HSC Core 1: HEALTH PRIORITIES
IN AUSTRALIA

Critical Question 1 - How are priority issues for Australia’s health identified?

Measuring Health Status

Role of Epidemiology
The collection and analysis of the data used to make this assessment is known as Epidemiology.
Measures of Epidemiology • Morbidity: The rates, distribution and trends of illness, disease and injury in a given population. • Mortality: The number of deaths for a given cause in a given population, over a set time-period. • Infant Mortality: The number of deaths in the first year of life per 1000 live births. • Life Expectancy: An estimate of the number of years a person can expect to live at any particular age.

Identifying Priority Health Issues

Social Justice Principles
Equity
Diversity
Supportive environments
Priority Population Groups
Prevalence of condition
Potential for prevention and early intervention
Costs to the individual and community

Direct individual costs include the financial burden that is associated with illness and disability such as ongoing medical costs (hospital charges, medical professional fees, medications, travel etc.) and loss of employment
In-direct individual costs include persistent pain and loss of quality of life, possible exclusion from social activities, increased pressure on families to offer support and the emotional toll of chronic illness
Direct community costs include the vast funding of the Australian health care system (which is projected to markedly increase with an ageing and growing population). Most of this supports primary health care and pharmaceuticals, and the nature of chronic illness tends to require high degrees of medical intervention to manage them
In-direct community costs include the premature loss of contributing and valuable members of society and the cost for employers in absenteeism, decreased productivity and re-training

Critical Question 2 - What are the priority issues for improving Australia’s health?

These determinants can be categorised as either: • Sociocultural determinants (E.g. family, peers, media, religion and culture) • Socioeconomic determinants (E.g. education, employment and income) • Environmental determinants (E.g. geographical location and access to health services and technology)

Groups experiencing health inequities

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Socioeconomically disadvantaged (Low SES)
People living in rural and remote communities
Overseas-born people
Elderly
People with disabilities

High levels of preventable chronic disease, injury and mental health problems

Cardiovascular Disease

Nature
Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) refers to all diseases of the heart and blood vessels, caused by a build up of fatty tissue inside the blood vessels (i.e. atherosclerosis) and the hardening of the blood vessels (i.e. arteriosclerosis)
3 types of CVD include Coronary heart Disease, Cerebrovascular Disease, Peripheral Vascular Disease

Extent
The leading cause of death and sickness
Both mortality and morbidity is decreasing for males and females

Risk Factors and Protective Factors
|Non-Modifiable Risk Factors |Modifiable Risk Factors |Protective Factors |
|- Age: rates increase sharply over 65 years |- Smoking and alcohol abuse |- Nutritious and balanced diet |
|of age |- Diet high in fat, salt and sugar |- Daily physical activity |
|- Being male |- Low physical activity levels |- Responsible use of alcohol |
|- Family history |- High blood pressure and cholesterol levels |- No smoking |
| |- Being overweight |- Maintain healthy weight