A snapshot of arthritis in Australia 2010
This snapshot brings together the latest data on arthritis in Australia. The purpose of the snapshot is to provide the latest statistical information in a timely and efficient manner.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services Report, 2008-09: OATSIH Services Reporting - Key Results
The main findings from the 2008-09 OATSIH Services Reporting data collection show that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander:- primary health care services provided 2.1 million episodes of health care to around 375,000 clients- substance use specific services provided treatment and assistance to address substance use issues to about 23,200 clients- Bringing Them Home and Link Up counselling services provided counselling to about 8,400 clients.
2010 Pandemic Vaccination Survey: summary results
This report presents results from the 2010 Pandemic Vaccination Survey conducted in January and February 2010 by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The report provides estimates of swine flu vaccination uptake by Australians, along with the motivation for, and barriers to, vaccination. The survey showed that the swine flu vaccine uptake as of February 2010 was estimated at 18.1% (or about 3.9 million people). Some of the reasons why people wanted to get vaccinated include the seriousness of swine flu (24.7%), doctor's advice (16.8%), employment-related reasons (13.7%) and being in an 'at risk' group (10.9%).
Chronic kidney disease hospitalisations in Australia 2000-01 to 2007-08
In 2007-08, chronic kidney disease (CKD) contributed to 15% (nearly 1.2 million) of all hospitalisations in Australia, one million of which were for regular dialysis. Indigenous Australians were hospitalised at 11 times the rate of other Australians for regular dialysis, and at 5 times the rate for other principal and additional CKD diagnoses. Hospitalisations for regular dialysis increased by an average of 60,000 per year between 2000-01 and 2007-08, equating to a 71% increase over this period. Increases of 12% for other principal diagnoses of CKD and 48% for additional diagnoses were also recorded.
Mental health services in Australia 2007-08
Mental Health Services in Australia 2007-08 is the twelfth in the series of annual reports providing a detailed picture of the national response to the mental health care needs of Australians. Details from a wide range of data sources for the 2007-08 period, and where available 2008-09, are presented, as are changes over time. Expenditure on state and territory mental health services has been increasing on average by 6% per year (adjusted for inflation) since 2003-04, states and territories spent $3,323 million on these services in 2007-08. There were 4.6 million Medicare claims for subsidised psychiatrist, psychologist and other allied health professional services in 2008-09, an increase of 17.4% from the previous year.
The health of Australia's prisoners 2009
The health of Australia's prisoners 2009 is the culmination of several years' development of national indicators in relation to prisoner health in Australia. This first national report shows that prisoners in Australia have poor health compared to the general community. A week-long snapshot of prison entrants in Australia during 2009 showed: 25% had a chronic condition (such as asthma, cardiovascular disease or diabetes); 81% were current smokers; 52% consumed alcohol at risky levels; and 71% had used illicit drugs during the previous 12 months; 37% of prison entrants reported having received a mental health diagnosis at some time, 43% had received a head injury resulting in a loss of consciousness, and 31% had been referred to prison mental health services. The report also contains data relating to communicable diseases, educational attainment, deaths in custody, the use of health services and the types of medications used by prisoners.
Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory diseases in Australia
In 2004-05, Australia spent $3.3 billion directly on the management of respiratory conditions. In 2007-08, general practitioners managed respiratory problems more than any other condition and in 2006 conditions of the respiratory system were the third most common underlying causes of death. This report presents the epidemiology of each of the main respiratory conditions and highlights their differences and similarities. The conditions addressed include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, allergic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, influenza, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, pneumoconiosis and sleep apnoea.
Risk factors and participation in work
This report builds on the previous AIHW report Chronic disease and participation in work by showing the association between risk factors and participation in work.In 2004-05, nearly all (96%) working-age people in Australia reported one health risk factor, and three-quarters reported more than one. People who reported three or more risk factors were significantly more likely to not participate in the labour force compared with those who reported no risk factors. Absentee rates for people who reported a risk factor and a chronic disease were significantly higher compared with people reporting no risk factors and no chronic disease.This report is a further reminder of the importance of reducing risk factor prevalence to lessen the impact of future chronic disease among working-age people.
Monitoring the impact of air pollution on asthma in Australia: a methods paper
Air pollution can trigger asthma and, in severe cases, has been associated with hospitalisation and death. How much of a problem is air pollution though? What proportion of asthma exacerbations are due to air pollution each year? How much does this vary with extreme events such as bushfires and dust storms? This paper discusses the challenges associated with this type of monitoring, outlines the work that has so far been done in Australia in this area and presents a method for estimating the contribution of air pollution to asthma hospitalisations. The method has been applied to a particular case study 'Melbourne in 2006' to test its potential usefulness.
The problem of osteoporotic hip fracture in Australia
Hip fractures are serious and may lead to disability, reduced quality of life, loss of independence and even premature death. Every day in 2006-07, more than 40 Australians - most of them aged 65 or over - broke their hip. But the incidence rate is on the decline, having fallen by 14% in males and 20% in females since 1997-98.
Medication use for arthritis and osteoporosis
Medicines are central to managing arthritis and osteoporosis, to improve musculoskeletal functions, slow disease progression and reduce pain and inflammation. Pharmaceutical innovations over the last several years have improved the efficacy and diversity of medicines available to manage these conditions. However, the adoption of new and more effective drugs is often costly. This report provides information on what medicines Australians areusing to manage their musculoskeletal problems, how much do these medicines cost them and trends in the prescription of newer medicines.
A guide to Australian eye health data, 2nd edition
A guide to Australian eye health data describes key Australian data collections which indicate the prevalence and outcomes of eye diseases and injuries and eye health care utilisation. It assesses how these collections inform the National Framework for Action to Promote Eye Health and Prevent Avoidable Blindness and Vision Loss.
AIHW Access no. 26: November 2009
Access is a newsletter published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, profiling the Institute's work and its people.
Asthma in Australian children: findings from Growing Up in Australia, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children
Within the first 3 years of life, 16.9% of infants experience asthma or wheeze. Among non-asthmatic children aged 4 to 5 years, 4.1% will develop asthma by the seventh year of life. These and other new insights into the incidence, natural progression and outcomes associated with childhood asthma are presented in this report, based on analysis of Growing up in Australia: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.
Health expenditure for arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions, 2004-05
Arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions affect more than 6 million Australians. In 2004-05, direct health expenditure on these conditions amounted to $4.0 billion or 7.5% of total allocated health expenditure in Australia. Osteoarthritis alone accounted for nearly one-third of the expenditure, mostly due to hospital costs associated with knee and hip replacements. Other major sources of expenditure included prescription pharmaceuticals for osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis. This report provides detailed information on health expenditure on these diseases and conditions using estimates derived from the AIHW Disease expenditure database, supported by information from various other data sources.
Health care expenditure on chronic kidney disease in Australia 2004-05
Chronic kidney disease is a common and serious problem in Australia. Those with the most severe form, end-stage kidney disease, usually require dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. It is with these resource intensive and technologically advanced treatments that much of the health costs for chronic kidney disease are incurred, with regular dialysis the most common reason for hospitalisation in Australia.Chronic kidney disease contributes substantially to health care expenditure in Australia and is increasing much faster than expenditure on total health care. In 2004-05 it accounted for 1.7% of total expenditure ($898.7 million), an increase of 33% since 2000-01 ($573.6 million).
Burden of disease due to asthma in Australia 2003
In 2003 asthma was the leading cause of burden of disease in Australian children, contributing 17.4% of total DALYs and the eleventh-leading contributor to the overall burden of disease in Australia, accounting for 2.4% of the total number of DALYs. Asthma also contributed a substantial proportion to the Indigenous health gap in the burden of non-communicable conditions. It is predicted that asthma will continue to rank as one of the major causes of disease burden in Australia for the next 2 decades, particularly among females.
Refining national asthma indicators: Delphi survey and correlation analysis
This report is the result of a systematic review undertaken by the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring (ACAM) to refine and simplify asthma monitoring in Australia. A Delphi survey and correlation analysis were used to review the currently recommended list of 24 national asthma indicators in order to identify a smaller set of core indicators, which provide the most important and relevant information and which are more effective at signalling change for future asthma monitoring activities.
Key indicators of progress for chronic disease and associated determinants: technical report
The reporting of statistics about chronic diseases and their associated determinants enables the monitoring of outcomes of interventions and health programs, and helps to assess the needs for health services in the future. This report describes forty-two indicators developed to measure the progress in prevention of chronic disease in Australia. For each indicator, operational definitions are provided in terms of recommended data sources, availability of data, and the presentation of the indicators.
A picture of Australia's children 2009
This report delivers the latest information on how, as a nation, we are faring according to key indicators of child health, development and wellbeing. Death rates among children have fallen dramatically, and most children are physically active and meet minimum standards for reading and numeracy. But it is not all good news. Rates of severe disability and diabetes are on the rise. Too many children are overweight or obese, or are at risk of homelessness, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children fare worse on most key indicators.
An overview of chronic kidney disease in Australia, 2009
This report explains what chronic kidney disease is and describes its extent and patterns in the Australian community. Chronic kidney disease contributed to nearly 10% of all deaths in Australia in 2006 and over 1.1 million hospitalisations in 2006-07. Risk factors for chronic kidney disease are highly prevalent in Australia and the number of Australians at risk is increasing. Indigenous Australians in particular are at high risk.
Cervical screening in Australia 2006-2007
The major objective of the National Cervical Screening Program is to reduce incidence and mortality from cervical cancer. Over 3.5 million women (61.5%) aged 20-69 years participated in the Program in 2006-2007, up from the last report. Incidence and mortality remain low at 9 new cases in 2005 and 2 deaths in 2006 per 100,000 women aged 20-69 years.
The geography of disability and economic disadvantage in Australian capital cities
How is severe disability distributed within Australian capital cities? What is the relationship between the percentage of people with severe disability living in a local metropolitan area and the socioeconomic disadvantage of the area? This report presents data on the geographical distribution of severe disability among people aged less than 65 years living in Australian capital cities, based on analysis of the 2006 Census of Population and Housing.
A picture of rheumatoid arthritis in Australia
Rheumatoid arthritis is an often serious joint disease that affects around 400,000 Australians and is the second most common type of arthritis, after osteoarthritis. The disease is more common among females and in older age groups. The underlying cause of rheumatoid arthritis is not well understood but genetic factors play a key role (smoking also increases the risk of developing the disease). The disease reduces a person's capacity to work, with only 31% of those affected in fulltime employment in 2004-05 compared with 53% of the general population. This report provides information on other symptoms, effects and treatments, as well as looking at prevention.
Third study of mortality and cancer incidence in aircraft maintenance personnel: a continuing study of F-111 Deseal/Reseal personnel 2009
In 1977, the Royal Australian Air Force commenced a series of Deseal / Reseal (DSRS) programs on the fuel tanks of F-111 aircraft. These programs were implemented to correct fuel leaks inside the F-111 fuel tanks. A number of concerns were raised about health outcomes in personnel who worked on these programs.This report builds on previous findings from studies on mortality and cancer incidence of personnel who worked on the DSRS programs. The report will be a valuable resource for policy makers, program managers and health professionals interested in health outcomes of military personnel.