HEALTH OF AUSTRALIA COMPARED TO OTHER DEVELOPED NATIONS Key Concept: How the health status of Australians compares to Japan, New Zealand, the UK and the USA

Review:  Definition of Health (limitations)  Definition of Health Status  Dimensions of Health – Physical, Social, Mental  Interactions between them

Example Exam Questions: Question 1 (3 marks) a. Define ‘health status’. (1 mark) b. Outline the difference between mortality and morbidity as measurements of health status. (2 marks).

Answers: a. Health status is an individual’s or population’s level of health, taking into account various aspects such as life expectancy, amount of disability and levels of disease risk factors. b. Mortality relates to the number of deaths in a population at any given time, whereas morbidity relates to ill health in an individual or level of ill health in a population or group at a given time. Health status is a key health term in the study design and the majority of students were able to accurately define the term. Students were expected to show an understanding of the difference between the two key health terms of mortality and morbidity. While the majority of students were able to demonstrate their understanding, many students confused these two terms. ONLY 46% for full marks!

Health Comparison  Most indicators of health status show that Australia is a healthy country. But how do we compare to other countries that have similar economic and technological resources to Australia? Developed country: a country that has advanced adequately with regards to economy, technology and health status.

Developed Countries Comparison  It would be difficult to compare Australia to every other developed country, so we will use the following countries for comparison:  Japan  New Zealand  United Kingdom (UK)  United States of America (USA).

Use this data page 29 in your textbook to identify some trends in ‘Life Expectancy’ when comparing similar developed countries.

Individual Learning Activity:  EXAM TIP: When commenting on data, try to avoid making general statements such as ‘more’ and instead try to use data from the graph to support your statement; for instance, use ‘twice as much’ or ‘75 deaths compared to 150’.  Read pages 30 – 33: Answer ‘Test Your Knowledge’ questions 1 and 2. Answer ‘Apply Your Knowledge’ questions 5a, 5b, 5c