Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among older people in Australia: deaths and hospitalisations
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can together be described as obstructive lung disease. This report examines recent data on deaths and hospitalisations among people aged 55 years and over when asthma or COPD are recorded as one of multiple causes of death or hospital diagnoses. The aim is to describe the extent of obstructive lung disease among older Australians, to assess the possibility of misclassification between asthma and COPD and to investigate the association between these diseases and other conditions.
Cervical screening in Australia 2003-2004
This is the eighth national report monitoring the performance of the National Cervical Screening Program using ten indicators which measure program activity, performance and outcome. These indicators help measure changes in disease patterns and examine the contribution of cervical screening to preventing or reducing deaths from cancer of the cervix. It differs from previous reports that were exclusively published on the internet in that it is limited to presenting data from the Programs in table format and does not include the usual descriptive text and graphs.
Health inequalities in Australia: morbidity, health behaviours, risk factors and health service use
The health of the Australian population improved markedly during the twentieth century. Despite these improvements, Australia at the beginning of the twenty-first century is characterised by significant health inequalities.'Health inequalities in Australia: morbidity, health behaviours, risk factors and health service use' is a statistical reference that documents morbidity and morbidity-related inequalities by area-level socioeconomic disadvantage, equivalised household income, education and occupation among infants and children, young adults, working-aged adults and older persons for the periods 1989-90, 1995 and 2001.This report is the second in a series that focuses on different aspects of health inequalities in Australia. Other reports in the series examine health inequalities in mortality, and the measurement of socioeconomic position in population health.
Mortality over the twentieth century in Australia: trends and patterns in major causes of death
'Mortality over the twentieth century in Australia' is a comprehensive analysis of the causes of death from 1907 to 2000. Although it is well known that life expectancy for Australians increased over the last century, analyses presented in this report show how the changes in the causes of death help to explain why we are living longer. This report describes patterns and trends in mortality over the century, highlighting the great successes but also some areas where improvements are still clearly needed.
Mental health services in Australia 2003-04
This is a detailed report on Australia's mental health services which includes a wide range of data to provide a picture of the range of mental health-related services provided in the health and community services sectors. Included for the first time is information on mental health-related supported accommodation services from the AIHW's Supported Accommodation Assistance Program National Data Collection.
Chronic kidney disease in Australia 2005
Chronic kidney disease has numerous impacts on both individual health and health services. With risk factors that are highly prevalent in Australia, including diabetes and high blood pressure, the number of Australians at risk of chronic kidney disease is increasing. Indigenous Australians in particular are at high risk. Chronic kidney disease may lead to serious illness and death. In severe cases, kidney function may deteriorate to the point where a kidney transplant or dialysis is required for survival. People with chronic kidney disease are also at risk of a range of complications, including cardiovascular disease. However, in many cases chronic kidney disease is preventable and treatable. This report is the first to bring together data from a variety of sources to highlight the impact of chronic kidney disease in Australia. The information within will be relevant to policy makers, the wider community and anyone with an interest in chronic kidney disease.
Rural, regional and remote health: information framework and indicators. Version 1b
This report updates Version 1 of the framework, capitalising on the experience gained while reporting against the indicators. The structure of the framework has not been altered and new indicators have not been added, but issues such as data availability and statistical methods have been updated, and practical advice is offered for those who contemplate reporting against the indicators
Arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions in Australia 2005: with a focus on osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis
Arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions are large contributors to illness, pain and disability in Australia. Highly prevalent, they place a significant burden on the community, both economic and personal, including the use of hospital and primary care services, disruptions to daily life and lost productivity through disability. More than 6.1 million Australians are reported to have arthritis or a musculoskeletal condition. Most commonly reported conditions are back pain and various forms of arthritis. Almost 1.2 million of these are reported to have disability associated with their condition. In view of their large disease burden-the number of people affected and the high disability impact-Australian Health ministers declared arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions were declared a National Health Priority Area (NHPA) in July 2002.
Selected chronic diseases among Australia's children
This bulletin presents information on the incidence, prevalence and trends for three of the major chronic diseases among children-asthma, diabetes and cancer. In addition, information about problems managed by general practitioners is presented, as well as a summary of hospitalisations and deaths for a wider range of childhood chronic diseases including cerebral palsy, epilepsy and cystic fibrosis.
Chronic respiratory diseases in Australia: their prevalence, consequences and prevention
Chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and emphysema, are very prevalent in Australia. They disrupt the daily life and productivity of many individuals and lead to thousands of deaths each year. Many of these diseases are largely preventable and manageable.This report brings together data from a variety of sources to highlight the prevalence and impact of chronic respiratory diseases in Australia. The information included in this report will be relevant to policy makers, the broader community and anyone with an interest in the respiratory diseases.
Asthma in Australia 2005
Asthma is an important health problem in Australia. This report brings together data from a wide range of sources to describe the current status of Asthma in Australia. It includes information on the number of people who have asthma, who receive various treatments for asthma, who have written asthma action plans, and who visit their GP, are hospitalised or die due to asthma. Health care expenditure for asthma is also discussed. In addition, a chapter has been included in this report that focuses on asthma in Australian children.
Health care expenditure and the burden of disease due to asthma in Australia
This report provides a summary of two aspects of the economic impact of asthma in Australia: health care expenditure on asthma and burden of disease attributable to asthma-related disability and premature mortality. The information contained in this report will help guide the formation of health policy in relation to asthma.
National comorbidity initiative: a review of data collections relating to people with coexisting substance use and mental health disorders
Under Australia's National Illicit Drug Strategy, a National Comorbidity Initiative was established to improve service coordination and treatment outcomes for people with coexisting mental health and substance use disorders. A priority area under this Initiative is to improve data systems and collections methods within the mental health and alcohol and other drug sectors to manage comorbidity more effectively.This project, commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, identifies, reviews and reports on the current state of data collections relating to people with coexisting substance use and mental health disorders ('comorbidity') in Australia.
Rural, regional and remote health: indicators of health
This report focuses on a comprehensive range of rural health issues including: health status, determinants of health, and health service provision, and is the first systematic comparison of its kind.
Australian health inequalities 2: trends in male mortality by broad occupational group
Although the overall health status of Australians compares favourably with other developed countries, health status within the Australia population varies between different population groups. Illness and death have been shown to occur at higher rates among socioeconomically disadvantaged people, such as those with lower incomes or lower education, or who are unemployed. Health may also vary according to sex region of residence or country of birth.This bulletin examines and compares long-term mortality trends among Australian males in two broad occupational groups that reflect socioeconomic status, namely 'manual' and 'non-manual' workers.
Costs of diabetes in Australia, 2000-01
Diabetes Mellitus is estimated to affect around one million Australians, a number that is likely to increase in the future because of population ageing and increasing prevalence of risk factors such as obesity.This report mainly focuses on direct health care expenditure for diabetes - that is, money spent by governments, private health insurers, companies, households and individuals to prevent, diagnose and treat diabetes.
2004 Adult Vaccination Survey: summary results
This report presents summary results from the 2004 Adult Vaccination Survey (formerly the Influenza Vaccine Survey), which includes questions on both influenza and, for the first time, pneumococcal vaccination. The influenza questions are part of the review of the National Influenza Vaccine Program for Older Australians (aged 65 years or older). The pneumococcal questions support the setting of a baseline for monitoring pneumococcal vaccination, anticipating the evaluation of the National Pneumococcal Vaccination Program for Older Australians, which began on 1 January 2005.The survey was conducted in October 2004 and included 7,500 participants aged 18 years and over.
Vaccine preventable diseases and vaccination coverage in Australia, 2001 to 2002: National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Volume 28, Supplement 2
This, the third biennial report on vaccine preventable diseases and vaccine coverage in Australia, brings together the four most important national sources of routinely collected data about vaccine preventable diseases and vaccinations (deaths, notifications, hospitalisations and vaccination coverage) for all age groups between 2001 and 2002.
Health inequalities in Australia, mortality
Despite improvements in the health of Australians over the last century, large mortality inequalities continue to exist between population sub-groups. This report is a statistical reference source that documents mortality inequalities by sex, geographic region, area socioeconomic disadvantage, occupation and country of birth. The report examines the nature and extent of mortality inequalities among infants and children, young adults, working aged adults and older persons during 1998-2000, and where possible, for the period 1985-1987 to 1998-2000.
Enhancing asthma-related information for population monitoring: asthma data development plan 2005
Targeting and evaluating interventions to improve asthma outcomes, a National Health Priority Area, requires good quality and timely data. The Australian System for Monitoring Asthma, in consultation with various stakeholders, has developed a systemic plan to improve the quality of existing data. In addition to developing time-series, the plan allows for national data development to catch up for indicators that are not able to be monitored currently.
Measuring the impact of asthma on quality of life in the Australian population
This report provides a comprehensive review of approaches to measuring the impact of asthma on quality of life that can be used in population-based monitoring. It is concluded that no single measure can be used in all circumstances. Rather, selection from the range of alternative measures should be based on the specific monitoring task and the attributes that are most relevant to that task. This report is intended for use by policy makers, data agencies and researchers involved in measuring population health. While the main focus is on population monitoring in relation to asthma, the findings will be of interest to those whose focus is on other chronic diseases.
Rural, regional and remote health: a guide to remoteness classifications
The development over the last decade of geographical classifications for Australia that describe areas in terms of relative remoteness has provided an opportunity to compare a wide range of health and welfare indicators across Australia's major cities, regional and remote areas. This publication reviews the methodology behind the three major classifications that describe areas in this way - the RRMA (Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Areas) classification, the ARIA (Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia) classification and the ASGC (Australian Standard Geographical Classification) Remoteness Areas classification. This publication also summarises each classification's strengths and weaknesses and describes how the classifications are applied to administrative and survey data.
2003 Influenza Vaccine Survey: summary results
The Australian Government's National Influenza Vaccine Program for Older Australians funds free vaccine for Australians aged 65 years and older. Conducted in October 2003, almost 8000 Australians aged 40 years and older participated in the 2003 survey and were asked about their recent medical and financial experience of influenza and influenza vaccination. The report presents estimates derived from participants' survey responses.
Review of proposed National Health Priority Area asthma indicators and data sources
This report provides a background to defining and measuring National Health Priority Area (NHPA) indicators for asthma. The issues surrounding the selection, operational definition and measurement of indicators for asthma are presented. The report incorporates the view of stakeholders who were consulted in the development process through workshops around Australia.
Mortality study 2003: Australian veterans of the Korean War
This study investigates mortality rates, both generally and for specific causes of death, among Australian male veterans of the Korean War from their last day of service in Korea to 31 December 2000, and compared these with the corresponding rates for general Australian male population of the same age.