Health and Wellbeing & Health Status
It is characterised by an equilibrium in which the individual feels happy, healthy, capable and engaged.
Explain the concept of health and wellbeing.
Blood pressure — Having high blood pressure is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which, if left untreated, could increase mortality and lower life expectancy.
Identify one biological factors and describe how each impacts health status
It is a medical model of care practised by doctors and/or health professionals.
It is associated with the diagnosis, cure and treatment of disease.
Outline two major characteristics of the biomedical model of health.
Strength
• The guidelines are available for free download from the Eat Well website, meaning that cost doesn’t act as a barrier to accessing this resource for parents who want to use them to guide their children’s food intake.
Weakness
• The five guidelines are written guidelines that would be too difficult for most children to understand, so they would have to rely on their parents to utilise them to make dietary changes on their behalf.
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the Australian Dietary Guidelines in promoting the health eating of children in Australia.
• GP consultations
• pathology screening/blood tests/urine tests/biopsies
Identify two services covered by Medicare
Health and wellbeing is considered dynamic as it can change quickly. For example, when people migrate to a new country, they are moving away from home and away from their friends and from things that are familiar. This could lower their level of health and wellbeing.
Use an example to explain how health and wellbeing is a dynamic concept.
Vaping can cause a fault in cells as they divide. These faults can develop into cancer which is the leading cause of death in Australia, contributing many YLL and YLD.
Explain one way that the use of vapes can impact health status
nutrition, immunisation programs and quarantine.
Identify three areas that ‘old’ public health focused on.
• Develop personal skills — The program is providing education HIV education and prevention knowledge.
• Create supportive environments — The program allows participants to choose different models of health care to suit their own needs.
Identify one action area of the Ottawa Charter and explain how it is reflected in the HIV prevention program
Medicare levy surcharge — High-income earners who don’t have private health insurance pay an additional 1–1.5 per cent Medicare tax.
• Private Health Insurance Rebate — The government provides a rebate of up to 30 per cent of the cost of private health insurance premiums. The rebate is income tested.
• Lifetime Health Cover — People who choose to take out private health insurance after the age of 31 pay an additional 2 per cent on their premiums for every year they are over the age of 30.
• Age-based discount — Insurers can offer people under the age of 30 a discount. The young the person is, the greater the discount can be, ranging from 2 to 10 per cent.
Identify and explain four incentives to encourage people to take out private health insurance.
Illness is a subjective concept related to an individual’s personal experience of a disease or injury. Disease on the other hand is a physical or mental disturbance involving the body’s processes such as symptoms, dysfunction or tissue damage.
Outline the difference between illness and disease.
Dairy foods are a rich source of calcium which plays a major role in the hardening of the tooth enamel. Therefore, an adequate intake of dairy foods can help reduce the burden of disease associated with dental caries.
Discuss the importance of consuming an adequate intake of dairy or dairy alternatives each day in reducing the burden of disease in Australia.
• introduction of compulsory seatbelts in 1970
• improved working conditions for workers and the introduction of ‘work safe’ practices
Outline two reasons for why injury death rates have decreased.
Build healthy public policy — Taxes could be increased to make the cost of alcohol higher. Cost has shown to be effective in bringing about behaviour change and could assist in reducing the amount of alcohol people drink.
• Develop personal skills — Education programs could be implemented in both primary and secondary schools to provide children with age-appropriate lessons about the dangers of alcohol misuse. Including education and younger ages could mean that people grow up being aware of the dangers of alcohol misuse and therefore be less likely to drink at dangerous levels.
Discuss two action areas of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion that could be used to address increased rates of alcohol consumption.
• maintaining informal support services, such as family and friends
• funding for resources that are considered reasonable and necessary, such as wheelchairs, walking frames, shower stools.
Outline two ways the National Disability Insurance Scheme assists people with permanent disabilities.
Optimal health and wellbeing means individuals can enjoy life without illness and pain which decreases stress and anxiety and promotes positive emotions such as happiness. People can enjoy their leisure time, spend time with friends and work towards a purpose in life.
Describe how optimal health and wellbeing can act as a resource individually.
Being exposed to maternal smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of low birth weight babies. Babies who are born with a low birth weight are more susceptible to infections and death during infancy
Explain how early life experiences may impact health status.
• improvements in water quality and sanitation
• introduction of immunisations for infectious diseases such as measles and whooping cough
Outline two reasons for why infectious and parasitic death rates in children have decreased.
• to help Australians to understand what constitutes a healthy diet
• to reduce the risk of Australians developing a range of diet-related conditions such as hypertension and impaired glucose regulation, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers
Provide two reasons why the Australian Dietary Guidelines were introduced.
• free treatment and accommodation in a public hospital
• low-cost medicines through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
• subsidised doctors and specialist consultations through Medicare
Outline three interventions/actions introduced by the government that improve access to health care in Australia.
Juan plays soccer which means he is a part of a team and would be building relationships with his teammates, promoting his social health and wellbeing. Those connections can provide Juan with a sense of connection and belonging with his club, promoting his spiritual health and wellbeing. By feeling a connection with his club, he may take time to welcome new players and make them feel welcome, further promoting the quality of his relationships.
Outline the relationship between spiritual and social health and wellbeing.
Income – Indigenous Australians have lower average incomes than non-Indigenous Australians. This can mean that housing is less adequate contributing to higher levels of burden of disease due to infectious diseases such as respiratory diseases and influenza.
Select one example of a sociocultural factor and explain how it might contribute to variations in health status between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous population groups.
• Developing personal skills — Running low-fat cooking classes provides people with the skills to reduce total fats in their diet. By knowing how to change behaviour through increasing skills, more people will be able to control their weight and reduce risk of obesity.
• Reorientating health services — GPs could offer dietary advice and physical activity tips when patients present for general consultations rather than treating with drugs. People are more likely to change behaviour if told to do so by a medical professional. Being more active and eating less kilojoule-dense foods will help reduce obesity
Use two action areas identified in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion to describe how the levels of obesity in Australia could be reduced.
Distribution and affordability — The prices that consumers pay for food are generally set by retailers such as supermarkets and restaurants. These prices are influenced by a range of factors including the wholesale price that retailers had to pay for food items, transport, storage and staffing costs. These factors can make some foods more or less affordable than others.
Using an example, explain how commercial factors can make nutritional change more difficult
By the government funding the private health insurance rebate, more people are able to take out private health insurance, meaning more people are likely to use private hospitals. This means more people can be treated in the public system, which reduces morbidity and mortality. It can also relieve financial pressure on patients, reducing stress and anxiety.
Briefly explain the role of the health system in promoting health outcomes in relation to funding and equity.