Implications of Non-Communicable Diseases in Australia

This article discusses the burden of non-communicable diseases in Australia, with a focus on cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health illnesses. It provides recommendations on how to reduce the burden of these diseases through education and tailored public health interventions.

Running head: GLOBAL HEALTH AND DIVERSITY
Global Health and Diversity
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Global Health and Diversity
Summary of the Implications of the Issues and Overall Recommendations
Non-communicable diseases have become of major concern in the contemporary
Australian society (Dhaliwal and Welborn, 2017). Cancer carries the most burden in the
country (Siegel, Miller and Jemal, (2017). It has become the main cause of morbidity and
mortality among the non-communicable diseases. The disease affects more men than women.
Those with low socioeconomic status are more likely to succumb to death due to the disease.
To reduce the burden of cancer, it would be necessary to hold health education sessions in the
rural areas to educate the people about the disease and prevention measures.
Cardiovascular diseases are the second most common sources of morbidity and
mortality in Australia. There are several cardiovascular conditions. These include heart
failure, arteriosclerosis and stroke. Just like cancer, the diseases are more common in men
than in women. In addition, those from are lower socioeconomic status are more likely to die
from the conditions than their counterparts in medium and high social class. Other factors
including education and racism also influences prevention of cardiovascular diseases. To
reduce the burden of the diseases, public health campaigns should be tailored to ensure that
they take into consideration the unique features of different populations. It would also help to
educate people about the diseases and prevention/management strategies.
Mental health illnesses are common in Australia. Just like in other parts of the word,
the cases are distributed within the population. It affects many categories of people and
individuals including the children. Like with the other two conditions discussed above,
mental health illnesses are more common among people of low socioeconomic status. The
cases are also less in indigenous people living in traditional lands than those living in urban

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areas. Intervention could include creating awareness about the illnesses and providing
appropriate care to improve the quality of life and wellbeing.
Recommendations
Educating the public has been noted as an important factor in reducing the burden of
cancer (Higgs, Jones, Loftus and Christensen, 2018). Education has the power of shaping
attitudes and ultimately practice. To ensure effectiveness, the education sessions should focus
on the risk factors for cancer, prevention strategies and appropriate management practices. If
most of the population are knowledgeable, it will be easier to eliminate/reduce the burden of
the disease.
To reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases, it would be appropriate to consider
the unique factors that make the different communities of the country be predisposed to the
conditions. When public health interventions are guided by the unique need of the population,
care is likely to be more specialised which will lead to more success. Educating the
communities on the risk factors and appropriate management/prevention purposes would go a
long way in reducing the burden of cardiovascular diseases.
The intervention approach for mental health illnesses should ensure a multifaceted
approach (Worden, 2018). The parties that should be involved include the government (as the
primary health care provider), the care givers, the people affected by the illnesses and the
communities in general. Communities should be made aware of these conditions and
appropriate caring services.

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References
Dhaliwal, S. S., & Welborn, T. A. (2017). Absolute risk of cardiovascular disease events,
and blood pressure-and lipid-lowering therapy in Australia. The Medical journal of
Australia, 206(1), 51.
Higgs, J., Jones, M. A., Loftus, S., & Christensen, N. (2018). Clinical reasoning in the health
professions. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Siegel, R. L., Miller, K. D., & Jemal, A. (2017). Cancer statistics, 2017. CA: a cancer journal
for clinicians, 67(1), 7-30.
Worden, J. W. (2018). Grief counselling and grief therapy: A handbook for the mental health
practitioner. Springer Publishing Company.