The health divide is widening in Australia, with new research showing almost three quarters of people dying from preventable diseases lived in disadvantaged communities.
The latest Australia’s Health Tracker report found between 2017 and 2021, more than 125,000 Australians aged between 30 and 70 years old died from preventable diseases.
Study lead author Victoria University Professor Rosemary Calder said 71 percent lived in the most disadvantaged communities and were more likely to be in regional or rural areas of the country.
Professor Calder said the study, which looked at chronic conditions by socioeconomic status, showed where you lived determined the state of your health, including the risk of premature death from potentially preventable diseases.
She said the ever-widening gap between communities who could afford to maintain their health, and communities who couldn’t, should be a major concern for all Australians.
“This situation is getting worse and we must do something about it. The best way is to take a place-based approach and start tailoring what governments and organisations do for the specific needs and strengths of local communities.”
Professor Calder said tracker showed more than 10 million Australians lived in the 40 percent of communities with the highest levels of disadvantage and were at significantly higher risk of preventable chronic disease and poor health.
She said in these communities cancer rates were almost twice as high, diabetes cases were almost three times higher, the chances of developing heart disease or having a stroke were twice as likely and lung disease, including emphysema, was three times higher.
“The health and wellbeing of people living within disadvantaged communities is adversely affected by many social and economic factors, such as lower income, lower education, limited employment conditions, low housing quality and poorer access to resources necessary for a good quality of life,” Professor Calder explained.
GP Dr Suzanne Williams runs a practice in the Brisbane suburb of Inala, a community with high levels of disadvantage and complex health care needs.
Dr Williams said nearly 20 percent of her clinics’ patients had diabetes, more than 30 percent were smokers and almost half of patients were on five or more medications.
She said she was at the forefront of a growing surge of chronic illness and believed change had to include removing the blame and shame from individuals.
“As a GP, it’s challenging to navigate healthcare systems that don’t account for complexity. In my practice, many patients with high mental health needs and complex medical conditions often require interpreters, and they need more time to reach the same healthcare outcomes.
“Improving health outcomes starts with engaging communities – giving them hope and empowering them to take control of their health.
“Being healthy is expensive and the system is hard to navigate. We must lift health literacy for all communities. Access to health also needs to be easier – not just in an emergency but before with greater allied health support. None of this works if we can’t keep costs down,” Dr Williams said.
Professor Calder said to improve health outcomes, leading health and community sector experts had agreed on 10 policy proposals, included in a Getting Australia’s Health on Track 2024 paper, that would reduce preventable disease and improve poor health and wellbeing in disadvantaged communities.
They included:
- Establish a national framework and fund for local collaboration and coordination of place-based initiatives.
- Establish long-term funding for community organisations and service providers.
- Regenerate a community development workforce and provide support for volunteer involvement.
- Municipal Health and Wellbeing Plans should be mandatory in all state and territory jurisdictions.
- Implement health and wellbeing overlays in all state and territory planning schemes.
- Invest in prevention through improving health literacy within communities.
- Strengthen systematic collaboration between Primary Health Networks and Local Health Services in preventative health.
- Provide long-term flexible funding for coordinated multidisciplinary team-based care.
- Reduce stigma and discrimination in health and community services.
- Reduce financial access barriers in rural, remote and disadvantaged areas.
