HBS107 Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan

HBS107
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Table of Contents
a) Introduction and the summary of the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2015-
2019 (VPHWP 2015-2019)........................................................................................................3
b) Overall evaluation of the plan, health determinants, and explanation of their influence on
the population group..................................................................................................................3
c) Describing 1 focus area and at-risk group..............................................................................4
d) Explanation of three relevant determinants of health............................................................4
e) Conclusion.............................................................................................................................6
Reference list..............................................................................................................................7
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a) Introduction and the summary of the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan
2015-2019 (VPHWP 2015-2019)
The assignment is based upon Victorian public health and wellbeing plan 2015-2019. This
plan is aligned with other plans of government. Strategies of this plan impact on the health
and wellbeing of the population of Victoria.
This plan is segmented into three parts that include understanding health and wellbeing.
This part includes some factors that impact the health of Victorians, which include
determinants of health, risk factors, the impact of inequalities and different trends and
challenges. Strategic directions are another part of this plan that outlines the different public
health approach needed and priority health conditions. Accountability is another essential
part, which elaborates on different governance arrangements, monitoring plans, and outcomes
frameworks (Health.vic.gov.au, 2019). The scope of the plan includes a great focus on
inequalities in terms of health. This plan focuses to improve health and wellbeing by fixing
targets and regular governance.
b) Overall evaluation of the plan, health determinants, and explanation of their
influence on the population group
This plan has been developed to ensure the well being of the overall community. The main
focus of this plan is to protect the health of the community. Moreover, it is focusing on the
determinants that contribute to the inequalities. It is expected that this plan can help to
improve the quality of the healthcare system. This plan has included an approach to recognize
the need for flexibility on a greater scale to the local contexts and priorities
(Health.vic.gov.au, 2019). On the other hand, another focus of this plan is to review the
results, targets, and accountabilities of the healthcare system. This plan has the potential of
having a strong focus on the advantages that can be gained through the response of the whole
community, the whole of the government and the whole of the system.
This plan has mentioned different determinants of health including individual characteristics,
behaviors, physical environment, economic and social environment. Examples of these
determinants include the experience of early childhood, educational opportunity,
employment, income, economic and social geography, housing and status, access to
healthcare services, availability of social support and quality of available water, soil and air.
On the other hand, Artiga and Hinton (2019) have supported that gender and sex, spiritual
health and culture are considered as determinants of health as well.
These mentioned health determinants have a great impact on the ability of people to promote
and protect their health. Additionally, it affects the way people respond to their needs and the
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process that people follow to access healthcare and other available services. Determinants of
health can be accumulated throughout the entire lifetime of a person and it can be transferred
to future generations (Health.vic.gov.au, 2019). These determinants of health can have a great
impact on the working capacity of a person within the entire lifespan. For example,
inappropriate health determinants are affecting the aboriginal population group.
c) Describing 1 focus area and at-risk group
Healthier eating and active living are some of the priority areas of the plan. This priority
area consists of the promotion of a diet that is healthy, safe and sustainable. The promotion of
diet plans must be consistent with Australian dietary guidelines. For the promotion of health
and wellbeing, a nutritious diet and an adequate amount of food supply are the main focus.
Low physical activity and huge intake of junk foods increase the risk of different diseases
such as cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis (Health.vic.gov.au, 2019). A physically
active person has improved mental condition and reduced the risk of different diseases like
high blood pressure and overweight.
Aboriginal people are identified as a major risk group because adult obesity has increased in
this group in recent years. This is due to poor diet, high consumption of sugar-sweetened
drinks and others (Brownson et al. 2017). This group is at risk because they are achieving
poor health service and sometimes face inequalities. Moreover, this risk group is exposed to
ultraviolet radiation and faces the risk of skin cancer (Health.vic.gov.au, 2019). Different
wellbeing outcomes are related to this risk group. This includes the proportion of people who
consumes sugar-contained drinks, the prevalence of obesity and the prevalence of
overweight.
d) Explanation of three relevant determinants of health
Environmental
Any external agent such as biological, chemical, physical or cultural, which is linked with
wellbeing and impact health status is called environmental health determinant. Environmental
determinants air and water quality are directly linked with the health status of human beings.
In the plan, it is mentioned that climate change has created serious health and environmental
challenges. Vulnerable groups that can get impacted for this climate change are older adults,
children, and people with medical conditions (Health.vic.gov.au, 2019). Climate change has
deteriorated air, food, and water quality. Protecting the health of Victorians can be done by
maintaining the quality of these environmental determinants. Phelan and Link (2015) stated
that this includes minimizing air and water pollution, ensuring safe food supply and evidence-
based standards and controls for preventing pollution.
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Change in climate creates health challenges and spread communicable diseases. Different
other environmental determinants include particulate air pollution, ground-level ozone
depletion, tobacco smoke, and cellular phone radiation. These determinants impact health and
epidemiologists are concerned with these factors (McKee and Stuckler, 2018). In this
developing world, different other primary environmental health determinants are air, water,
biological agents that impact the health of human beings. Different diseases like diarrhea and
malaria impact on the health of children and adults each year. This plan is focused to provide
a healthy and sustainable environment by controlling the determinants of health. It is
mentioned in the plan that building capacity of Victoria to manage emergencies is necessary.
As mentioned by Sohn et al. (2018), it is essential to build resilient communities and the fund
is important for supporting during any disaster. Moreover, this plan is also trying to manage
chemical, biological and physical hazards.
Biological
This plan has included that differences in the health condition of different people happen due
to the biological variation that is natural. Biological factors that determine an individual's
health are called biological determinants. It has been discussed about the sex and
reproductive habits of people need to be protected as these are biological health determinants.
These determinants have the potential to impact on the wellbeing of a person
(Dhhs.vic.gov.au, 2019). Due to this reason, improving reproductive and sexual health is very
important as per this plan. Eating habit is another determinant of health and this plan has
mentioned that active living and healthy eating. This plan has mentioned that adequate food
supply and a nutritious diet must be ensured for protecting the well being and health of the
community. It has been found that consumption of sweet drinks and poor diet are the main
determinants of poor oral health (Batterham et al. 2016). According to this plan, people need
to have access to preventive dental care, appropriate dental hygiene and access to fluoride.
Exposure to UV radiation increases the risk of having skin cancer (Taylor et al. 2016). This
plan has mentioned that the risk of developing skin cancer must be balanced
(Health.vic.gov.au, 2019). However, it is important to have limited exposure to sunlight or
maintaining the amount of the level of vitamin D within the body. This plan is also promoting
tobacco-free living and initiatives that must be taken to improve the mental health of the
community. It is instructed that reducing the use of drugs and alcohol to stay healthy.
Social
There are different social health determinants that include culture, ethnicity, gender, and
others. Experience of upbringing, education, jobs, income and social status of a person
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determines health and wellbeing. If any of these get affected, the mental and physical
condition of the concerned person can be affected. Expectations, norms, and behavior of
people control their ability to protect their health and wellbeing. On the other hand, Adler,
Glymour and Fielding (2016) have mentioned that these social determinants can influence the
process of responding to available healthcare services. These determinants can be
accumulated throughout life and people can transfer these accumulated determinants to their
future generations.
The difference in health status generally does not occur due to biological variation. This
difference is due to the pattern of society. A social gradient is followed generally, in which an
individual's health tends to improve with increasing social hierarchy (Kearns et al. 2015).
Different factors like early childhood nutrition, education, and experiences impacts on the
general and mental health of a person. Gender roles, behavior, norms can affect an
individual's ability for protection and promoting health (Schneider, 2016). Responding to
needs, ability to access health services is also included in social determinants. Social
determinants can be shaped by the equal distribution of power, money, and resources at the
local, national and global levels (Health.vic.gov.au, 2019). According to this plan, social
determinants of health have a great impact on the lives of individuals.
e) Conclusion
From the entire discussion, it can be concluded that the VPHWP 2015-2019 have been
developed for protecting the health and wellbeing of the community. The Aboriginal
population of Australia is the main underprivileged group. This plan can help this population
to have greater access to healthcare services as it is focusing on inequalities and determinants
of health within the country. It has been found that the mentioned determinants of health have
great impacts on the lives of the population group. This plan can help the government and the
society to think about protecting the health of the overall community, where everyone must
get equal chances of living and staying fit. It can help people to understand the perspective of
protecting health and wellbeing through understanding accountabilities. Hence, this plan can
be considered as an appropriate part of Australia that can help people to get equal access to
healthcare and other services to ensure wellbeing.
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Reference list
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and health inequalities. Jama, 316(16), pp.1641-1642.
Artiga, S. and Hinton, E., 2019. Beyond health care: the role of social determinants in
promoting health and health equity. Health, 20, p.10.
Batterham, R.W., Hawkins, M., Collins, P.A., Buchbinder, R. and Osborne, R.H., 2016.
Health literacy: applying current concepts to improve health services and reduce health
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Brownson, R.C., Baker, E.A., Deshpande, A.D. and Gillespie, K.N., 2017. Evidence-based
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Dhhs.vic.gov.au (2019), Public health, Available at: https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/public-
health [Accessed on 22nd December 2019]
Health.vic.gov.au (2019), Victorian public health and wellbeing plan 2015-2019, Available
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McKee, M. and Stuckler, D., 2018. Revisiting the corporate and commercial determinants of
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Phelan, J.C. and Link, B.G., 2015. Is racism a fundamental cause of inequalities in
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Sohn, E.K., Stein, L.J., Wolpoff, A., Lindberg, R., Baum, A., McInnis-Simoncelli, A. and
Pollack, K.M., 2018. Avenues of influence: the relationship between health impact
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