Review of Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2015-2019

Running head: HEALTH PLAN REVIEW
HEALTH PLAN REVIEW
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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HEALTH PLAN REVIEW
Introduction:
Health policies are usually developed by both public and private organizations to help in
development of the living condition of people of the nations. It also helps to provide them
knowledge about the strategies that could be implemented to develop high quality life. Health
policies are mainly seen to refer to different decisions, actions, plans as well as strategies which
when undertaken would help in achieving specific health care goals within a society (Nicholson
et al., 2015). Moreover, it also helps to define a vision of the future that in turn has the capability
for establishment of the targets and points of reference for both short as well as medium terms
(Purcell et al., 2015). This assignment will mainly help to review the health policy called the
Victorian public health and wellbeing plan 2015-2019 and the ways by which the policy has
planned to develop the health of the people residing in Victoria. One of the care priority are
would also be chosen along with two target groups whose social determinants of health would be
identified for developing their quality of life effectively.
Overview of the policy:
This policy is developed with an aim to develop health vision for the state of Victoria to
make it free from avoidable burden of diseases. This would help the Victorians to enjoy high
attainable standards of health, well being as well as participation of every age. This policy has
been able to set high-level strategic directions for improvement and modification by intruding
stronger focus on three important aspects for outcomes, targets and accountability (Chamberlain
et al., 2017). The policy makers had focused on the prevention as well as health promotion and
health protection along with reduction of health inequalities among the different classes of
people residing in Victoria. The policy has also ensured that within the time of 2025, several

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HEALTH PLAN REVIEW
priorities would be handled with proper strategic implementations. These priorities are healthier
eating and active living, tobacco free living, improving mental health, reduction of harmful drug
use and alcohol consumption, improving sexual as well as reproductive health and preventing
violence as well as injury. The policy has incorporated the importance of addressing the social
determinants of health where they had clearly stated that social, environmental, physical as well
as individual characters shape the way of living experiences of people and play a great role in the
occurrence of disorders and poor quality life (Thrasher et al., 2016). They have also talked about
risk factors and subsequent protective factors that expose and help them to protect themselves
from harmful disorders respectively. The main platforms for modifications that had been focused
in the healthcare plan is healthy and sustainable environments, people centered approaches and
place based approaches besides providing importance to accountability. With the help of the
different approaches, the social determinants of health would be evaluated and steps would be
taken to overcome such barriers and develop high quality life for each of them.
Care priority area and two-target population:
Tobacco smoking is considered to be one of the most important and leading contributors
to the burden of various chronic disorders in the native aboriginals in the nation. Department of
the Prime minister and the cabinet under the Australian government had conducted studies that
have shown that tobacco smoking has contributed to 12% of the diseases burden and 17% to the
gap in the health outcomes between the indigenous as well as non0indiginous Australians
(Pmc.gov.au, 2018). The health impact of smoking can be easily understood from the increasing
number of hospitalization as well as deaths from the different tobacco-related disorders like
chronic lung disorders, different forms of cancer, different cardiovascular disorders and many
others. In the year 2014 to 2015, 39% of the native people over the age of 15 years have been