Social Determinants of Health: Heart Disease in Australian Men Report

This report investigates the impact of heart disease on the mortality and morbidity of Australian men, focusing on the social determinants of health. It examines the prevalence of heart disease, the associated risk factors, and the influence of socioeconomic factors on health outcomes. The repor...Read More

Running head: SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
Social Determinants of Health
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
Executive Summary
The primary purpose of this report is to elucidate on the effect of the heart disease on the
mortality and the morbidity of the Australian men. The report throws light on social
determination of health in relation to the Australian men. The report talks about the public
health intervention that can help in the prevention of the heart disease. The report also talks
about the other sectors whose involvement can help in addressing the public health issue.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Heart disease among men in Australia.......................................................................................3
Social determinants of the health...............................................................................................4
Public heath intervention for prevention of heart disease..........................................................5
Sectors involved.........................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

3SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
Introduction
Heart disease refers to range of the conditions that can have an effect on the heart of
an individual. It is indicative of conditions that involves the blocked blood vessels that can
create the way for heart attack for an individual. An individual has to undergo fatigue in the
event of having a heart disease. An individual faces dizziness along with the slow heart beat
on account of having chronic heart diseases. An individual experiences shortness of the
breath that causes severe discomfort to an individual. This report discusses about the burden
of the heart disease in relation to the population group of men in the Australian society. It
talks about the social determinants of the health that can help in explaining burden of the
heart disease among the men. The report also throws light on the public health intervention
that can help in preventing the heart disease among the men of the Australian society. The
report also talks about the various sectors that can be involved that can help in addressing the
problem of the heart disease.
Heart disease among men in Australia
In the year 2014-15, around 3 percent of population in Australia was reported as
having a heart disease condition that accounted to be 620, 000 Australians. Heart disease can
be said to be the second leading cause of the death within Australia. Heart disease has taken
the lives of around 18,590 Australians in the year 2017 (Aihw.gov.au., 2019). There are
around 51 Australians who die on account of the heart disease in Australia in the year 2017. It
has been found that around 645,000 Australians who were of the age of 18 and above that had
to suffer from chronic heart disease in the year 2014-15. It was found that the prevalence of
coronary heart disease among the men was 5 % more as compared to the women. In the year
2013, it was found that around 65,000 people who were of the age 25 had to suffer from the
acute coronary event that was in form of the heart attack or that of unstable angina

4SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
(Abc.net.au., 2019). It was found that it was twice as high in relation to the men as compared
to the women in Australia. The various kinds of risk factors that paves the path for the heart
disease among the Australians are the high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, obesity
along with the physical inactivity. The men in Australia of the age of 55 having two of the
risk factors had six times more chances of dying from the heart disease by the age of 80 when
compared to the men having no kinds of risk factors (Heartfoundation.org.au., 2019). The
men who were of 45 years of age having risk factors had 49.5 percent chance of suffering
from the heart disease by the age of 80.
Social determinants of the health
The determinants of the health refer to the factors that has an influence on the health
of a person. The social determinants of the health can play a role in strengthening or
undermining health of the individuals along with the communities. It has been found that the
men in Australia who are from the lower socio-economic strata have to face the greater risk
pertaining to the poor health when compared to the people who are in a more advantaged
position. The health of a person is influenced by the choices that are made by an individual.
The health prevention can act as an important contributor in relation to good health of a
person. There are various kinds of factors like the income, education along with the condition
of the employment that can be responsible for undermining health of the Australian men
(Alston, Nichols & Allender, 2019) It has been found that exists a close relationship in
between the working conditions and that of the health outcome of a person. The human health
can be said to be sensitive to that of the social environment. The Australian men having low
income and the low level of the education are more prone to facing the health hazards.
Research has brought out the fact that the Australians who live in the low socio-economic
areas lives 3 years less as compared to those people who live within the highest areas
(Wakerman et al., 2017). The people who live in that of low economic resource household

5SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
spend less on the aspect of the medical care as compared to that of the other households
(Nichols et al., 2016). The educational attainment of the men can be said to be associated
with that of the better health of an individual throughout the life. The men in Australia having
lower level of the education have more chances of suffering from the heart disease in
Australia.
Public heath intervention for prevention of heart disease
The public health interventions can be undertaken in Australia that can play an
important role in the reduction of the heart disease among the men of Australia. The local
media campaigns can be made use of in Australia that can help in raising awareness
pertaining to low level of the physical activity within the community of Australia. It can help
in making the people conscious about the dietary habits that can help in reducing the
incidence of the heart disease among the men living in Australia (Atherton et al., 2018) It can
promote the physical activity that can play an important role in reducing deaths on account of
heart diseases among the men of Australia. It can help in improving the housing conditions
that can be useful for the men who are living in Australia. It can play an important role in
improving the condition of life of the Australian men that can help in prevention of the heart
disease (Vaughan et al., 2018). The media campaigns can help in providing the social
support to the people that can help in reducing the incidence of the heart disease among the
men of Australia. It can help in involving the people that can uplift the conditions of living of
the men in Australia.
Sectors involved
There are various sectors that can help in the proper implementation of the public
health intervention. The local government can play a crucial role in the arranging of the local
media campaigns. The contribution of the local government can help in making a positive

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differences in the health of the Australian men that can reduce the burden of that of the heart
disease in Australia. The local government can arrange meetings that can help in making the
people feel that they are powerful in the community (Brieger et al., 2018). It can help in the
creation of social network that can play a crucial role in reducing incidences of heart disease.
The meetings can help in the promotion of all aspect in relation to the health of the
Australians. It can make the Australians aware regarding the resources that they have at their
disposal that they can make use of that can be instrumental in reducing the occurrences of the
heart disease among the men of Australia (Deek et al., 2016). The local government can play
an important role in arranging the health services that can help in the treatment of illness of
the Australian men. It can play an effective role in the arena of public health improvement
that can be of great convenience for that of the Australian men (Heartfoundation.org.au.,
2019). They can make use of education in making the people aware about the various social
factors that has a detrimental effect on health of a person (Wakerman et al., 2017). The local
government can carry out the strategic planning that can influence well-being of the
Australian population. It can help in bringing out the positive behavioural change in the
people that can be instrumental in reducing the health hazards amongst the men living in
Australia.
Conclusion
Heart disease is indicative of conditions that has an impact on heart of a person. The
heart diseases in an individual if allowed to go unchecked can cause an individual to suffer
from the heart attack that can deteriorate the health of a person. It was found that in 2014-15,
3 percent of people who were living within Australia had to face that of the heart disease
condition. Heart disease was found to be a leading cause of death among the people of
Australia. The people belonging to the lower socio-economic backgrounds has to suffer from
poor health conditions as compared to the people who lived in the affluent areas. Public

7SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
health interventions can be taken recourse to within Australia that can reduce heart disease of
men. The media campaigns can play a big role in increasing the physical activity level of the
people that can reduce the heart diseases within Australia. Local government can also play a
significant role in arrangement of media campaigns. The local government can have a
positive influence on health of people which can reduce burden pertaining to heart disease
within Australia.

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References
Abc.net.au. (2019). Why we need to talk about cardiovascular disease in women. Retrieved
from https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2017-03-10/cardiovascular-disease-women-
risks-men-screening-prevention/8343196
Aihw.gov.au. (2019). Cardiovascular disease snapshot, How many Australians have
cardiovascular disease? - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/heart-stroke-vascular-disease/cardiovascular-health-
compendium/contents/how-many-australians-have-cardiovascular-disease
Alston, L., Nichols, M., & Allender, S. (2019). Policy makers’ perceptions of the high burden
of heart disease in rural Australia: Implications for the implementation of evidence-
based rural health policy. PloS one, 14(4), e0215358.
Atherton, J. J., Sindone, A., De Pasquale, C. G., Driscoll, A., MacDonald, P. S., Hopper, I., ...
& Thomas, L. (2018). National Heart Foundation of Australia and Cardiac Society of
Australia and New Zealand: Australian clinical guidelines for the management of
heart failure 2018. Medical Journal of Australia, 209(8), 363-369.
Brieger, D., Amerena, J., Attia, J. R., Bajorek, B., Chan, K. H., Connell, C., ... & Hendriks, J.
(2018). National Heart Foundation of Australia and Cardiac Society of Australia and
New Zealand: Australian clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of
atrial fibrillation 2018. Medical Journal of Australia, 209(8), 356-362.
Deek, H., Noureddine, S., Newton, P. J., Inglis, S. C., MacDonald, P. S., & Davidson, P. M.
(2016). A family‐focused intervention for heart failure self‐care: conceptual
underpinnings of a culturally appropriate intervention. Journal of advanced
nursing, 72(2), 434-450.

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Heartfoundation.org.au. (2019). Heart disease in Australia. Retrieved from
https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/about-us/what-we-do/heart-disease-in-australia
Nichols, M., Peterson, K., Herbert, J., Alston, L., & Allender, S. (2016). Australian heart
disease statistics 2015. Melbourne: National Heart Foundation of Australia.
Vaughan, G., Tune, K., Peek, M. J., Jackson Pulver, L., Remenyi, B., Belton, S., & Sullivan,
E. A. (2018). Rheumatic heart disease in pregnancy: strategies and lessons learnt
implementing a population-based study in Australia. International health, 10(6), 480-
489.
Wakerman, J., Humphreys, J., Wells, R., Kuipers, P., Entwistle, P., & Jones, J. (2017). A
systematic review of primary health care delivery models in rural and remote
Australia 1993-2006.