Core 1 IQ1: How are priority issues for Australia's health identified? Flashcards
Why is it necessary to identify health priority issues within a population?
Necessary to understand the health status of that population and its subgroups.
What is the health status of a nation?
It is the pattern of health of the population in general over a period of time.
What is a way to measure health status?
Using epidemiology
What is epidemiology?
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution, patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in defined population, through the collection of data from hospitals, health care practitioners.
Focuses on the more negative qualities of health and wellbeing as opposed to the positive such as patterns of illness, injury etc
Who uses epidemiology?
Used by governments and health-related organisations to obtain a picture of the health status of a population, to identify patterns of health and disease and analyse how health services and facilities are being used
Why is epidemiology important?
It can help shape policy decisions and evidence based practice by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventative healthcare
Provides a basis for investigating issues such as the impact of social, cultural and eco factors that support health or cause disease
What are the measures of epidemiology?
Mortality, infant mortality, morbidity, life expectancy
Does epidemiology measure everything about health status? What are it’s disadvantages? (5)
No. Epidemiology has many limitations. For example, stats and data like epidemiology can be manipulated and is open to bias.
Doesn’t account for the determinants of health; individual, sociocultural, socioeconomic and environmental factors
Fails to explain ‘ why health inequities persist’
Doesn’t always show the significant variations in health status among population subgroups (i.e. Aboriginal and non Aboriginal Australians)
Might not indicate QOL in term’s of people’s level of distress, impairment, disability or handicap. It tells us little about degree and impact of illness
What 4 types of patterns are of a disease are considered? (Describe them)
Prevalence - number of cases of disease in a population at a specific time
Incidence - the number of new cases of disease occurring in a population
Distribution - the extent
Apparent causes - determinants and indicators
How can observations and stats from epidemiology help with researches and authorities? (4)
describe and compare the patterns of health of
groups, communities and populations
identify health needs and allocate health-care resources accordingly
evaluate health behaviours and strategies to control and prevent disease
identify and promote behaviours that can improve the health status of the overall population, such as eating less fat and more fibre.
What are 5 sources to collect data for epidemiological studies? (just rmbr 5)
Disease incidence
Disease prevalence
Contact with health care providers
Hospital use
Injury incidence
Money spent on health care
Births
Deaths
Why might stats from epidemiology have some limitations? (3)
The varying reliability of data
Numerous sources of info
imprecise methods of data collection
What is mortality?
Mortality is the number of deaths in a group of people or from a disease over a specific time period, usually one year. `
What is morbidity?
Examines the prevalence and incidence of disease and sickness in a specific population
What is infant mortality?
Indicates the number of infant deaths in the firsts year of life per 1000 live births
What is life expectancy?
Indicates the number of years a person is expected to live
What is the trend in life expectancy at birth in Aus?
It has been increasing over the past decades
Do females have a higher life expectancy than men?
Yes
What is the change in life expectancy for females from ____ to ____?
shift from 80.1 in 1990 to 85.3 in 2020
What is the change in life expectancy for males from ____ to ____?
73.9 in 1990 to 81.2 in 2020
What was the gender gap in life expectancy in 1990? How has it improved in 2020?
Gap of 6.2 years in 1990, to gap of 4.1 years in 2020
What was the global avg life expectancy at birth in 2015 compared to Aus?
Global avg; 71.4 years
Aus 11 years higher at 82.4
Gap has been maintained since 2015
What are the causes of reductions in death rates? (4)
Can be attributed to:
Lower infant mortality
Declining death rates for cardiovascular disease
Declining overall death rates from cancer
Fall in deaths from traffic accidents
Why is the life expectancy greater now than in the past?
This may be because medical knowledge and management has improved not necessarily because some health problems no longer exist.
There is better healthcare and hygiene, healthier lifestyles, improved medical care, access to antibiotics and vaccines, clean water, recognition of sport as important in our life
What has the greater life expectancy led to?
It has led to an increased demand for health services that cater for the elderly, an increasing need for nursing homes and the need to provide care for a growing number of dependent people. Has an economically negative impact
What is the trend in infant mortality in Aus?
Has been decreasing from the past decades
What are some of the causes of a decline in infant mortality in Aus?
Improved medical diagnosis and treatment of illness
Improved public sanitation (unsanitary practices increase the likelihood of getting diseases –> mortality)
Health education
Improved support services for parents, newborn babies and children (i.e. immunisation programmes)
What is the trend in infant death rates from ____ to _____?
5 deaths per 1000 live births in 1998 compared to 3.2 deaths per 1000 live births in 2020
A significant decrease from around 70 per 1000 in 1911
What was the difference in infant mortality rate of ATSI to non ATSI in 2018?
1.8 times greater for ATSI infants, compared to non-ATSI infants
What are chronic diseases?
A chronic condition is a health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time
What are the indicators of morbidity?
Hospital use (the cause and number of admissions to hospital)
Doctor visits and medicare statistics (indicates the reasons for doctor vissists and the no. of visits)
Health surveys and reports (provides a range of key health indicators and bring together an extensive range of health information. )
Disability and handicap (incidence of a disease or accident which lead to impairment, disability and handicap, i.e. a person incurring an injury in an accident)
What is a good indicator of morbidity? (HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK WITH SIR)
Chronic conditions
What are some examples of chronic conditions which affect morbidity rates?
Coronary heart disease , diabetes, asthma, dementia
What is the change in those with coronary heart disease per 100, 000 from 1980 to 2020 for males?
414 –> 68 per 100 000
What is the change in those with coronary heart disease per 100, 000 from 1980 to 2020 for females?
209 to 32 per 100 000
What has caused the declining coronary heart disease rates?
Linked to reductions in some risk factor levels (including smoking), better treatment and care
What is the change in prevalence of diabetes from 2000 to 2020? (for morbidity) Why?
2.4% –> 4.3% in 2020
Caused by sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy dietary changes
What is the prevalence of asthma between 2007 to 2018?
Stays at around 10%
What is the change in prevalance of dementia in 2018 to 2022? (for morbidity)
219 000 in 2018 with dementia
401 000 in 2022 with dementia
What is the % of multimorbidity (comorbidity) of Australians in 2017-18?
20%
What is the trend in the mortality rate from 2000 to 2022?
2000 - 128, 300 deaths
2022 - 190, 394 deaths
What is the trend in mortality from coronary heart disease?
The general trend is that the death rate has been decreasing - as of 2019, since 1980, CHD death rate has fallen by 42% from 30, 700 to 17, 700
What is the trend in mortality from cerebrovascular disease?
Has decreased over time by 82% from 1968 to 2015. From 202 deaths /100, 000 to 36/ 100 000
What are the factors for identifying priority health issues? (2)
How much they contribute to the burden of illness in the community
Potential for reducing this burden
What do priority health issues include? (3)
The health inequities experienced by certain groups within our society
Our growing and ageing population
High levels of chronic disease and other health problems evident in our society
What is included in determining the disease burden on the community and its potential to be reduced? (5)
Social justice principles
Priority population groups
Prevalence of the condition
Potential for prevention and early intervention
Costs to the individual and community
What are social justice principles?
refer to values “that favour measures that aim at decreasing or eliminating inequity; promoting inclusiveness of diversity; and establishing environments that are supportive of all people.”
What do the social justice principles include?
The social justice principles include:
equity,
diversity, and
supportive environments.