1,721,183 research outputs found
Geographic distribution of admissions to hospital with a mental health diagnosis and use of community mental health services, 2004
No full textThis set of maps outlines the distribution of clients of mental health services in South Australia. This resource was produced for the Mental Health Directorate, Central Northern Adelaide Health Service and complements other health atlases including the Social Health Atlas of South Australia and the Social Health Atlas of the Central Northern Adelaide Health Service. Together, these provide important information for policy makers, planners, service providers and community members working towards the future health and wellbeing of South Australians
The Brimbank atlas of health and education
Get PDFPresents a detailed regional profile of the City of Brimbank, covering a range of health, education and other social and demographic characteristics.
Overview
This atlas, prepared by the Public Health Information Development Unit at The University of Adelaide for the Mitchell Institute, provides a range of information for decision-makers, planners, service providers, researchers and communities.
It is hoped its production will bring a better understanding of the complex interactions between individuals and families, their environments and social structures over a lifetime, and how these factors influence the health, education and ultimately, the flourishing of current and future generations of Brimbank residents.
In order to do this, a number of indicators have been chosen to describe different aspects of the population, and, by using them, to highlight differences, especially in health and education outcomes, across the community. The indicators have also been selected to cover the lifespan and offers a perspective on understanding inequalities across life and tracing outcomes at one stage of life, to the accumulation of experiences which occurred at earlier stages
The socioeconomic gradient and chronic illness and associated risk factors in Australia: how far have we travelled? Evidence from the abs national health survey series
No full textThe most disadvantaged people in Australia bear a disproportionate share of
the burden of illness, disability and death when compared with those who are
the most well off. Although greatest between the most disadvantaged and the
least disadvantaged populations, these differentials often apply across the
socioeconomic gradient. They are equally evident for a range of measures of
socioeconomic disadvantage. The release of data from the 2011-13 Australian Health Survey provides an
opportunity to examine the most recent national data on the prevalence of
chronic conditions in Australia and how different groups across the
population are affected. This analysis shows that the prevalence continues to
vary across the socioeconomic gradient for certain chronic conditions, as well
as for a number of related risk factors. Public Health Information Development Unit (PHIDU). (2015). The socioeconomic gradient and chronic conditions in Australia: Results from the 2011-13 Australian Health Survey</div
Early intervention – from evidence to implementation: The policymaker’s tale. A case study
Get PDF© Commonwealth of AustraliaImplementing evidence from research, into policy, and then practice, is a challenging task, glistening with opportunities and fraught with practical difficulties and political realities. This case study describes a process of taking research evidence, embedding it into policy and then implementing and making it happen 'on the ground', as a 'live' early intervention program in South Australia.
Evidence on the level of disadvantage of people living in particular geographic locations in metropolitan Adelaide, and research on effective early intervention programs for disadvantaged families with infants were used to support policy directions and to gain funding to establish a pilot program. A community development approach was adopted, and strategies used to ensure the participation of those communities in the design and establishment of the program are also discussed. A number of key criteria were identified to support the successful transition from research, to policy, to planning and practice, and these are reviewed in the light of experience.
This is a sobering tale, with exciting outcomes but a number of important lessons, which may be helpful to others seeking to ensure the successful implementation of early intervention programs for children and their families in Australia
Nationwide monitoring and surveillance question development: Diabetes mellitus
Get PDF© Commonwealth of Australia 2003Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in Australia, contributing significantly to premature mortality, morbidity, disability and potential years of life lost. From the 1995 National Health Survey (NHS), it was estimated that 430,700 individuals (2.4 per cent of the total population) reported having been diagnosed with diabetes at some stage in their life, and that a further 300,000 (1.5 per cent of the population) have undiagnosed diabetes. In 1996, the Australian Health Ministers declared diabetes as the fifth National Health Priority Area (NHPA), as several of the criteria for priority national attention were met.
This discussion paper examines a number of issues related to diabetes and the instruments that have been used to measure diabetes in the population. In particular, the paper looks at health surveillance data collection
Is it working ... together? Linking research, policy and practice in relation to children and health inequalities in South Australia
Get PDFDespite an increasing interest in the extent of child health inequalities in Australia and effective strategies to address them, there remains a significant gap between existing research evidence and its incorporation into planning, policy and practice in Australia. Researchers, policy-makers and practitioners face difficulties in bringing research into practice effectively, and local communities are often neglected in the processes. This paper presents a brief summary of data on child health inequalities in South Australia over the last decade. It then reviews the extent to which research findings have been incorporated into human services' policy and practice. Particular barriers for researchers, policy-makers, planners, practitioners and communities are discussed, drawing on local and overseas experience, and possible strategies for addressing some of the barriers are outlined
Remote Areas Statistical Geography in Australia: Notes on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index for Australia (ARIA + version)
Get PDF© Commonwealth of Australia 2003There have been increasing concerns over a number of years about the difficulties faced by Australians living in rural and remote areas of Australia in accessing services that most Australians take for granted. A parallel concern has been the extent to which the health of people living in these areas is poorer than that of those living in areas with greater accessibility to health, welfare and other services. Government in particular has been interested in finding out more about the circumstances and needs of these populations, and in targeting assistance accordingly.
This led the (then) Department of Health and Aged Care (DHAC) to sponsor a project to obtain a standard classification and index of remoteness which would allow the comparison of information about populations based on their access, by road, to service centres (towns) of various sizes. Note that although by specifying towns of various sizes the index implicitly takes account of the education, health, welfare, etc. services likely to be located in towns of those sizes, there is no explicit use in the development of the index of what services should exist. That is, distance is the sole measure of access. The outcome of that project was the Accessibility/ Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) (DHAC 1999, superseded by DHAC 2001), based on a methodology developed by the National Centre for Social Applications in GIS (GISCA).
More recently, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) addressed the concept of remoteness, with a view to including it in its classification of areas. The ABS work, also undertaken with GISCA, used ARIA as the underlying methodology for the determination of remoteness. The new classification, described by the ABS as a 'Remoteness Structure', is referred to as ARIA+ (ie., ARIA plus, ABS 2001a), and is an update and refinement of the original ARIA.
This report includes a comparison of ARIA with ARIA+. It also examines the characteristics of the population under ARIA+, such as the distribution, age, sex, and includes comparisons by Indigenous status
Ethical considerations arising from National Health Measurement Surveys: with particular reference to the Australian Health Measurement Survey (AHMS) program
Get PDF© Commonwealth of AustraliaThe purpose of this paper is to identify a range of ethical considerations that may arise during the design and implementation of national health surveys that incorporate physical and biochemical measures.
These surveys are able to provide important information on the prevalence of various health conditions and distributions of physical, mental and biochemical characteristics of the population, as well as providing data on the relationship between risk factors and selected conditions, and social and environmental determinants of health. In Australia, a program of national health measurement surveys that will collect a range of measures (physical and biochemical characteristics) has been proposed, the Australian Health Measurement Survey (AHMS) program.
The ethical, legal and social issues that arise are numerous. A number of broad policy issues emerge that require further discussion. In order to ensure that survey programs are conducted within an ethical framework, these issues must be identified and discussed with communities and others, and broad agreement reached about the most appropriate ways to proceed
Nationwide monitoring and surveillance question development: Asthma
Get PDF© Commonwealth of Australia 2003Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways that results in variable airflow obstruction in response to certain triggers. Depending on severity, the airflow limitation is accompanied by symptoms of breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness, and cough. According to the 1995 ABS National Health Survey, it was estimated that approximately 11 per cent of Australians reported asthma as a recent or long-term condition. Asthma is a major cause of disability rather than premature mortality, costing the health system an estimated $478 million in 1993-94 (40 per cent of the total expenditure on chronic respiratory diseases). On the 4th of August 1999 the Australian Health Ministers announced asthma as the sixth National Health Priority Area, in response to the significant burden that asthma places on the Australian community.
This discussion paper examines a number of issues related to asthma and the instruments that have been used to measure asthma in the population. In particular, the paper looks at health surveillance data collection
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