1. CQ2 – What are the priority issues for improving Australia’s health?
HSC PDHPE
CQ2 – What are the priority issues for improving Australia’s health?

2. How are priority issues for Australia’s health identified?
The impact of an ageing population around the world
How are priority issues for Australia’s health identified?
Students learn about:
Students learn to:
a growing and ageing population
healthy ageing
increased population living with chronic disease and disability
demand for health services and workforce shortages
availability of carers and volunteers.
assess the impact of a growing and ageing population on:
the health system and services
health service workforce
carers of the elderly
volunteer organisations.

3. 3. a growing and ageing population
Australia has a growing and ageing population. Older Australians are people aged 65 years and over. This group makes up approximately 13% of the population. The proportion of the population aged 65 years and over is projected to rise by between 27% and 30% by The ageing of the population is caused by two factors. First, Australian families are, on average, having fewer children.

4. 3. a growing and ageing population
The second factor contributing to the ageing population is that we are living longer. With fewer babies being born, and more people living longer, it is inevitable that the population will become progressively older. With the population ageing and people living longer, there are more people, particularly those at older ages, who have a disability and are limited in their ability to participate in physical activity.

5. healthy ageing
All Australians, regardless of age, should have access to appropriate employment, training, learning, housing, transport, cultural and recreational opportunities and care services that are appropriate to their diverse needs.
This enables them to optimise their quality of life over their entire lifespan. Healthy ageing is concerned with quality of life, independence and lengthening the number of healthy years, not just the years of life, enjoyed by an individual.

6. healthy ageing
The benefits of adopting a healthy lifestyle even at an older age include the prevention of disease and functional decline, extended longevity and enhanced quality of life. The healthier an individual, the less demand that person places on health and aged care services.

7. healthy ageing
Australian males aged 65 can expect to live to be years, while 65-year-old females have an expected life span of 86.4 years. These life spans are about six years more than were experienced during the beginning of the twentieth century. Males and females aged 85 years can expect to live for a further 5.9 and 7.1 years, respectively, which is about two years more than for those living in the early 1900s.

8. healthy ageing
Most of these gains in life expectancy among older Australians occurred during the last three decades, when deaths from cardiovascular diseases (particularly heart disease and stroke) fell rapidly. The majority of older Australians consider themselves to be in good health. Many older people have a positive view of their health, even though older age may be generally associated with increasing levels of disability and illness. Older females are more likely than older males to rate their health as excellent or very good.

9. increased population living with chronic disease and disability
Coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease (particularly stroke) are the two leading causes of death among older males and females. These diseases are also major causes of disability among older Australians. Other heart diseases, which include heart failure, are also common. Lung cancer is the third most common cause of death for older males and the fifth for older females. Colorectal cancer is also high for both sexes, and prostate cancer and breast cancer are two important sex-specific causes of death. Other chronic diseases include cancer and chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, which includes emphysema.

10. increased population living with chronic disease and disability
Dementia and related disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, still cause many deaths among older Australians. Diabetes is the main underlying cause of death and was ranked the eighth leading cause for both older males and females. It also correlates with disability and poor quality of life. Diseases of the arteries, such as atherosclerosis and other peripheral vascular diseases, are the twelfth leading cause of death for older males and females. The top causes of death for 65–74 year olds include pancreatic cancer, cirrhosis of the liver for males and ovarian cancer for females.

11. increased population living with chronic disease and disability
At 75–84 years, deaths from dementia and related disorders are prominent, along with deaths from influenza and pneumonia. For those aged 85 years and over, influenza and pneumonia and kidney failure are among the top causes. Other conditions with a large impact on older Australians include adult-onset hearing loss, Parkinson’s disease in males, and osteoarthritis and falls in females.

12. increased population living with chronic disease and disability

13. demand for health services and workforce shortages
During the last 25 years the Australian medical workforce has increased much more rapidly than has the population. Factors contributing to this have included the growing and ageing of the population. The demand for health care increases with age, and medical workforces are derived from the demand for health care. Those in the age group 55 years and older are the heaviest consumers of medical services.

14. demand for health services and workforce shortages
The rising national health expenditure is likely to be driven by a combination of factors:
relative health price increases
a growing population
the ageing of the population
non-demographic growth in health care expenditure in particular.

15. demand for health services and workforce shortages
When older people are discharged from hospital, they are less likely than younger people to return to their usual residence, and more likely to enter residential aged care or die. In particular, a high proportion of injury-related hospitalisations for older people are followed by discharge to a residential aged care or ‘other health facility’.

16. availability of carers and volunteers
Service providers that offer aged care in the community and through aged care homes include a mix of private and religious or charitable organisations, as well as state, territory and local governments.
Most older Australians prefer to stay in their own homes, so there are a number of programs available to help with daily living activities that may have become harder for these people to manage on their own. This is called ‘community care’.

17. availability of carers and volunteers
The Home and Community Care (HACC) program and Community Aged Care Packages (CACP) are two such programs, with services specifically designed for older Australians who would qualify for at least low-level care in an aged care home. HACC services aim to meet basic needs to maintain a person’s independence at home and in the community. They include community nursing, domestic assistance, personal care, Meals on Wheels, home modification and maintenance, transport and community-based respite care.

18. availability of carers and volunteers
For the older person who can no longer live at home because of ageing, illness or disability, there are publicly funded places in aged care homes. This is called ‘residential aged care’. There are two types of residential aged care in Australia: high-level and low- level care.
High-level care provides nursing care when required, meals, laundry, cleaning and personal care,
while low-level care gives the person assistance with meals, laundry and personal care. Other services includes: personal care, home helpers, home maintenance and/or modification, food delivery, transport services and community health centres.