RMIT PUBH1394: Introduction to Public Health - Substance Abuse Report

This report addresses substance abuse as a critical public health concern in Australia, particularly among the indigenous population. It highlights the issue's prevalence, social determinants such as financial crises, lack of employment, social exclusion, and housing conditions. The report discusses the recognition of the issue, its connection to the Closing the Gap policy, and the importance of community-level reporting. It identifies key agencies like the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and the Australian Drug Foundation involved in addressing substance abuse through data collection, intervention design, and policy implementation. The report emphasizes the need for evidence-based solutions and the public health approach to tackle this complex issue effectively, supported by the references to the relevant reports and policies.

Public Health and Management: Substance
Abuse
Presented by:

Public Health Issue
• Current public health concern in Australia
is Substance Abuse/ Misuse
• Australians on or above 14 years of age are
victims of substance abuse with highest
number recorded among 20 to 29 years
• The indigenous population of Australia are
more likely to become victim substance
misuse
• Substance misuse leads to the development
of mental health complications like anxiety
and depression along with development of
cardiac and pulmonary complications
• (Australian Government, 2019) Substance abuse rate in urban and
rural areas of Australia
Source: Australian Government,
(2019)

Social Determinants of Health
• The financial crisis: Indigenous population
experiences financial crisis leading to
depression and substance abuse. Poor socio-
economic status is reason for substance abuse
• Lack of employment: Indigenous people suffer
from lack of employment increasing financial
crisis further forcing people to indulge
substance abuse
• Social exclusion: Indigenous population suffer
from social exclusion and deprivation from
basic amenities causing substance misuse
• Unhygenic or overcrowding of house: lead to
homelessness causing substance abuse
(Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019)

Recognition of the Issue
• The recognition of the issue occurred during the designing
of the closing the gap (CTG) policy
• CTG highlighted that there is strong disparity between the
healthcare access of he indigenous population and non-
indigenous population
• This health disparity or health inequality is the reason
behind high rate of substance abuse in Australian indigenous
population
• The detailed statistics of substance abuse among indigenous
population got highlighted in 2008 upon publication of
policy
(Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2019)

Community level Reporting and Laws and
Policies
• There is poor community level reporting of the substance
abuse among the indigenous population in Australia
• At the school level there is standard reporting of the
substance abuse and this helps in ascertaining the
probability of substance misuse among the young adults or
adolescents
• The lack of proper community level screening is another
reason behind implementation of the person-centered
interventions for prevention of substance abuse
(Malick, 2018)

Agencies Working Together
• The main agencies that are working together in order to
reduce the rate of substance abuse among the indigenous
population include:
• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW):
Conducts National Drug strategy Household Survey
• Australian Drug Foundation: Database for drug abuse
• Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA): Framing of
interventions and monitoring
• CTG policy for reduction of health equalities and this
promoting the reduction of substance abuse among
indigenous population throughout Australia
• (Australian Parliament 2014)

References
• Alcohol and Drug Foundation. (2019). Partnerships key to Closing the Gap. Access date: 22nd August
2019. Retrieved from: https://adf.org.au/insights/partnerships-closing-gap/
• American Public Health Association (APHA) (2019). Substance Misuse. Access date: 22nd August
2019. Retrieved from: https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/substance-misuse
• Australian Government. (2019). Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs in Australia. Access date: 22nd August
2019. Retrieved from:
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/alcohol/alcohol-tobacco-other-drugs-australia/contents/drug-types/ca
nnabis
• Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2019). Closing the Gap. Access date: 22nd August 2019.
Retrieved from:
https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/2bf0bc1c-40fc-45e9-93fd-99c05ab609f2/ctgc-rs03.pdf.aspx?inline
=true
• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2019). Illicit use of drugs. Access date: 22nd August 2019.
Retrieved from:
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/behaviours-risk-factors/illicit-use-of-drugs/overview
• Australian Parliament. (2014). Illicit Drugs in Australia: Use, Harm and Policy Responses. Access
date: 22nd August 2019. Retrieved from: https://
www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_
Archive/archive/illicitdrugs
• Malick, R. (2018). Prevention of substance use disorders in the community and workplace. Indian
journal of psychiatry, 60(Suppl 4), S559. doi: 10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_24_18