The Health Status of Indigenous and Non-indigenous Australian Adults - Essay Example

Three methods of measuring the health of the Australian population and use these to compare the health status of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian adults. Name Student ID deleted Edith Cowan University HST1111: Population Health Tutor: Dr Shelley Beatty Date Table of Contents Introduction 3 Mortality and Life Expectancy 4 Circulatory Diseases 4 Health Risk Factors 5 Conclusion 6 References 8 Introduction Population health study focuses on understanding health status in a community. The statistics help improve the health and well-being of the people through health approaches that aim at addressing the differences in health status in various social groups.( Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2012 ) In a population, there are several groups who have different levels of health status. In Australia, the population is categorized into two groups, the indigenous and the non- indigenous people. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the indigenous people are defined “as an individual of Torres Strait Islander or Aboriginal origin that identifies as a Torres Strait Islander or Aboriginal and is accepted as such by the society in which he or she lives.” They were the first inhabitants of Australia. They have a less population compared to that of non- indigenous persons. Australias aboriginal population was estimated to be 669,900 people in 2011, which was 3% of the total population (ABS, 2013). There is an extensive gap between the health of the indigenous and the non- indigenous persons that’s contributed by various factors leading to the inequalities between them. The indigenous group is more disadvantaged as compared to the non-indigenous as stipulated by the AIHW (Australian Health 2014). The importance of this essay is to identify and describe three methods that can be used to measure the health status of both the indigenous and the non-indigenous populations in Australia. It will also help make a comparison between the two Australian groups. The methods will bring out the inequalities that exist between the two groups their differences. The three methods for the measurement of the health status in Australia that will be described in this essay are mortality and life expectancy, circulatory disease, and health risk factors. Mortality and Life Expectancy Life expectancy is an arithmetical measure of how long an organism or person may live. The statistics are obtained from mortality patterns and give information on the well-being of the community. It is given in terms of the number of years one is expected to live too but not the years of the remaining life (AIHW, 2012). In Australia, the indigenous group has a lower life expectancy as compared to the non-indigenous group across all the age groups (AIHW 2011). The death rates for the adults are higher in an indigenous group than in the non-indigenous Australians. They are vulnerable to illnesses that eventually lead to their death. Most of the indigenous deaths were reported be of people between 24years and 64years of age. The high mortality rates made their population be lower than that of non-indigenous Australians. In 2005 -2007 duration the life expectancy was estimated at 67years and 73years of indigenous male and female respectively with a corresponding difference of 11.5 and 9.7 years respectively as compared to other Australians (ABS, 2013). From 2004 to 2008 indigenous Australians had 66% deaths occurring before 66 years of age unlike 20% reported for the non-indigenous (AIHW,2014).Close to 80% of the death gap was said to be highly contributed by chronic diseases. The mortality causes of indigenous Australians were largely as a result of metabolism and nutritional disorders, respiratory diseases (AIHW, 2011). Circulatory Diseases Circulatory diseases involve the movement of blood through the body, and it can lead to various complications in the body organs and affect the body immunity. One of the major causes of mortality among the adult Australians especially the non-indigenous persons has been noted to be due to circulatory diseases. 24% of the mortality cases among indigenous women were cases of circulatory diseases (AIHW, 2011b). Though the rates have been decreasing due to improved management of blood pressure and other chronic diseases, it’s still threatened by increased occurrence of diabetes and obesity among the Australians. The disease accounts for 17% of diseases in indigenous group (Vos et al., 2007). Circulatory diseases frequently occur in indigenous Australians more than the non-indigenous Australian. The circulatory diseases were related to cardiovascular diseases, respiratory disease, and other chronic diseases. The contributing factors to the occurrence of the illnesses were low income, and education among the indigenous Australians limiting them access to knowledge and proper health care services, unlike the non-indigenous Australians. This increases the risk of deaths and poor health condition of the indigenous Australians further widening the gap between them and other Australians as far as health status is concerned. It was recorded that the indigenous are 1.2 times likely to have the circulatory disease as compared to the non-indigenous Australians and twice as likely to coronary heart disease (Penm 2008). In the indigenous Australians dominated areas 75% of males and 65% female died before reaching 65years out of this disease unlike the few deaths among the non-indigenous Australians (AIHW, 2011). Health Risk Factors Health risk behaviors are most likely to contribute to poor health status and can at serious condition lead to deaths. Among the risk health behaviors include Smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and poor feeding habits that have been reported to be frequent among the aboriginal Australians than in the non-indigenous population (ABS, 2013). Smoking rates is highest among the indigenous Australians at the age of 25- 34. Smoking had become a leading cause of diseases for many indigenous Australians in 2003 leading to 20% of all deaths (AIHW, 2013). Between 2002 and 2012 the daily and regular smokers decreased from 51% to 44%.the non-indigenous Australians smokers were 22% in 2001 and 16% in 2011 to 2012. In all the age groups smoking was found to be prevalent in Indigenous males and females than non-indigenous Australian adults increasing the risk of certain diseases such as lung cancer and respiratory disorders among them(ABS, 2013 ). In 2003, alcohol contributed to 7% of all deaths and 6% of total diseases among the indigenous Australians. The indigenous Australians in both remote and non-remote areas were at a high risk of alcohol consumption. The ratio of excessive alcohol intake for indigenous and non-indigenous Australians was so high (ABS, 2013). Obesity was also a risk factor among the indigenous Australians mainly because they are not actively involved in physical activities since most of them were not in employment sector hence much energy was not utilized leading to them being overweight (AIHW, 2011). Obesity in 2003 accounted for 11% of the total causes of diseases and 13% of deaths among Indigenous Australians. More than half of the indigenous peoples aged 15years and above were overweight. (ABS, 2013) Poor feeding habits also contributed to the increased occurrence of obesity. The rates of overweight for both the indigenous and non-indigenous person are reported to be the same. However, women in the indigenous group are one and half times more at a risk of being obese than the non-indigenous obese.(ABS,2014). Conclusion The essay has described the three identified methods that are used to measure the health status in Australia and to compare the indigenous and the non-indigenous persons. The methods have clearly shown the inequality in health that exists between the indigenous and the non-indigenous Australians. The methods used in the essay that are life expectancy, circulatory diseases and health risk behaviors have highlighted how the indigenous group is disadvantaged in life, having a low life expectancy and vulnerable to many chronic diseases. The Indigenous Australians are seen to be at higher risks due to their lower health status as compared to the non-indigenous Australians. Their health status needs to be highly improved for a better living health condition. The indigenous persons have to be provided with the resources necessary to decrease their vulnerability to diseases and low life expectancy. The indigenous persons have been reported to have a larger number of people smoking and excessively consuming alcohol as compared to the non- indigenous persons. References Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013) Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: first results, Australia, 2012–13. ABS cat. no. 4727.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013) Life tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2010-2012. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Bureau of Statistics (2014) Causes of death, Australia, 2012. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2011b). The health and welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, an overview 2011. Cat. No. IHW 42. Canberra: AIHW. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2011) Principles on the use of direct age-standardisation in administrative data collections: for measuring the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2012). Australia’s Health 2012. Australia’s health series no.13. Cat. No. AUS 156. Canberra: AIHW. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.(2013). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2012: detailed analyses. Cat. no. IHW 94. Canberra: AIHW. Australian Institute for Health and Welfare.( 2013). Expenditure on health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 2010-11. Health and welfare expenditure series no. 48. Cat. no. HWE 57. Canberra: AIHW.] Vos T, Barker B, Begg S, et al. Burden of disease and injury in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: the Indigenous health gap, The International Journal of Epidemiology 2009; 38: 470-477. 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