cq1; how are priority issues for australia’s health identified? Flashcards
What is epidemiology?
Epidemiology is the study of the pattern of diseases in a population, including the apparent causes of disease
What are the terms in which epidemiology considers the patterns of diseases?
- Prevalence
- Incidence
- Distribution (the extent)
- Determinants and indicators (apparent causes)
What is prevalence?
The number of cases of a disease that exists in a defined populations at a point in time
What is incidence?
The number of new cases of a disease occurring in a defined population over a period of time
What is the role of epidemiology?
The role of epidemiology is to identify specific factors relating to health such as;
- number of cases of a disease/injury
- groups most affected
- rates of disease/injury
- trends (increasing / decreasing)
What does epidemiology tell us?
Determine and indicate the seriousness and extent of a health issue
Identify whether the health issue;
- has a common determinant
- is modifiable
- should be prioritised relative to other health issues
Who uses epidemiology?
- Australian department of health (govt. and govt. bodies)
- World Health Organisation (WHO) (international groups)
- Researchers (medicine, science, health, pharmaceutical fields)
What are the measures of epidemiology?
- Mortality Rate
- Morbidity Rate
- Life Expectancy
- Infant Mortality Rate
What is mortality rate?
The measure of the number of deaths from a specific cause in a given period of time
- deaths per 100,000 people of the population
What is the morbidity rate?
The rate for prevalence and incidence of disease, illness, injury, hospital admissions, doctor visits and disability
What is life expectancy?
The average number of years a person of a given age and gender can expect to live
What is infant mortality rate?
The measure of the annual number of deaths of children under 1 year of age per 1000 live births
What is the most important indicator of a nations health status?
Infant Mortality
What is social justice?
A set of values that recognises the impact of discrimination, past disadvantage, structural barriers to equality, as well as other social factors.
What are the social justice principles?
- Supportive Environments
- Equity
- Diversity
- Participation
- Access
What are supportive environments as a social justice principle?
Supportive environments are physical, social, and economic conditions that enable and encourage individuals and communities to make healthy choices and improve their overall health and well-being
What is equity as a social justice principle?
Balanced distribution of resources to all groups relative to their need for it
What is diversity and participation as a social justice principle?
Involvement of the community (participation) in making decisions about health, considering the community’s culture, values and beliefs (diversity), and how they construct a healthy environment.
What are limitations of epidemiology?
Epidemiology does not account for;
- Quality of life
- Emotional factors
- Subjective biases
Therefore, the impact on disease is not well known or forecasted
Why is it important to identify priority health issues?
Allows the government to provide sufficient funding for developing and implementing treatment and prevention strategies
What are priority population groups?
Groups that experience the highest levels or are at greater risk of a particular disease, illness or injury.
What are the priority population groups?
- ATSI
- Low SES
- People born overseas
- Elderly
- People with disabilities
Why is prevalence of a condition important for identifying priority health issues?
Prevalence assists in the identification of risk factors, potentially changing health issues
How can you prevent health issues?
Through educating people and making them aware of the risk factors of a particular disease
What are factors that can decrease an individuals autonomy in implementing prevention and early intervention?
- Sociocultural
- Physical
- Environmental
- Economic
What are the types of costs for a health issue?
- Direct or Indirect
- Community or Individual
What are the direct and indirect costs to the individual?
Direct;
- Medication
- Treatment cost
- Loss of income
Indirect
- Emotional stress
- Depression
- Burden on others
- Reduced QOL
What are the direct and indirect costs to the community?
Direct;
- Cost of hospitalisation
- Medicare
- Prevention programs
- Pharmaceuticals
- Education
- Screening
Indirect
- Cost of foregone earnings
- Retraining replacement workers
- Absenteeism
How do we identify the priority issues for Australia’s health?
The criteria includes;
- Degree of Social Justice principles
- Priority population groups involved
- How prevalent the condition is
- Potential for prevention and early intervention
- Amount of costs to the community
What role does social justice play?
- Eliminating inequity in treatment and care
- Encourage equitable health initiatives, providing additional support to groups in need.
Why is it important to prioritise?
- Enables fair allocation of resources (equity)
- Ensures optimal efficiency and effectiveness of limited money and resources
- By prioritising properly using the criteria we enable more equal health outcomes to be reached
