Comprehensive Report: Australian Health Policy in Global Context

This report provides an analysis of Australia's health policy within a global context. It begins by outlining the country's health expenditure, which aligns with OECD averages, and highlights the nation's high life expectancy. The report then delves into the challenges facing the Australian healthcare system, including the rising prevalence of mental illnesses, fragmentation within the system, and a lack of coordination. It details the steps taken to address these challenges, such as the development of the National Mental Health Plan, the role of the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council, and the annual review process. The report emphasizes the importance of national-level leadership, mental health promotion, early intervention, and suicide prevention. It concludes by suggesting areas for improvement, focusing on prevention and addressing mental health issues to ensure a robust healthcare system. References to relevant research are also included.

Health Policy in
Global Context
Health policy of Australia in the context global
health policy

Health policy in Australia
• Both Federal and State Governments contribute to fund
the health policy.
• The objective is to provide smooth and quality health care
system to the citizens of the country.
• 8.8% of Gross Domestic Products of the country is spent
on health policy in the county.

Health policy in Australia
• In terms of global context the an average of 8.8% GDP is
also spend by OECD countries.
• Thus, in terms of share of GDP used for health care the
country is right on track with OECD.
• The average life expectancy in the country is 82.2 years.
• This is the sixth highest life expectancy rate in the OECD
countries.

Challenges in health care in the
country.
In terms of challenges to the health care system in the country the
following are the main challenges:
Rapidly rising mental diseases.
Increased amount of fragmentation in health system of the
country.
Lack of coordination in health care system.

Steps taken to deal with
challenges.
• Development of National Mental Health Plan.
• Ever increasing awareness on the matter by Australian
Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC).
• Giving priorities to deal with mental health issues.
• Reviewing the National Mental Health plan annually.

Fifth National Mental Health
Plan
The objectives of Fifth National Mental Health Plan include
the following:
• Promotion of mental health.
• Promotion of well being of the society.
• Prevention of mental illness and reducing issues related to
mental health.
• Promotion of steps to recover from issues related to
mental health (Clement, Schauman, Graham, Maggioni,
Evans-Lacko, Bezborodovs & Thornicroft, 2015).

Process to be followed to make an
effective plan
Following is the standard procedure followed by the
Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council:
• Evolution of mental diseases and issues faced by the
people.
• Formulation of National Mental Health Plan.
• Implementation of policies as per National Mental Health
Plan.
• Annual review of National Mental Health Plan.

The key areas to be focused to
improve the mental health plan
• Leadership at the National level.
• Promotion of mental health.
• Early intervention.
• Prevention is better than cure.
• Prevention of suicides.
• Taking care of psychological needs of mental health patients
(Eldredge, Markham, Ruiter, Kok, Fernandez & Parcel, 2016).

Conclusion
• The mental health program in the country is effective.
However, there is room for improvement in the program
to reduce the risk of mental health issues and diseases in
the future.
• The focus should be equally on the mental health issues,
illness and prevention of such issues.

References
• Clement, S., Schauman, O., Graham, T., Maggioni, F.,
Evans-Lacko, S., Bezborodovs, N., & Thornicroft, G.
(2015). What is the impact of mental health-related stigma
on help-seeking? A systematic review of quantitative and
qualitative studies. Psychological medicine, 45(1), 11-27.
• Eldredge, L. K. B., Markham, C. M., Ruiter, R. A., Kok, G.,
Fernandez, M. E., & Parcel, G. S. (2016). Planning health
promotion programs: an intervention mapping approach.
John Wiley & Sons.