Transcript Determinants of the health and development of Australian

 Australian
adults usually describe their
health as good
 Adulthood is a time of independence, strong
social and emotional connections and
possibly starting a family of one’s own
 Adulthood is usually a time when a person
experiences optimal health
 Optimal health: The best possible state of an
individual’s health for their age
 The
health of adults is influenced by
a number of determinants including:
 Biological
 Behavioural
 Physical environment &
 Social environment
 The
main biological determinants affecting
the health and development of Australian
adults are:
 Body weight
 Blood pressure
 Blood cholesterol &
 Genetics
 What
is another biological determinant that
would also have an affect on health?
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Within the health community it is accepted that you
inherit your body shape and possibly some of the health
problems associated with body weight in later life
Australians are currently ranked among the world’s most
overweight populations
Obesity was added to the National Health Priority Area
(NHPA) in 2008 because of the alarming increase in
overweight and obesity figures in Australia
Body weight issues can be addressed via increased
attention to food intake and physical activity
Obesity is a risk factor for a number of serious conditions:
diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, kidney disease,
breast & colon cancer, & cardiovascular disease.
Being overweight has implications for an adults social and
mental health. Many suffering from low self-esteem and
have been victims of bullying and teasing. They are also
less likely to participate in physical activity
High blood pressure or hypertension (elevated
blood pressure) is linked with a high intake of
salt
 It is a dangerous condition that can lead to
serious health conditions such as cardiovascular
disease, stroke or kidney damage.
 High blood pressure is currently the second
greatest burden of disease and is also one of the
greatest areas identified for prevention.
Preventative factors include: reduce salt
consumption, decrease alcohol, increase physical
activity and maintaining a healthy body weight
 As an adult ages, their blood pressure rises and
therefore it is important that this is monitored
to maintain health
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 High
blood cholesterol is a major risk factor
for coronary heart disease and stroke
 It is estimated to be responsible for about
60% of the total burden of disease for adults
 There is a genetic related susceptibility to
high cholesterol levels in families
 It is important to maintain a healthy blood
cholesterol level to obtain optimal health
and peak physical condition
 It is often a long-term condition that needs
to be monitored and managed by monitoring
of food intake and health check-ups
A person’s genetic make-up will influence their
health and development
 Direct impact of genetics are genetic diseases
such as cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease
 Other conditions such as cardiovascular disease,
cancers (including breast and bowel) and
diabetes are health conditions where a family
predisposition has found to be a casual link
 It is important for your health to know your
family’s health history (there may be
preventative actions to reduce personal risk)
 Factors out of our control that also impact on
our health include age and sex
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Behavioural determinants or lifestyle factors
relate to the way people choose to live their
lives
 They are the links between individual behaviour
and the impact on health status
 Individuals have the greatest control over
behavioural determinants, and therefore are the
most preventable
 Determinants include:
 Smoking
 Physical activity
 Alcohol & drug use
 Sexual practices
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Tobacco smoking is the most serious behavioural determinant on
health and is currently the cause of the greatest burden of
disease among adults
A major risk factor for health including lung cancer, coronary
heart disease and stroke
Passive smoking is also a concern. The long-term affects of
smoking or passive smoking are realised during adulthood
Smoking is far more common in adults who have a low
socioeconomic status, and more men tend to smoke than women
A smoker is 10 times more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer
than a non-smoker
The longer you smoke, the greater the risks: breathing
difficulties, wheezing, and coughing which can lead to
emphysema (relying on oxygen)
This would limit mobility and opportunities for socialisation, as
leaving the home can even be difficult. This could have a
negative effect on mental health
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Adults should exercise for 30 minutes a day. Physical
activity has many benefits to physical health and
prevention of diseases such as high blood pressure
and Type II diabetes.
Being involved in a team sport can enhance social
health and provide a sense of belonging that
enhances mental health
Food intake is a major contributor to the state of a
person’s health and making the right food choices can
have a positive impact on health and development.
Making the right food choices can prevent illness and
disease and lead to improved health and
development as you age
Adults need to be conscious of finding time to
exercise and play around work commitments and
family life to maintain health
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Excessive alcohol consumption is a major risk for adult
morbidity and mortality (drowning, burns, suicides and
motor vehicle fatality)
Long-term health conditions associated with alcohol
consumption include liver disease, diabetes, some cancers
and increased risk of injury
Adult high-risk drinkers are more likely than adult low-risk
drinkers to experience high or very high levels of
psychological distress, including depression and anxiety.
Adult violent behaviour is often connected with alcohol
consumption
Illicit drug use is a major risk factor for adult health being
linked to organ and brain damage, sleep disorders, weight
loss, high blood pressure and respiratory problems
Illicit drugs can also cause psychological problems,
addictions and problems with social, mental and
intellectual health and development
Unsafe sexual practices continue to be a
determinant on health and development within
the adult community. They can increase the
rates of sexually transmitted infections and
cancer of the cervix
 Health conditions associated with unsafe sex
include HIV, gonorrhoea, syphilis and Chlamydia
 Sexual practices are an adult health issue that
can vary depending on the stage of adulthood
 Typically during adulthood, an individual is
becoming sexually intimate and may have
intercourse with a number of different partners.
The implications of sexual practice for adults on
health and development will depend on
individual circumstances and behaviour
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 The
physical environment refers to the world
in which we live
 It can include shelter and the actual
communities in which we carry out our daily
lives
 It is important for optimal health for adults
to feel safe in their physical environment,
wherever they may be:
 Housing
 Neighbourhood safety
 Access the health care services
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A significant change in the transition to adulthood is
moving out of the family home to a home of their
own
Providing and maintaining a house takes up a large
percentage of an adults income with costs such as:
mortgage repayments, utilities such as gas &
electricity, and general maintenance and repair
For adults who don’t have financial security, the
stress may have a negative impact on their mental
health
Housing can also be a positive determinant of adult
health, with houses providing many adults a feeling
of security and connectedness to the community in
which they live as well as a sense of achievement and
pride
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Neighbourhood safety is adults within a community
feeling safe and secure within their environment and
encompasses efforts to reassure communities and
influence their perceptions about safety issues and
crimes
Adults feeling that their personal safety can be
maintained within their home and nearby area. This
includes safety in public spaces such as train stations,
shopping centres and parks. Within the
neighbourhood, the behaviours of some people will
influence the feelings of safety among others
Low level violence and crime will increase feelings of
neighbourhood safety
Adults who do not feel safe in their neighbourhood
can experience fear and anxiety that may contribute
to poor emotional health and development
 Barriers
affecting the access of adults to
health care in Australia include: location of
resources, mobility issues, cost of health
care and socioeconomic status, language
spoken, knowledge of health services
available, ethnicity and value and attitude
towards individual health
 Being able to receive health care, through
prevention, education, monitoring and
treatment on health is a requirement to
being able to maintain optimal health
 The
social environment refers to the
socioeconomic factors that influence and
impact on adult health and development
such as:
 Education
 Employment
 Media
 Community belonging &
 Living arrangements
 People
with a high level of education, or who
have invested time and effort into their
education, are more likely to invest time and
effort into healthy behaviours and have a
reduced rate of risk-taking behaviours
 Statistics show that people with a high level
of education are more likely to make
informed choices about their health, are
typically employed and experience high
levels of security
 Work
and career have many positives for
adult health including: enhanced self-esteem
and social connectedness, as well as giving a
sense of satisfaction and achievement
beyond simply that of financial gain
 There are also negative impacts including:
long working hours, conflict with family-work
balance and feelings of stress and fatigue
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Australians are exposed to many forms of media,
including: newspapers, magazines, television, radio,
internet etc.
Advertising/media are effecting marketing tools and
as a result can have a positive or negative effect on
health and development
Positives: Media campaigns such as Quit have had a
significant impact on encouraging adults to give up
smoking. Information can be communicated to a large
audience with relative ease and people are
influenced by the messages received
Negatives: Media stereotyping can impact on mental
health for individuals who feel they do not measure
up to the images being presented. Media used in the
wrong way e.g take-away ads, which in turn is major
factor in the increase of obesity
Belonging is the sense of feeling a part of
something, a feeling of connectedness, and
families often have activities that enhance these
feelings e.g. birthdays, Christmas, eating dinner
as a family
 Families have an important role in providing for
optimal social and emotional health of adults
including belonging, identity, self-esteem,
affection and security
 Not everyone has a strong connection with their
family, or as people age they experience loss of
loved ones. This individuals may seek this feeling
from other social connections such as coworkers, or other members of the community
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At the beginning of this lifespan stage, most adults
have achieved independence and live away from their
family, earning their own income, making their own
decisions and taking responsibility for their own
actions
As they get older however, many adults start to lose
their independence and require help to remain living
independently or move into aged care or with their
families
Changes may include losing a partner and having to
live alone, which can create loneliness and isolation,
impacting on their social and emotional health
Independence is an important component of one’s
health and losing one’s independence can have a
negative impact on health and development
 What
are the four categories of health and
development determinants?
 Give one example for each of the four
determinants
 What impact is getting bullied for being
obese likely to have on a persons social,
emotional and physical health??
 Discuss why you believe more men feel safe
in their homes alone than women. What
might be the reasons for these feelings of
security?
 Please
complete activity 12.3 (Looking at
your behaviours)
 We
will get the net books another/next
lesson to do activity 12.1 so skip this activity
until then
 We
will start to watch the notebook on
Friday (period 6) so remember to bring
tissues