pdhpe - Core 1 (health priorities in Aus)

• health priorities issues are the greatest concern to governments and support organisations, due to the effect they have on the overall health of Australia and the burden of health on the economy.
• statistics revealed that we have:

  • relatively long life expectancy
  • declining death rates
  • reasonable access to health care
• there are health concerns that the federal, state, governments identify as health priority issues:

  • certain groups in society are more at risk than others
  • some diseases and other health problems are more prevalent
  • changes in the structure of our population affect the types of health services that people require
• measuring health status

  to identify health priority issues within a population:

  • understand the health status of that population in general over a period of time.
  • health status of a nation is the pattern of health population in general over a period of time.
• life expectancy is an estimate of how many years a person can be expected to live.
• to create an accurate & comprehensive picture of the health status of Australians:

  • a range of information needs to be accessed
  • measure health status through the process of data and information collection (a.k.a epidemiology)
• epidemiology:

  the study of disease in groups of populations through the collection of data and information, to identify patterns and causes.

  
  

  data collected through epidemiological processes focus on quantifiable and direct measures of ill health (or the lack of good health), such
• Role of Epidemiology: used by the governments and health-related organisations to obtain a picture of the health status of a population.

  
  

  epidemiology considers the patterns of disease in terms of:

  • prevalence (total no. of cases in a population at a specific time)
  • incidence (new cases of disease in population)
  • distribution (the extent)
  • apparent causes (determinants and indicators that lead to disease outbursts )
• observations and statistics help researchers and health authorities to:

  • describe + compare patterns of health groups/communities/populations.
  • identify health needs + allocate health care resources
  • evaluate health behaviours & strategies to control + prevent disease
  • identify + promote behaviours to improve health status of overall population (e.g. eating less fat / more fibre)
• epidemiology commonly uses statistics on:

  • births
  • deaths (mortality)
  • disease incidence
  • disease prevalence
  • contact with health-care providers
  • hospital use (treatment received)
  • money spent on health care
  • work days lost
• limitation of epidemiology

  • do not always show the significant variations in the health status among population subgroups (e.g. between ATSI & Non-Indi).
  • might not accurately indicate quality of life in terms of people's level of impairment (physiological or psychological function), disability or handicap --> tells little about degree and impact of illness.
  • cannot provide the whole health picture (such as mental are incomplete or non-existent)
  • fail to explain why health inequities persist
  • do not account for health determinants - social, economic, environmental & cultural factors
• other limitations of epidemiology

  • The varying reliability of data
  • The numerous sources of information
  • Imprecise methods of data collection
  • Whether surveys use standard instruments, definitions and classifications.
• Environmental determinants: Natural, Built, Physical, Chemical, Biological
• measure of epidemiology