Health Priorities: How are priority issues for australias health identified? Flashcards
what health problems does australia experience?
- cardiovascular health
- cancer control
- mental health
- diabetes
- asthma
- arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions
- dementia
what is epidemiology
the study of diseases in populations
what can epidemiology be used for
- to gain insight into the health status of a population
- identify patters of health and disease
- analyse how health services and facilities are being used
who uses epidemiology
policy developers
researchers
government and health departments
health organisations
manufacturers of health products
health services eg. doctors
in what way does epidemiology consider patterns of disease
- prevalence
- incidence
- distribution
- apparent causes
what is prevalence
number of cases of diease in a population at a specific time
what is incidence
number of new cases of diseases occurring in a population
what is incidence
number of new cases of diseases occurring in a population
what is distribution
the extent of a disease
what are apparent causes
determinants and indicatorsq
what can epidemiology tell us
obtains a picture of the health status of a population,
to identify patterns of health and disease
analyse how health services are being used
who uses these measures
government
doctors
researchers
manufactures
health organisations eg. NSW cancer council
do they measure everything about health status
can determine- circumstances surrounding a person a persons admission and discharge
cant determine- the number of people not seeking medical attention for help with their health issue
what are limitations of epidemiology
- can be bias
- doesnt study quality of life
- doesnt tell us about variations amongst sub populations eg. atsi
- effect on mental health
- why health inequities persist
- doesnt account for health determinants; social, economic, environmental and cultural factors
what is mortality
umber of deaths in a group or from a disease over a specific time period (usually a year).
what is infant mortality
number of infant deaths in first year of life, per 1000 live births. Considered most important health measure of a nation.
what is morbidity
incidence or level of disease, illness or injury in a given population. It gives a broader view of the nations health.
what is life expectancy
the average number of years a person is expected to live based on current death rates. life expectancy of birth is a common indicator of heath status and can be used to show improvements in the nations health.
how much has life expectancy increased between 1990 and 2020
5 years in females
what is the biggest killer in men
coronary heart disease, second is dementia
what is the biggest and second biggest killer in women
dementia, then coronary heart disease
are deaths per 100 000 population increasing or decreasing
decreasing
are the mortality rates of cardiovascular diseases declining or increasing
declining
why are overall mortality rates experiencing such a large decline
increases in technology eg. immunisations
widespread info on health activities that are detrimental to health eg. smoking, improvement in roads
improvements in disease detection
are overall infant mortality rates increasing or decreasing
slow steady decline
are indigenous infant mortality rates increasing or decreasing
is steeply decreasing