Core 1 IQ1: How are priority issues for Australia's health identified? Flashcards
(120 cards)
Why is it necessary to identify health priority issues within a population?
Necessary to understand the health status of that population and its subgroups.
What is the health status of a nation?
It is the pattern of health of the population in general over a period of time.
What is a way to measure health status?
Using epidemiology
What is epidemiology?
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution, patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in defined population, through the collection of data from hospitals, health care practitioners.
Focuses on the more negative qualities of health and wellbeing as opposed to the positive such as patterns of illness, injury etc
Who uses epidemiology?
Used by governments and health-related organisations to obtain a picture of the health status of a population, to identify patterns of health and disease and analyse how health services and facilities are being used
Why is epidemiology important?
It can help shape policy decisions and evidence based practice by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventative healthcare
Provides a basis for investigating issues such as the impact of social, cultural and eco factors that support health or cause disease
What are the measures of epidemiology?
Mortality, infant mortality, morbidity, life expectancy
Does epidemiology measure everything about health status? What are it’s disadvantages? (5)
No. Epidemiology has many limitations. For example, stats and data like epidemiology can be manipulated and is open to bias.
Doesn’t account for the determinants of health; individual, sociocultural, socioeconomic and environmental factors
Fails to explain ‘ why health inequities persist’
Doesn’t always show the significant variations in health status among population subgroups (i.e. Aboriginal and non Aboriginal Australians)
Might not indicate QOL in term’s of people’s level of distress, impairment, disability or handicap. It tells us little about degree and impact of illness
What 4 types of patterns are of a disease are considered? (Describe them)
Prevalence - number of cases of disease in a population at a specific time
Incidence - the number of new cases of disease occurring in a population
Distribution - the extent
Apparent causes - determinants and indicators
How can observations and stats from epidemiology help with researches and authorities? (4)
describe and compare the patterns of health of
groups, communities and populations
identify health needs and allocate health-care resources accordingly
evaluate health behaviours and strategies to control and prevent disease
identify and promote behaviours that can improve the health status of the overall population, such as eating less fat and more fibre.
What are 5 sources to collect data for epidemiological studies? (just rmbr 5)
Disease incidence
Disease prevalence
Contact with health care providers
Hospital use
Injury incidence
Money spent on health care
Births
Deaths
Why might stats from epidemiology have some limitations? (3)
The varying reliability of data
Numerous sources of info
imprecise methods of data collection
What is mortality?
Mortality is the number of deaths in a group of people or from a disease over a specific time period, usually one year. `
What is morbidity?
Examines the prevalence and incidence of disease and sickness in a specific population
What is infant mortality?
Indicates the number of infant deaths in the firsts year of life per 1000 live births
What is life expectancy?
Indicates the number of years a person is expected to live
What is the trend in life expectancy at birth in Aus?
It has been increasing over the past decades
Do females have a higher life expectancy than men?
Yes
What is the change in life expectancy for females from ____ to ____?
shift from 80.1 in 1990 to 85.3 in 2020
What is the change in life expectancy for males from ____ to ____?
73.9 in 1990 to 81.2 in 2020
What was the gender gap in life expectancy in 1990? How has it improved in 2020?
Gap of 6.2 years in 1990, to gap of 4.1 years in 2020
What was the global avg life expectancy at birth in 2015 compared to Aus?
Global avg; 71.4 years
Aus 11 years higher at 82.4
Gap has been maintained since 2015
What are the causes of reductions in death rates? (4)
Can be attributed to:
Lower infant mortality
Declining death rates for cardiovascular disease
Declining overall death rates from cancer
Fall in deaths from traffic accidents
Why is the life expectancy greater now than in the past?
This may be because medical knowledge and management has improved not necessarily because some health problems no longer exist.
There is better healthcare and hygiene, healthier lifestyles, improved medical care, access to antibiotics and vaccines, clean water, recognition of sport as important in our life