Top Ten PH successes Flashcards
Define public health
as per the lecture
Public health
is the science of protecting the safety and improving the health of communities through education, policy making and research for disease and injury prevention.
It is focused on preventing or minimising health harms.
It aims to have an impact before curative intervention is needed.
Define public health expenditureand provide an example
Public health expenditure is explicitly defined as:
“Public health involves activities and services funded or
delivered by state and territory health departments that aims to protect and promote the health of the whole population or specified population subgroups, rather than individuals.
Examples of public health programs include communicable
disease control, organised immunisation, food standards and hygiene, cancer screening, and prevention of hazardous
and harmful drug use.”
Describe public health expenditure
Health spending constituted 14.1% of economic activity aka as a proportion of GDP (an increase of 3.4% from the previous financial year).
Health spending grew faster than inflation.
It accounts for 25% of tax revenue.
Of the total 241 billion, 42.7% is Commonwealth contribution, 27.9% states, then individual, health insurance providers and NGOs.
Most is spent on public hospitals and primary health care. Only 10% is spent on referred medical services, and very littleon public health.
6% of total health expenditure was spent on public health. This is an increase from 1.5-2% in the past decade, and is largely attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Discuss three successful public health initiatives
Cervical cancer
- Cervical screening program commenced 1991 and halved the incidence of the disease
- HPV Vaccine introduced in 2007 (girls) and 2013 (boys)
- 2017 the vaccine improved to impact 9 HPV strains
- Quick benefits, HPV 16 and 18 infection fell by 77% by 2012 and high grade lesions fell by half
- Predictions of CERVICAL CANCER ELIMINATION by 2034
Folate and NTDs
- Low Folic acid level in pregnant women led to increased risk of neural tube defects in new borns.
- Food fortification via bread a successful solution
- 14.4% reduction after fortification (55% in teen mums)
- 74% reduction in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies
- Hundreds more babies would have been born with neural tubes defects
Immunisation and disease elimination
- General child immunisation rates increased to near 95% nationally
- Measles declared by WHO eliminated in 2014 in Australia
- Rubella declared by WHO eliminated in 2018 in Australia
- Meningococcal c disease “virtually disappeared” after 2003
- Rotavirus vaccine introduced in 2007 and disease dropped by 70% since – preventing 7,000 hospitalised kids
Describe another three public health initiatives
Oral health
- Water Fluoridation began in the 1960s and has reached 89% of Australians
- Kids born after 1970 have HALF the tooth decay of their parents
- Medicare Teen Dental Plan (2008) offered vouchers for preventive annual dental health check and a 2012 package gave subsidised dental care for 2 – 17 year olds
- 2014 Child dental benefits scheme offered 10 Million services in 1st 2 years
Slip slop slap
- First “Slip Slop Slap” campaigns started in late 1970s/early 80s
- Sun damage in early childhood has major bearing on skin cancer diagnosed in adulthood
- Australian government campaign 2005 – 2010 but effort mostly at state level
- Melanoma rates increasing in older people but falling in the “SunSmart generation” born after 1980
- 12,000 melanomas prevented
- Skin cancer treatment costs currently over $1Billion pa
Tobacco control
- Smoking rates in Australia have halved since 1995
- Social marketing campaigns, setting the scene for tobacco excise increases and world leading plain packaging rule
- Hundreds of thousands of deaths prevented – perhaps around half a million!
- The rate of “never smoked” among high school kids is over 97%
- 1 million teens did NOT start smoking
Describe another four successful initiatives
Road toll fatalities
- The combined effort of MANY governments and others
- Improved roads, improved cars, better safety features, seat belts, tackling drink driving, social marketing campaigns, speed limits, better enforcement and more
- National Road Safety Strategy established in 1992
- Over 6,000 road deaths prevented
- The rate of road deaths has been cut by half
- Injury reduction is even greater
Gun control
- Port Arthur – Australia’s gun safety watershed
- National Firearms Agreement (1996) set the scene with multi-party support
- Gun Buy Back schemes in 1996/97, 2003 and 2007 removed over 1 million guns from circulation
- Total gun deaths cut by two-thirds from a rate of 2.9/100,000 to 0.9
- Estimated sixteen (16) mass shootings in Australia were prevented
HIV and AIDs
- From 1980s vital campaigns about safe sex, needle and syringe exchange programs, and other behavioural changes among key populations
- If targets reached, over 2,000 Australians will avoid HIV acquisition
- Health system savings estimated at $82 million by 2020
- Savings for preventing lifetime costs from HIV/AIDS infections up to 2020 is over $2 billion
Bowel and breast cancer
- Breast cancer screening using mammography started in early 1990s
- Mortality from breast cancer has fallen by 32% over 20 years 13,000 deaths prevented
- Bowel cancer screening using Foecal Occult Blood testing commenced in a truncated way in 2006 with a commitment to full roll out made in 2013
- It is projected that 35,000+ deaths from bowel cancer will be prevented over next 30 years due to full roll out
Describe rsidual and emerging health challenges
Residual health challenges (current and emerging)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
- Obesity and NCDs
- Environmental and ecological issues and climate change
- Advance equity e.g. taxes
