Assessment 3: Australian Healthcare Policies and Nursing Practice

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Australian healthcare system, focusing on the impact of key health policies on nursing practice. It begins with an overview of the Australian healthcare system, highlighting its strengths and challenges, including issues of access and expenditure. The paper then delves into specific policy areas, such as those addressing smoking and obesity, examining their effectiveness and implications for nursing. The discussion includes an assessment of the Australian government's initiatives on mental health, analyzing the impact of these policies on nursing professionals and the broader population. The report emphasizes the crucial role of nurses in disseminating health literacy, promoting awareness, and implementing interventions to improve health outcomes related to smoking, obesity, and mental health. The conclusion reinforces the importance of nursing in driving positive change within the Australian healthcare system and improving the overall well-being of the population. The report uses APA format, incorporates research articles, and addresses the assessment criteria set by the Institute of Health & Management.

Running head: NURSING
NURSING
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Introduction:
As stated by Cuckett and Willcox (2015), the Australian healthcare delivery system
has been regarded as one of the best healthcare systems in the world that offers reliable and
affordable health care delivery to its citizens. It should be noted in this context that the
healthcare system in Australia is governed by the three levels of Australian government
which constitutes the federal governing body, the local governing body and the territory
government (Mossialos et al., 2016). Healthcare in Australia is majorly provided by a
network of health care providers that include primary care providers, specialists, nursing
professionals and allied healthcare workers. Further, coverage assured by the Medicare and
the improved public hospital system guarantees affordable access to quality healthcare
services within the Australian territory. In this regard, it should be noted that the Australian
government has undertaken a number of measures in the form of policies to upgrade the
quality of the healthcare services that are available for the Australians. However, despite the
policy undertaking, the evidence base critically suggests that a gap still exists in terms of
improved health outcome for a significant proportion of the Australian population base. This
paper intends to evaluate the existing healthcare policies and discuss the existing gaps and the
implication of the policies on the nursing practice so as to adapt measures that can help
improve holistic health outcome for the Australian population base.
Discussion:
According to Willis (2015), the Australian healthcare system is a complicated
network of healthcare delivery that is managed by the funding and regulation of the federal
and state government. One of the primary challenges of the healthcare delivery system
includes difficulty experienced by the consumers in accessing the available healthcare

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facilities. It should be crucially mentioned in this regard that the healthcare expenditure of
Australia is similar to the OECD average and is positioner at 8.8% of GDP (Hall, 2015).
Further, research reports also suggest that life expectancy at birth is ranked the sixth highest
in OECD and is estimated to be equivalent to 82.2 years (Oecd.org, 2019). Therefore, it can
be said that problem experienced by the consumers in terms of navigating through the
healthcare facilities poses a challenge which deteriorates the overall health outcome of the
patient. Researchers suggests that one of key solutions to improve the condition could
possible include reducing the health system fragmentation within Australia so as to acquire
positive patient outcome.
It should be noted in this context that the Australian government has adapted a
number of preventive health efforts and the outcome of the initiatives undertaken have been
mixed. For instance, Australia has prioritized public health and has strived to reduce the
smoking rate by integrating a number of public health policies. A number of health
promotional programs and initiatives have been undertaken within the Australian healthcare
context to reduce the nicotine consumption and curtain the rate of smoking to promote
positive public health outcome. The results published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
suggest that the percentage of tobacco smoking in Australia has been reduced to 12.8% for
the individuals belonging to the age group of 15 and over, which is the lowest considering the
global percentage of smokers (Health.gov.au, 2019). In this regard it should be mentioned
that the policies that targeted the reduction of smoking rate within the Australian context
included tobacco plain packaging legislation, frequent increase of prices of tobacco products
through taxation and imposing ban on smoking across certain states (Dixit & Sambasivan,
2018). The outcome of these policies and measures have significantly impacted nursing
practice by virtue of which increased health literacy and awareness has been integrated within
the population base which has improved cumulative public health outcome.

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Nursing professionals have made use of educational strategies to disseminate
awareness among the public about the adverse effect of smoking through health promotional
programs at primary care clinics. Further, health literacy is also imparted by community care
professionals at the community care clinics where in nurses actively educate patients about
the adverse impact of smoking on the normal body physiology and the legal implications
associated with smoking (Heartfoundation.org.au, 2018). These strategies have helped to
achieve a positive health outcome and has significantly reduced the tobacco consumption rate
in Australia.
However, obesity is one of the primary health care concerns in Australia and a
number of despite a number of effective policies and initiative, the percentage of obesity is
Australia is recorded to be the highest. Statistical evidence furnished by the Australian
Bureau of Statistics suggest that the proportion of obesity in Australia is equivalent to 28.3%
which is the second highest in the world, with U.S ranking the first in terms of obesity
prevalence which is equivalent to 35.5% (Australian Government Department of Health,
2019). Research studies further suggest that the rise in adult obesity within Australia has
exceeded significantly over the past decade. The estimated increase in the obesity prevalence
has been reported to increase from 19.8% in the year 2000 to 28.3% in the year 2011 (Dixit &
Sambasivan, 2019). This suggests that obesity over the years in Australia has emerged to be a
health priority and it has been studied that obesity is associated with a number of chronic
health disorders that include Diabetes mellitus and Hypertension (Gibson et al., 2015). At
present, a number of federal policies have been undertaken to tackle the problem of obesity
within the Australian population and it includes measures such as regular monitoring of the
body weight of the entire population base, incorporation of certain aspects of food labelling
such as health star rating scheme and regulation of food prices. However, despite the efforts
that have been undertaken, the prevalence of obesity is rising at an alarming rate which

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requires attention (Heartfoundation.org.au, 2019). Considering the legislative and legal
context, a number of key areas such as development of a national strategy to improve the
status of population nutrition, increment of taxes on unhealthy and fattening food items and
reducing exposure of children to unhealthy food can help to reduce the prevalence of obesity
and promote healthier outcome (Health.gov.au, 2019). It should further be noted that obesity
and associated poor health outcome can also be addressed at the healthcare level by nursing
professionals who would impart health literacy to the targeted adolescent population aged
between 12 to 15 years as statistical evidence reports the major prevalence of obesity within
this age group (Health.gov.au, 2019). Further, with the use of obesity prevention promotional
programs the problem of obesity can be addressed so as to acquire improved health outcome.
The promotional programs critically focus on fostering awareness about the adverse impact
of obesity on health and the associated complications on health such as problems related to
polycystic ovarian syndrome in women, depression, fatigue and increased probability of
acquiring diseases such as Type II Diabetes, Hypertension and cardiac issues in the
subsequent years of life (Gibson et al., 2015). In addition to this, the promotional programs
could also incorporate a number of weight management interventions such as including
fitness regime, diet control and self-monitoring of body weight to acquire positive health
outcome in terms of optimisation of body weight (Dixit & Sambasivan, 2018). Nursing
professionals can also integrate awareness among the obese individuals about the
complications that are inevitable with increased body weight such as complications with
respect to conception and pregnancy and the risk factors that enhance the probability of
developing obesity. Thus, it can be stated that nursing interventions in the form of health
literacy and awareness can help in the reduction of the prevalence of obesity within Australia.
In addition to this, the Australian government has also prioritised mental health and
has implemented a number of policy and procedures to improve the mental wellness of the

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people. Research studies mention that the Australian government has integrated a number of
supporting measures to improve the holistic mental health of the people within the country
through the time span of 2017 to 2018 (Australian Government Department of Health, 2019).
Legislation and policies such as the suicide prevention activities to bridge the existing crisis
of the services, improving access to mental health services and integrating evidence based
treatment and support services cumulatively aim at improving the quality of mental wellness
among the people (Australian Government Department of Health, 2019). Further, the federal
government has prioritised mental health of the people and has allotted a budget equivalent to
$ 338 million for envisioning the provision of mental health service within the remote and
rural areas of Australia by means of the Flying Doctor Service (Health.gov.au, 2019).
Overall, it can be stated that both at the federal and local government level policies have been
framed that targets at improving the overall mental health outcome of the people but despite
these efforts, the mental health status of the indigenous Australians remain poor and
neglected. The primary reason for neglect includes lack of access to mental health care clinics
and lack of culturally competent care. Nursing care professionals can prioritise mental health
and with the use of mental health promotional program can alleviate the status of mental
health among the targeted audience group (Willis et al., 2016). In addition to this, fostering
culturally competent care services can also improve access to mental health care clinics
which could improve the overall mental health outcome of the targeted population base
within Australia.
Therefore, it can be mentioned that the identified healthcare issues have been
prioritised by the Australian government and a number of policies and initiatives have been
undertaken to address these identified healthcare priorities. However, despite the initiatives
that have been undertaken, the overall health outcome has still not improved. In order to
alleviate the quality of health outcome, nurse practitioners can play an integral role by

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spreading awareness and imparting education about the different risk factors that deteriorate
the normal physiological conditions and at the same time diminish the quality of life of the
individuals.
Conclusion:
Therefore to conclude, it should be mentioned that the Australian healthcare system is
counted as one of the best health care delivery systems that invests approximately 10% of the
total GDP on healthcare expenditure. However, despite the initiatives undertaken by the
government in terms of health promotional policies, the overall healthcare outcome has not
significantly improved. The identified healthcare priorities have a major impact on nursing
practice as nursing care professionals can make use to education strategies to disseminate
education and awareness among the public mass to improve the holistic health outcome.
Health literacy can be provided by nursing care professionals at the primary healthcare clinic
and community centres so as to equip the targeted audience with self-management strategies
which can help them take ownership of their health conditions and lead an enhanced quality
of life. In addition to this, health literacy and health promotional programs can also help to
promote enhanced awareness about the legal implication of the existing healthcare policies
and procedures.

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References:
Australian Government Department of Health (2019). The Australian health system. [online]
Australian Government Department of Health. Available at:
https://www.health.gov.au/about-us/the-australian-health-system [Accessed 7 Aug.
2019].
Dixit, S. K., & Sambasivan, M. (2018). A review of the Australian healthcare system: A
policy perspective. SAGE open medicine, 6, 2050312118769211.
Duckett, S., & Willcox, S. (2015). The Australian health care system (No. Ed. 5). Oxford
University Press.
Gibson, O., Lisy, K., Davy, C., Aromataris, E., Kite, E., Lockwood, C., ... & Brown, A.
(2015). Enablers and barriers to the implementation of primary health care
interventions for Indigenous people with chronic diseases: a systematic
review. Implementation Science, 10(1), 71.
Hall, J. (2015). Australian health care—the challenge of reform in a fragmented system. New
England Journal of Medicine, 373(6), 493-497.
Health.gov.au (2019). [online] Health.gov.au. Available at:
https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/department_of_health_ar_2017-
18_acc.pdf [Accessed 7 Aug. 2019].
Heartfoundation.org.au (2019). [online] Heartfoundation.org.au. Available at:
https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/images/uploads/publications/OVERALL_Food_E
PI_Report_v3.pdf [Accessed 7 Aug. 2019].
Mossialos, E., Wenzl, M., Osborn, R., & Sarnak, D. (2016). 2015 international profiles of
health care systems. Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health.

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Oecd.org (2019). [online] Oecd.org. Available at: http://www.oecd.org/australia/Health-
Policy-in-Australia-December-2015.pdf [Accessed 7 Aug. 2019].
Willis, E., Reynolds, L., & Keleher, H. (Eds.). (2016). Understanding the Australian health
care system. Elsevier Health Sciences.