Australia's health 2018

Australia’s health 2018 marks the 16th biennial flagship report on health that the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released since it was established in 1987. This latest national report card continues the trend of providing independent, trusted and timely information to the wide range of Australians who use it—the community, policymakers, service providers and researchers.

Australia’s health 2018 examines health using a person-centred approach—this takes the view that a person’s health is part of a broader social context and encompasses the ideas that health:

• is an important part of how people feel and function
• contributes to, and is influenced by, social and economic wellbeing
• can exist in degrees of good, as well as poor, health and varies over time.

The report profiles our health status and use of health services, and takes an in-depth look at topical health issues, including the contribution of risk factors to disease burden; how the health of the population is linked to the natural environment; and the factors contributing to the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in our community. Other featured topics include mesothelioma—Australia has one of the highest diagnosis rates in the world for this cancer—and the increasing harm caused by the use of both pharmaceutical and illegal opioids.

The series of feature articles accompanies a collection of short statistical snapshots that outline the leading types of illness, risk factors, health behaviours, and the services available to help prevent and treat ill health. The report also contains a breadth of information on the health—and health inequalities—experienced by some population groups, including Indigenous Australians; Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; Australian veterans; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex Australians; and Australians living in rural and remote areas.

The AIHW manages a number of national health information assets, and works with state and territory governments, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, other independent bodies and the non-government sector, to ensure that the data included in Australia’s health 2018 are comprehensive, accurate and timely.

PDF report table of contents

Preliminary material: Preface; Acknowledgements

​Chapter 1 An overview of Australia’s health

• 1.0 Overview
• 1.1 What is health?
• 1.2 Profile of Australians
• 1.3 How healthy are Australians?
• 1.4 Indicators of Australia’s health
• 1.5 International comparisons
• 1.6 What is missing from the picture?

Chapter 2 Australia’s health system

• 2.0 Overview
• 2.1 How does Australia’s health system work?
• 2.2 How much does Australia spend on health care?
• 2.3 Who is in the health workforce?
• 2.4 Digital health
• 2.5 Secondary use of health information

Chapter 3 Causes of ill health

• 3.0 Overview
• 3.1 Burden of disease across the life stages
• 3.2 Leading causes of death
• 3.3 Chronic conditions
• 3.4 Cancer
• 3.5 Mesothelioma
• 3.6 Coronary heart disease
• 3.7 Stroke
• 3.8 Diabetes
• 3.9 Chronic kidney disease
• 3.10 Arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions
• 3.11 Chronic respiratory conditions
• 3.12 Mental health
• 3.13 Eating disorders
• 3.14 Dementia
• 3.15 Injury
• 3.16 Family, domestic and sexual violence
• 3.17 Opioid harm
• 3.18 Oral and dental health
• 3.19 Communicable diseases

Chapter 4 Determinants of health

• 4.0 Overview
• 4.1 Impacts of the natural environment on health
• 4.2 Social determinants of health
• 4.3 Health literacy
• 4.4 Contribution of selected risk factors to burden of disease
• 4.5 Tobacco smoking
• 4.6 Alcohol risk and harm
• 4.7 Illicit drug use
• 4.8 Insufficient physical activity
• 4.9 Diet
• 4.10 Overweight and obesity
• 4.11 Biomedical risk factors
• 4.12 Antenatal risk factors

Chapter 5 Health of population groups

• 5.0 Overview
• 5.1 Socioeconomic groups
• 5.2 Rural and remote populations
• 5.3 Culturally and linguistically diverse populations
• 5.4 People with disability
• 5.5 Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people
• 5.6 Veterans
• 5.7 Prisoners

Chapter 6 Indigenous health

• 6.0 Overview
• 6.1 Profile of Indigenous Australians
• 6.2 Indigenous health and wellbeing
• 6.3 Indigenous child mortality and life expectancy
• 6.4 Ear health and hearing loss among Indigenous children
• 6.5 Health behaviours of Indigenous Australians
• 6.6 Social determinants and Indigenous health
• 6.7 Size and sources of the Indigenous health gap
• 6.8 Indigenous Australians’ access to and use of health services
• 6.9 Supply of the health workforce for the Indigenous population

Chapter 7 Prevention, treatment and health  services

• 7.0 Overview
• 7.1 Health promotion
• 7.2 Immunisation and vaccination
• 7.3 Suicide prevention activities
• 7.4 Cancer screening
• 7.5 Primary health care
• 7.6 Medicines in the health system
• 7.7 Overview of hospitals
• 7.8 Funding sources for the care of admitted patients
• 7.9 Safety and quality of hospital care
• 7.10 Emergency department care
• 7.11 Elective surgery
• 7.12 Radiotherapy
• 7.13 Organ and tissue donation
• 7.14 Labour, birth and outcomes
• 7.15 Caesarean sections
• 7.16 Variation in health care provision
• 7.17 Patient-reported experience and outcome measures
• 7.18 Coordination of health care
• 7.19 Specialised alcohol and other drug treatment services
• 7.20 Mental health services
• 7.21 Palliative care services

End matter: Methods and conventions; Symbols; Acronyms and abbreviations; Glossary; Index