Cardiovascular Disease in Australia

This article discusses the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in Australia, its impact on the population, and the roles of stakeholders in addressing the issue. It also highlights the obstacles preventing effective public health approaches and suggests how a systems thinking approach can be applied to improve healthcare.

Running Head: CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IN AUSTRALIA
Public Health
Name
Institution Affiliate

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IN AUSTRALIA 2
Public health and Economics
Public Health issue
Cardiovascular disease is an ailment that causes blood vessels to become narrowed or
blocked leading to the reduction of blood supply to the heart. This makes the heart vulnerable to
heart attacks, chest pains or strokes. (Crea, Lanza, & Camici, 2014). Cardiovascular disease is
the major cause of deaths in Australia. The disease is also known as Cardiac disease or Coronary
heart disease. Between the year 2007-2008, it was estimated 3.4 million Australians were
diagnosed with this illness. In the following year (2009) up to 46,106 people in Australia died
because of the disease. During the year 2015-2016 a study was carried out, it showed that over
1.1 million people in Australia suffered from this disease. In the same year period, 1 out of 3
deaths in the country was caused by Cardiovascular disease. The number of people with the
disease in the country keeps on rising year by year. In 2014- 2015, it is now estimated that up to
4.2 million Australian natives above the age of 18 years suffer from the ailment. This comprised
of conditions such as coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, and hypertension. The
Indigenous people in Australia are more vulnerable to the disease than non-indigenous people. In
a study conducted in 2012-2013, it showed that females were the most affected by the disease
than male (59% to the female and 41% to the male). (Welfare, 2018)
Roles of Stakeholders in Both the Health System and Other Sectors in Addressing the
Issue.
Primary care organizations formed in Australia have helped the people living with
Cardiovascular disease and also, they have tried to reduce the increase of the ailment. An
organization called the National Heart Foundation was created and led to the creation of the

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online Heartwatch survey as a way to monitor the development of cardiovascular disease in
Australia. The study aided the Australian Adults to grasp the dangers of heart disease and the
risk factors associated with it. It also helped them understand the preferred health behaviors and
existing health conditions to avoid the disease. (Graham, McCoy, & Schultz, 2015).
The education sector in Australia has educated the people about the dangers of smoking
and drinking as a mean to reduce the rate of growth of Cardiovascular disease among other
health issues in the country. Rural training initiatives and increasing engagement with
universities have been encouraged by the Australian government to help create more awareness
of the health issue the country faces. This was heavily influenced by the Australian Health
Survey (AHS) in a study dumbed the nationally representative survey that was conducted in
2011- 2012 to evaluate the cardiovascular health conditions in Australian adults. The Australian
government allocated 7.6 billion dollars to fund and improve the health care of the country in
order for it to be able to have better means to battle the disease. (Barrett, Bolan, Dawson,
Ortmann, & Reis, 2016)
Australia`s industrial sector has led to the development of hospitals, nursing, and
residential care facilities, social assistance, ambulatory health care services, and outpatient
procedures among others. Development of organizations such the “GP-Super clinics” which has
helped in developing teamwork in primary healthcare services. This integration between clinical,
community-based and public health programs have aided in fighting cardiovascular disease.
Blood tests, X-rays, or rehabilitation treatment and other health sectors have improved their
efficiency in services rendered to the patients. Nurses have gained more roles influencing the
availability of qualified staff to handle the disease. The sum of people living with cardiovascular
disease is growing due to factors including population aging and upgraded treatments that have

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resulted in people living with cardiovascular disease to live longer. (Ande, Pinto, & Arnett,
2015)
Obstacles Preventing the Thinking Approach in Public Health Application
Lack of efficient supply of workforce has prevented the implementation of means to
better the healthcare. The health workforce Australia published a report in 2012 which stated that
there would be a shortage of 3,000 doctors and 100,000 nurses come the year 2025. (Joyce,
2013). Rural and remote health care systems where people who live in rural and remote areas is
different from that of people who live in urban areas. In the people dwelling in rural areas are
less likely to have excellent health, since their life expectancy decreases with the increase in their
level of remoteness. This is common to the Indigenous people who are mostly found in remote
areas as compared to non-indigenous people who are found in metropolitan areas. (Smith, 2016)
Affordability of Australia`s healthcare has been an issue as some people cannot afford it. The
increasing cost of medicine in Australia has overshadowed the government`s subsidies making
some of the country’s citizen unable to afford better medication. In 2014-2015 showed that
Australia`s out of pocket health expenditures were the third highest in the developed world. This
resulted in Australian`s chipping in more money than they were previously using to acquire full
treatment and medicine. Many of the people are unable to meet these requirements and hence
they tend to skip treatment and medication thus reducing their life expectancy. (Theodorakis,
2017) Electronic Health Resource (EHR) was introduced in Australia as a means to improve the
healthcare of the country. It was supposed to be opt-out at a patient`s consent when it was
introduced but because only a few people use it been labeled as a must for every person to opt
out after 3 months. Incidents such as scamming, phishing and website security breach have

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befallen on to the Electronic Health Resource reducing its effect on improving the health care of
Australia. (Britnell, 2015)
Suggestions of How A System Thinking Approach can be Applied in Public Health
The government should be able to create structures and functions on how to prevent and
contain any pandemic health issues. Australia`s government and health systems should emphasis
on establishing better network-centric approaches to tackle health issues such as the biological
complexity of Cardiovascular disease (Ande, Pinto, & Arnett, 2015). The government should
introduce the Initiative on the Study and Implementation of Systems (ISIS). This might help the
health system come up with strategies that may improve their knowledge about health issues that
the country may face. The partnership of key stakeholders and organizations such as schools,
churches, and work environments with hospitals and other health departments can create more
awareness of the health issues the country faces (Holland, 2013). In 2011, Dr. Brownson will
and other doctors explained the importance of concept mapping, and social network analysis.
They discussed the different levels to be considered when applying for evidence-based programs
in emerging public health policies. Australia’s government should consider conducting deeper
investigations on the root causes of chronic diseases through considering the environmental,
geographical and cultural contexts difference of Australians.
Cardiovascular disease is a major health issue in Australia. The disease has led to the
death of many citizens in the country. The Australian government needs to improve the current
means of tackling this national disaster. Partnership with both local and international unions
could prove to be very useful in the methods of treating and preventing the disease in the
country. Australian people should also get more awareness about the importance of good public
health and the benefits of having it.

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References
Ande, J. P., Pinto, F. J., & Arnett, D. K. (2015). Prevention of cardiovascular diseases: from
current evidence to clinical practice. Cham: Springer.
Barrett, D. H., Bolan, G., Dawson, A., Ortmann, L. H., & Reis, A. (2016). Public Health Ethics:
Cases Spanning the Globe. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Britnell, M. (2015). In search of the perfect health system. London; New York: Macmillan
Education Palgrave.
Crea, F., Lanza, G. A., & Camici, P. G. (2014). Coronary microvascular dysfunction. Milan:
Springer.
Graham, R., McCoy, M. A., & Schultz, A. M. (2015). Strategies to improve cardiac arrest
survival: a time to act. Washington, D.C: The National Academies Press.
Holland, W. (2013). Improving health services: background, method, and applications.
Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub.
Joyce, C. M. (2013). The medical workforce in 2025: what’s in the numbers? The Medical
Journal of Australia, 199 (5):.
Shepherd, S., & Edgar, G. (2013). Ecology of Australian temperate reefs: the unique South.
Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing.
Smith, J. D. (2016). Australia's Rural, Remote and Indigenous Health - EBook. Saints Louis:
Elsevier.
Theodorakis, A. (2017, March 1st). Your Life Choices. Retrieved from Healthcare is costing us
$28.6 billion per year: https://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/news/can-you-afford-your-
healthcare
Welfare, A. I. (2018, July 24 ). Australian Government: Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare. Retrieved from Cardiovascular disease snapshot:
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/heart-stroke-vascular-disease/cardiovascular-health-
compendium/contents/how-many-australians-have-cardiovascular-disease

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