Chronic Illness in Australia: People Affected, Facts, & Conclusion

This report provides a detailed overview of chronic illness in Australia, examining its definition, key indicators, and determinants. It explores the impact of these diseases on various populations, including children, adolescents, and Indigenous Australians. The report highlights common chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease, asthma, and diabetes, along with the associated burden of disease, disability, and healthcare expenditure. It also discusses primary health interventions and chronic management plans implemented in Australia. The analysis draws on data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and other sources, offering insights into the prevalence, risk factors, and management strategies related to chronic illnesses. The report emphasizes the need for continued efforts to reduce mortality rates and improve the quality of life for those affected by these conditions, offering a comprehensive view of the current state and future challenges in addressing chronic illness in Australia.

Chronic illness in Australia

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
Definition of Chronic Illness..................................................................................................3
Key indicators and determinants of Chronic illness...............................................................4
Focus condition......................................................................................................................5
People with chronic diseases..................................................................................................5
Other facts about Chronic disease..........................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Chronic illness has persistent effects and are considered as long lasting diseases. It
influences quality of life through social and economic consequences. In the health sector chronic
illness have become common and are priority for take action. These diseases are specially
experienced by adolescents and children with stress. This relates to significant risks of
emotional and behavioural problems. AIHW reports and collects information on broad range of
health and welfare issues and topics in Australia's health and welfare. (Farrer and et.al., 2018).
In this report, there is demonstration of common chronic diseases, indicators, determinants and
types of people suffering from it. There is also illustration of other facts and figures like burden
of chronic illness, expenditure, chronic management plans, disability related to the disease.
Main Body
Definition of Chronic Illness
Chronic illness can be defined as mental or physical disorder which includes symptoms
like feeling pain in joints, muscles, neck and bone which causes damage to tissue which results
in illness.. These diseases have multiple factors with complex causality and no symptoms. It is
an associated functional disability or impairment. Reduction in other diseases and changes in
lifestyles from last hundred years have caused burden of ill health. It is responsible of huge
segment of disease burden in Australia. Report shows that many people in Australia are at risk of
developing chronic illness because more than 90% do not take in sufficient vegetables and lentils
(Sav and et.al., 2015). Almost 60% of Australians lack physical activity and many spend 3-4
hours sitting during leisure time. It is a major health priority of Australian Government. In 2014-
15 more than 11 million Australians were reported with at least 1 to 8 chronic disease.
Common chronic illness
Major chronic diseases reported by AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare)
are
1. Arthritis
2. Asthma
3. Back pain
4. Cancer
5. Cardiovascular disease

6. Chronic Obstructive pulmonary disease
7. Diabetes
8. Mental health problems
Stroke, heart and vascular diseases affect blood and heart vessels and can be grouped under
cardiovascular diseases. It is major health problems in Australia instead of declining
hospitalization and mortality rates. In 2014-15 almost 4.2 million people were suffering from
this illness. Asthma can be described as obstructive lung diseases and is chronic inflammatory
disorder. People have to go through breathlessness, wheezing and chest tightening during this
disease, because it leads to narrowing of airwaysin the lungs (Gist and et.al., 2018). Chronic
pulmonary disease can lead to severe deficiency of breath that is not fully reversible after
treatment. It is long lasting disease that affects old age people and includes chronic bronchitis
and emphysema. Mental problems include epilepsy in which a person faces strokes in mind and
in cancer body cells become abnormal and multiply out of control that damage the surrounding
area of body. It can be prevented through the use of drugs and chemotherapy. In Australia,
musculoskeletal and arthritis are huge contributors of pain, disability and illness. Diabetes occur
due to overweight, high blood pressure and obesity.
Major cause of illness in Australia is the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and other
drugs. These drugs harm society and non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs are major cause
of health problems in increasing population (Bailie and et.al., 2015). AIHW has developed
information and core monitoring on the hospitalization, incidences and deaths from chronic
diseases in Australia. As compared to non-indigenous Australians, residents of Australia have
over 1.1 million hospitalizations in 2015-16.
Key indicators and determinants of Chronic illness
Key indicators of Chronic illness are as follows:
Hospitalization for poisoning and injury: Almost 509,900 hospitalized cases were registered in
2015-16 for injury and poisoning (Jaarsma and et.al., 2017). As compared to females, cases of
males were more in terms of standardised rate.
Incidence of heart attacks: Heart attack rates of indigenous people in Western Australia,
Northern Territory fell between 2007 and 2015, but still higher than other Australians. Age-
standardisation heart attack rate decline to 37%. This rate of men was twice than that of women.
It was 476 per 100,000 men compared with 213 per 100,000 women in 2015.

Incidence of selected breast cancers: Incidence of colorectal cancer has been higher as compared
to women. Combined cases of both were 57 per 100,000 in 2014 which was somewhat similar to
incidence rates in 1982 (Zainuldin, Mackey, Alison and 2015).
Determinants of chronic illness
Determinants of illness include behavioural, biomedical, psychological, socio-economic
and environmental factors.
Behavioural factors: Excess caloric intake increases risk of strokes and cardiovascular problems.
Indigenous mothers in 2011 were four times as compared to non-indigenous mothers during
pregnancy. In a single occasion, 54% of indigenous people aged 15 consumed alcohols.
Biomedical Factors: These factors affect physical activity and health behaviours. There was a
decrease in rate by 9% of low birthweight among live born singleton babies of Indigenous
mothers between 2000 to 2011 (Iorfino and et.al., 2018). 10.2% of indigenous children were
reported obese. Almost 2 in 5 were over obese with same people.
Psychological Factors: Depression, high propensities for hostility, stressful life events result in
mental strokes. Indigenous adults have high level of psychological distress because they are
being removed from family or who had their relatives removed from natural family.
Socio-economic and Environmental Factors: Societal variables like income, occupation, income
education, ethnicity and cohesion. These factors effect on increased rates of death and illness in
Australia (Sav and et.al., 2015). People aged between 15 to 64 employed assessed their health as
fair or poor compared with 24% of those who were unemployed.
Focus condition
Australia focus on Chronic diseases like musculoskeletal conditions and arthritis. More
than 6.1 million are suffering from this illness. Asthma is crucial health problem in Australia it
focuses on people ageing above 55 years. It is raising its focus on aged care services in
community settings.
People with chronic diseases
Chronic diseases in adolescence and childhood are cause of stress in there and other's life.
Their family gets shocked when they undergo immediate surgery. Most widely emotional
distress in adolescents and children are depression, post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression.
Due to chronic diseases there is about 80% of the mortality gap between other Australians aged
35-74 years and Indigenous people (Davis and et.al., 2017). It is due to ischaemic heart disease,

cerebrovascular illness, diabetes mellitus and diseases of liver. Mortality gap due to alcoholic
liver disease is more between age groups of 35-54 years. People aged 55-74 years are suffering
from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.
Australians die prematurely due to diabetes but between 2009-2014 death rates fell by
20%. The rate of people suffering from Asthma hospitalized was 2.1 times than other
Australians. But is decreased as compared to 1998-99 statistics by 45% for adults and 33% in
children. Significant assistance is provided by families to people suffering from Arthritis and
Osteoporosis. Almost 3.3 million Australians were reported having some kind of Arthritis in
2011-12. 2.4 million were having some other problem out this data (Kennedy and Dunning,
2017). People suffering from mental problems were 23%, back problems 29% and young people
were estimated 4 times to have diabetic problems. In 2014-15, 3.7 million In accordance with
study, it has been determined that majority of Australians are suffering from chronic back
problems according to the report. It impacts community economically and socially and effects
quality of life. Almost 7% have high level of psychological distress and 4% suffer from sever
back pain.
Other facts about Chronic disease
1. Burden of Chronic illness
Burden of disease can be explained as the impact of injury and dying and living with
illness prematurely. Fatal burden can be considered as important for policy development and
health planning and is a measure of years lost due to dying prematurely. Rate of fatal burden
reduced by 19.6% till 2015 (Hung and et.al. 2015). One third of the overall burden can be
eliminated by deducting exposure to risk factors like use of alcohol, tobacco, high body mass,
high blood pressure and physical inactivity.
2. Disability associated with chronic illness
In Australia, chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, cancer and diabetes are some leading causes of disability, illness and death in Australia.
In 2013, eight suffered from these diseases which were accounted for 73% of all deaths. Risk
factors results in obesity, overweight, high cholesterol which further results in chronic diseases.
3. Health system expenditure
Expenditure of Australia is over $60 billion on health in 2000-10 which took up a height
in two years. It came up to $9 billion. This statistics analyses that expenditure on health has been

significantly increased due to awareness and new estimation on GDP and household on health
presents preliminary information for 2000-200 (Silverman and et.al. 2015)1. 70% of the Total
recurrent expenditure was able to be allocated by disease which can be counted $52.7 billion in
total. This was made for dental services, admitted patient hospital and community mental health
services.
4. Primary health intervention
In Australia, primary health care is the first priority in health system.. It covers health
areas that are not related to hospital visit including early intervention, health promotion,
management of chronic and acute conditions (Paunio and et.al. 2015). Primary health care
services are provided in different forms like allied health practices and community health
practices.
5. Chronic management plans
Chronic plans are developed in young persons which include needs assessments, income
support, planned actions and information on goals. 70% of young people are cared and have
leaving care plans between the age of 15-17 years (Gray and et.al. 2017). National minimum data
set (NMDS) expand and develop services in emergency and other community health settings
according to priorities of service consumers and providers.
CONCLUSION
Finally, it is concluded that chronic diseases are increasing in Australia and AIHW is
taking measurable steps to decrease the mortality rate because there are number of national
health information systems and data collections which are widely used for comparison and
analysis at all stages.

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Online
Chronic Conditions. 2018. [Online] Available
through:<http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/chronic-disease>