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PDHPE Mid-Term Summary
CORE 1 & CORE 2
CORE 1 – Health Priorities in Australia
How are priority issues for Australia’s health identified?
Measuring health status
• ‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ (WHO, 1946)
• Epidemiology: the study of the patterns of illness and disease in a population
-mortality, infant mortality, morbidity, and life expectancy
-aims to: identify risk factors of disease
determine extent of disease within community
evaluate prevention strategies
provide suggestions for public policy
-epidemiology findings determine which aspects of health need to be a focus for health promotion and disease prevention.
• Mentality towards health in the past:
-ill-health due to a single germ’s invasion of the body
-20th century – ‘multi-case’ view of ill-health
-further research showed ill-health was due to an interaction between biological, lifestyle and environmental factors
-more recently – emphasis on health inequalities between different population groups highlighted importance of broader social control and economic influences
Identifying priority health issues
• The aim is to focus public attention and health policy on those risk factors and causes of illness and death that contributes significantly to the burden of disease in Australia.
• Aspects taken into consideration when identifying priority health issues:
-social justice principals
-priority population groups
-prevalence of condition
-potential for prevention and early intervention
-costs to individuals and community
• Social justice aims to decrease or remove inequity from a population, by encouraging supportive environments and an inclusiveness of diversity for all people:
-Equality of rights – eliminate discrimination, provide freedom, enable civil and political rights
-Equality of opportunities – provide a level playing field so that all are able to fulfil their potential...
