How are Priority Issues for Australia's Health Identified? Flashcards
What is the role of epidemiology ?
Epidemiology is the study of distribution and control of diseases in a population, by collecting data and information.
What is epidemiology used for ?
- Identify patterns of health and disease
- Analyse how health services are used
- Obtain the health status of a population
Who uses Epidemiology ?
- Department of Health
- Workplace Safety Australia
- Australian Bureau of Statistics
- National Heart Foundation
What are the 4 ways they measure patterns of disease ?
hint: P, I, D, C
Prevalence - the number of cases of disease in a population at a specific time.
Incidence - the number of new cases in a population at a specific time.
Distribution - how much the disease affects the population.
Causes - factors that may have contributed to the development of the disease.
Limitations of Epidemiology
- Does not explain why health inequalities exist
- The variations among groups (indigenous and non-indigenous)
- The impact of the illness
- Ignores social determinants of health (socioeconomic, sociocultural and environmental)
Define mortality
The number of deaths in a group of people or from a disease over a specific time period, usually one year.
Define infant mortality
The rate is the number of infant deaths in the first year of life per 1000 live births.
Define Morbidity
Morbidity (sickness) refers to patterns of illness, disease and injury that do not result in death.
Define Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the length of time a person can expect to live.
What are the five leading causes of death in Australia ?
- Heart Disease
- Alzheimers/ Dementia
- Cardiovascular disease (stroke)
- Lung Cancer
- Respiratory diseases
3 leading causes of death for males
- heart disease
- dementia
- lung cancer
3 leading causes of death for females
- dementia
- heart disease
- cerebrovascular
Why has infant mortality declined ?
- Improved medical diagnosis and treatment of illness
- Improved public sanitations
- Health education
- Improved support services for parents and babies
What are the measures of epidemiology
- mortality
- infant mortality
- morbidity
- life expectancy
What percentage of Australians have at least 1 chronic health condition
47%
Why has there been an improvement in life expectancy
- Lower infant mortality
- Declining death rates from CVD
- Declining death rates from cancer
- Medical knowledge and management have improved
How do we identify priority health issues?
- Costs to the individual and Community
- Potential for Prevention and Early Intervention
- Prevalence of Condition
- Priority Population Groups
- Social Justice Principles
Why do we need to prioritise our health issues?
- to better use the limited funding available
- to make the most difference -what will have the greatest effect
- to target groups that need it most
- to enable all Australians to achieve good health
How does costs to the individual and community help prioritise health issues?
The higher the cost to the individual the more of a priority because of the impact the disease has on the person.
What are direct costs?
Are those that can be measured. They include money spent on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of those experiencing ill-health.
What can be used to estimate the direct costs of diseases in a population?
- information on length of stay in hospital
- prevention strategies
- cost of medical treatment
What are indirect costs?
Are difficult to measure accurately, such as an individual’s reduced quality of life associated with ill-health.
What are some indirect costs that an individual experiences from having a serious health condition?
- social isolation
- depression
- reduced self esteem
How does potential for prevention and early intervention help prioritise health issues?
Enable diseases to be identified before they become an increasing burden on a population.
