Source: AIHW
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s 15th biennial health report is now available.
It profiles current health issues in a collection of feature articles and statistical snapshots that cover a range of areas, including:
New from the Australian Health Policy Collaboration (AHPC) at Victoria University, Australia’s Health Tracker provides a comprehensive assessment of the health of Australians in relation to chronic diseases and their risk factors.
Launched at a national Forum on July 5th 2016, over 50 public health organisations are signatories to Australia’s Health Tracker. The Forum’s key note speaker, Graham MacGregor, a Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, has praised the work and urged that Australia follow the lead of the United Kingdom in sugar and salt reform.
Australia’s Health Tracker 2016
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This report from Save the Children Australia says mothers in some places in Australia are doing it tough, often isolated and unsupported. Where you live, your cultural background and economic resources are critical indicators as to whether you enjoy the experience of our high ranking on the world stage. For example, mothers living in rural areas, mothers who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, and mothers in lower socio-economic households are generally worse off across all indicators examined, including health (maternal mortality, child mortality, antenatal care), education (child development, women’s education), income (average household income) and relative socio-economic disadvantage.
The state of Australia’s mothers
Save the Children Australia, 2016
Elder abuse has a range of physical, psychological and financial consequences. Evidence about prevalence in Australia is lacking, though if international indications provide any guidance, it is likely that between 2% and 10% of older Australians experience elder abuse in any given year, with the prevalence of neglect possibly higher.
A range of state/territory-based elder abuse response strategies, policies and practice guidelines outline the various forms of elder abuse, how it can be identified, the action to be taken when elder abuse is suspected or identified, and the relevant services that can be approached for assistance.
Responses to elder abuse are contained within multiple layers of legislative and policy frameworks across health, ageing and law at Commonwealth and state level, with intersections in some areas (health and ageing) and parallel operation in others (state/territory criminal and civil law frameworks).
Elder abuse: understanding issues, frameworks and responses
Rae Kaspiew, Rachel Carson and Helen Rhoades
Australian Institute of Family Studies Research Report No 35, 2016 ISBN 978-1-76016-083-8
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The French population has a good level of health, with the second highest life expectancy in the world for women. The French state has a strong role in the health insurance system, which offers a high level of choice of providers.
While the French population is largely satisfied with the health system, the overall state of health in France is mixed, as described within this review. Health inequalities across socioeconomic and geographical groups are much larger in France than in most other European countries, resulting not only from risk factors but also from financial and geographical inequities in access to care.
Chevreul K, Berg Brigham K, Durand-Zaleski I, Hernández-Quevedo C. France: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2015; 17(3): 1–218.
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This guide explains what self-management support is and why it is important. It then looks at various aspects of putting it into practice, including planning and commissioning, building knowledge, skills and confidence, and measurement and evaluation.
The guide also contains suggestions for further reading and case studies of self-management support in practice.
A practical guide to self-management support Key components for successful implementation Anya de Iongh, Petrea Fagan, Julie Fenner, Lisa Kidd
The Health Foundation, December 2015
Source: Australian Health Policy Collaboration
A new technical paper from the recently established independent think tank Australian Health Policy Collaboration.
This report documents the targets and indications that can support, guide and track progress towards a substantial change in the health of Australia.
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This Deeble Institute Issues Brief outlines ongoing implementation concerns with the personally controlled electronic health record system and recommends actions to overcome these concerns.
Toward better implementation: Australia’s My Health Record
Deeble Institute Issues Brief No. 13 30 October 2015
Krister Partel Advocacy Director Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association
Source: AIHW
Australia’s welfare 2015 is the 12th biennial welfare report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. This comprehensive report provides an authoritative overview of the wellbeing of Australians, examining a wide range of relevant topics.
This edition combines analytical feature articles on a variety of contemporary welfare issues with short statistical snapshots following a life-course approach. It covers: Understanding welfare; Australia’s welfare spending and workforce; Child wellbeing; Young people; Working age; Growing older; Diversity and disadvantage in Australia; Indicators of Australia’s welfare.
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This report says there is a common misconception that buildings for the aged are just aged care buildings. However most older people in Australia will never enter a residential aged care building (or a retirement village for that matter). The question is ‘how appropriate are our homes, and can we make them more age appropriate?’ What are the successful features that people need and appreciate?
The NANA project looked at architecturally significant buildings, places and accommodation models in several countries to provide resources, examples and precedents for architects and others.
The research proposes three objectives, and eight features to inform a new architecture for the new aged. The three objectives are Happiness, Normality, Equality and the eight features are: Windows to the world, Space grace, The great outdoors, Small is beautiful, Freedom to choose, Belonging, Integration and Something to do.
Image: Chickens made by residents, used as room identifiers for Residencia Dona Isobel in the chicken farming region around Alacer do Sal, Portugal
The NANA project: a new architecture for the new aged that advocates a better built environment for older people
Guy Luscombe
Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarships Journal Series
NSW Architects Registration Board 2015
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