Australia’s health 2022: data insights

This article considers how the overall health of Australians has changed during the COVID-19 period within the context of pre-existing health trends spanning recent decades.

The analysis provides a context for determining whether the total effect of the COVID-19 pandemic – both direct and indirect effects – has changed population health. 

It reports on findings related to overall mortality, the prevalence of various diseases and injuries, and forgone or delayed health care.

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER 2 (PDF, 1.37MB)

This article reports on changes in the use of health services by Indigenous Australians during the first 18 months of the pandemic.

It compares Indigenous Australians’ use of selected primary health care services, presentations to emergency departments (EDs), hospitalisations and elective surgeries during this time with pre-pandemic patterns and trends.

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER 3 (PDF, 1.29MB)

This article reports on how the leading causes of death in Australia have changed since 1907.  While deaths from infectious diseases have declined, deaths from chronic conditions, such as cancers and dementia, have increased.

The article’s wide-ranging analysis presents the changes overtime in infant and child mortality, infectious diseases, chronic diseases, injuries, tobacco use. It also considers the various effects of improved living conditions, greater health literacy among the population, and the introduction of health screening programs.

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER 4 (PDF, 1.32MB)

This article recounts the major developments in Australia’s health system since the Spanish influenza of 1919, including changes to system administration and funding, medicine and vaccine policies, public health measures and intensive care units.

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER 5 (PDF, 279 KB)

This article uses linked administrative data to examine health service use and costs in the last year of a person’s life.

It focuses on 4 main types of health services: hospital admissions, emergency department presentations, Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) services, and prescriptions supplied under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS).

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER 6 (PDF, 519 KB)

This article shows how linked data can be used to explore variations in the use of common and important health services by different groups of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) Australians.

It examines different CALD groups’ usage of 2 common and important health services in Australia – non-referred visits to general practitioners (GPs) and practice nurses and blood pressure lowering medicines. The article uses ‘country of birth’ and ‘proficiency in spoken English’ as CALD indicators.

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER 7 (PDF, 416KB)

This article provides an overview of young Australians’ mental health. It examines the prevalence of mental illness, changes in mental health over time and the use of mental health services.

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER 8 (PDF, 291KB)

Women who live remotely have less access to health care, including maternity care, which can be detrimental to their health and the health of their babies.

This article reports on a range of pregnancy and birth outcomes for mothers and babies living in Australia’s remote areas, comparing them with outcomes for those in non-remote areas.

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER 9 (PDF, 7.58MB)

This high-level article describes Australia’s health information environment and the impact of COVID-19 on the data landscape.

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER 10 (PDF, 225KB)