earnings, absenteeism, retraining replacement
worker)
⇾ Direct:
- Money spent on diagnosis, treatment, care for sick, prevention
⇾ Cost to individual
⇾ Indirect - Emotional distress, mental health
⇾ Direct - financial costs, time out
- Financial cost: treatment, medication, loss of employment income
- Physical cost: loss of mobility or functionality
- Emotional suffering, caused by chronic pain or depression
- Social costs, resulting in damaged relationships and family suffering
How do we Identify priority issues for AUS health?
⇾ By using the 5 criteria with respect to epidemiological data sourced by the government allows them to decide how best to allocate and distribute the health
budget and additional resources
What role do the principles of social justice play?
⇾ Enables to identify priority population groups & seek to provide funding/resources to eliminate inequity and promote health outcomes, and to create
supportive enviros so they are empowered to take ownership & act to improve own health
⇾ Equity - all areas need to be considered equally as well as ensuring all have equal access to health care services
⇾ Diversity - include all nationalities/cultures/REs?
3
, - Pamphlets in different languages, culturally sensitive information
⇾ Supportive Environments - access to healthy enviros for all
- No smoking areas
Why is it important to prioritise?
⇾ To ensure more equal outcomes and make the greatest impact with resources available
⇾ Helps ensure fair allocation of resources/funding to those who need it - bulk billing / PBS
⇾ Certain groups suffer greater health burdens, thus essential that they’re identified/provided
for as they have greatest need
⇾ Important to target health promotion/funding/resources towards lowering mortality/morbidity
issues which affect society the most
⇾ To ensure moving forwards towards fair & equitable health for all
⇾ Ensures most productive use of resources: resources make difference → reduce costs to
individuals/community, reduce prevalence by reducing incidence of disease & help particular population groups, while being equitable in process by
utilising SJ principles
What are the Groups experiencing health inequities:
priority issues - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People:
for improving
The nature of and Life Expectancy
Australia’s
extent of health ⇾ Lower life expectancy at birth for males and females
health?
inequities - 12 years lower than non-indigenous Mortality
⇾ Higher mortality rates at all ages from preventable causes in comparison to Aus
- 75% males and 65% females died younger than 65 years vs 26% male and 10% female non indigenous
⇾ Higher death rates from circulatory diseases, injures, cancer, respiratory disease, endocrine, metabolic and nutrition diseases (2x
higher)
Infant Mortality
⇾ Infant Mortality rate twice than that for non-Indigenous
- has increased in 2016 (but still not the same)
Morbidity
⇾ ATSI youth 28x more likely to go to jail
- low quality of life
4
How are priority Epidemiology - refers to the study of patterns & causes of health & disease in populations
issues for ⇾ Utilised by the government & organisations to picture the health status of Australians and demonstrates patterns of disease through;
Australia’s ⇾ Prevalence - the number of cases of a disease in a population at a time, eg 20,000 people in Australia are infected with HIV
health ⇾ Incidence- the number of new cases of disease occurring in a population, eg Approximately 800 new diagnosis of HIV annually
identified? ⇾ Indicators & determinants - causes
⇾ The stats enable governments/organisations/medical researchers to
- Understand patterns of health in groups
- Evaluate health behaviours & strategies
- Determine priority areas for the allocation of govt. Funding
- Determine policy in levels of govt
- Eg epidemiology indicates that deaths from heart disease are decreasing
- Epidemiology generally uses the negative statistics to increase the health status such as; birth, deaths, disease incidence etc.
Limitations of Epidemiology: Doesn’t always show the variations between population subgroups (eg. Non-Aboriginal vs Aboriginal
- Fails to explain why health inequities persist and doesn’t give the full grasp of the health picture
- Eg. The National Health Surveyaimed to gain an insight into dwellings, it showed trends in illnesses (colds), however didn’t demonstrate cancers etc. They
could have used hospital records instead of casual conversation with people living in home
Benefits of Epidemiology: Provides knowledge and insight into various diseases/cases, addresses inequities in health, eg Poor health promotion
Measures of epidemiology:
Infant mortality rate: The number of infant deaths in 1st year of life, per 1000 live births
- Can be broken into:
- Neonatal: deaths in the first 28 days and Prenatal: deaths in the remainder of the first year of life
Morbidity: The incidence/level of illness, disease or injury in given population, does not result in death
Mortality: The number of deaths in given population from a particular cause &/or over period of time
Life expectancy: The length of time a person can expect to live
- More specifically refers to average no. of yrs of life remaining to person at particular age based on current death rates
1
, Priority Health Issues:
social Social justice as it relates to health comprises four principles:
justice ⇾ Equity – fair allocation of resources without discrimination
principles ⇾ Diversity – the promotion of inclusiveness
⇾ Supportive Environments – establishing environments that empower individuals and communities to be involved in their health.
The selected priority issues must reflect these principles as inequities encompass both differences in the incidence and prevalence of sickness and
death and inequities in the social, economic, political and cultural factors that influence health. In doing this, we can determine the impact the
social justice principles have on reducing health inequities and improving the health of the nation.
priority ⇾ Some groups encounter abnormally higher prevalence of health inequities than the general population. Prioritising these groups helps to
population achieve better overall health outcomes.
groups - Eg. ATSI suffer increased mortality rates from CVD
⇾ Diverse & multicultural Aus = subgroups present
⇾ Identification allows authorities to:
- Determine health disadvantages of groups
- Better understand social determinants
- Identify prevalence of disease/injury in specific groups
- Determine needs of groups in relation to SJ principles
⇾ Identifying ‘at risk’ groups, govt health care expenditure directed towards groups to reduce prevalence
- Eg. low SES = higher incidence of disease risk factors (high BP & cholesterol, smoking, lower use of preventative health
services)
- Eg. more men at risk than women of developing a number of diseases (CVD, lung cancer)
prevalence ⇾ Current number of cases of a disease at a point in time.
of condition ⇾ A high prevalence indicates significant eco & health burdens on individual & community
⇾ Prioritise these for greater effect on improved overall health outcomes
⇾ Epidemiological data provides guiding path
- Reveals prevalence, incidence & risk factors
⇾ Eg. stats reveal CVD is the Aus leading cause of preventable death
potential for ⇾ As a result of many diseases, injury and illness being caused by modifiable behaviours it is more efficient to prevent and intervene than
prevention cure.
2
, and early - Prevention: Immunisation initiatives Intervention: skin checks/screenings
intervention ⇾ Majority of leading causes result from poor lifestyle behaviours
- Difficult to change because often reflect environmental situation
⇾ For change to occur, both individual behaviours & environmental determinants must be addressed
⇾ Eg. in 2007, govt funded cervical cancer vaccinations, offering free vaccs to all women aged 12-26 to protect against the cause of most
cervical cancers
costs to the ⇾ Higher cost = higher priority
individual ⇾ Cost to community
and ⇾ Indirect:
community - Value of output lost when becomes too ill to work/die prematurely (cost of foregone earnings, absenteeism, retraining replacement
worker)
⇾ Direct:
- Money spent on diagnosis, treatment, care for sick, prevention
⇾ Cost to individual
⇾ Indirect - Emotional distress, mental health
⇾ Direct - financial costs, time out
- Financial cost: treatment, medication, loss of employment income
- Physical cost: loss of mobility or functionality
- Emotional suffering, caused by chronic pain or depression
- Social costs, resulting in damaged relationships and family suffering
How do we Identify priority issues for AUS health?
⇾ By using the 5 criteria with respect to epidemiological data sourced by the government allows them to decide how best to allocate and distribute the health
budget and additional resources
What role do the principles of social justice play?
⇾ Enables to identify priority population groups & seek to provide funding/resources to eliminate inequity and promote health outcomes, and to create
supportive enviros so they are empowered to take ownership & act to improve own health
⇾ Equity - all areas need to be considered equally as well as ensuring all have equal access to health care services
⇾ Diversity - include all nationalities/cultures/REs?
3
, - Pamphlets in different languages, culturally sensitive information
⇾ Supportive Environments - access to healthy enviros for all
- No smoking areas
Why is it important to prioritise?
⇾ To ensure more equal outcomes and make the greatest impact with resources available
⇾ Helps ensure fair allocation of resources/funding to those who need it - bulk billing / PBS
⇾ Certain groups suffer greater health burdens, thus essential that they’re identified/provided
for as they have greatest need
⇾ Important to target health promotion/funding/resources towards lowering mortality/morbidity
issues which affect society the most
⇾ To ensure moving forwards towards fair & equitable health for all
⇾ Ensures most productive use of resources: resources make difference → reduce costs to
individuals/community, reduce prevalence by reducing incidence of disease & help particular population groups, while being equitable in process by
utilising SJ principles
What are the Groups experiencing health inequities:
priority issues - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People:
for improving
The nature of and Life Expectancy
Australia’s
extent of health ⇾ Lower life expectancy at birth for males and females
health?
inequities - 12 years lower than non-indigenous Mortality
⇾ Higher mortality rates at all ages from preventable causes in comparison to Aus
- 75% males and 65% females died younger than 65 years vs 26% male and 10% female non indigenous
⇾ Higher death rates from circulatory diseases, injures, cancer, respiratory disease, endocrine, metabolic and nutrition diseases (2x
higher)
Infant Mortality
⇾ Infant Mortality rate twice than that for non-Indigenous
- has increased in 2016 (but still not the same)
Morbidity
⇾ ATSI youth 28x more likely to go to jail
- low quality of life
4
