How healthy are Australians?
Content Point One
Analyse the current health status of Australians from Australia’s Health and other health reports, tables and graphs
Including:
- what does the data tell us?
- what are the major causes of morbidity and mortality, and the life expectancy for males, females and the general population?
- what are the sociological causes of risky health behaviours?
- where do inequities exist and what can we do about them?
Students do not need to know the latest statistics on the rates of illness and death. It is only important that they develop an understanding of the trends.
NESA Glossary of Key Words:
Analyse - Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications.
What - Provide characteristics and features.
Health Status of Australians
How healthy are Australians?
Content Point One
Analyse the current health status of Australians from Australia’s Health and other health reports, tables and graphs
Including:
- what does the data tell us?
- what are the major causes of morbidity and mortality, and the life expectancy for males, females and the general population?
- what are the sociological causes of risky health behaviours?
- where do inequities exist and what can we do about them?
Students do not need to know the latest statistics on the rates of illness and death. It is only important that they develop an understanding of the trends.
NESA Glossary of Key Words:
Analyse - Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications.
What - Provide characteristics and features.
Morbidity
How healthy are Australians?
Content Point One
Analyse the current health status of Australians from Australia’s Health and other health reports, tables and graphs
Including:
- what does the data tell us?
- what are the major causes of morbidity and mortality, and the life expectancy for males, females and the general population?
- what are the sociological causes of risky health behaviours?
- where do inequities exist and what can we do about them?
Students do not need to know the latest statistics on the rates of illness and death. It is only important that they develop an understanding of the trends.
NESA Glossary of Key Words:
Analyse - Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications.
What - Provide characteristics and features.
Mortality
Source:
AIHW National Mortality Database; Table 53.1. https://www.aihw.gov.au
How healthy are Australians?
Content Point One
Analyse the current health status of Australians from Australia’s Health and other health reports, tables and graphs
Including:
- what does the data tell us?
- what are the major causes of morbidity and mortality, and the life expectancy for males, females and the general population?
- what are the sociological causes of risky health behaviours?
- where do inequities exist and what can we do about them?
Students do not need to know the latest statistics on the rates of illness and death. It is only important that they develop an understanding of the trends.
NESA Glossary of Key Words:
Analyse - Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications.
What - Provide characteristics and features.
Life Expectancy
Source:
AIHW National Mortality Database; Table 53.1. https://www.aihw.gov.au
Source:
Indigenous Australians’ life expectancy is approximately 8 years less for both males and females. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/life-expectancy-deaths/deaths-in-australia/contents/life-expectancy
How healthy are Australians?
Content Point One
Analyse the current health status of Australians from Australia’s Health and other health reports, tables and graphs
Including:
- what does the data tell us?
- what are the major causes of morbidity and mortality, and the life expectancy for males, females and the general population?
- what are the sociological causes of risky health behaviours?
- where do inequities exist and what can we do about them?
Students do not need to know the latest statistics on the rates of illness and death. It is only important that they develop an understanding of the trends.
NESA Glossary of Key Words:
Analyse - Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications.
What - Provide characteristics and features.
Health Status of Australians - Major Causes for morbidity/mortality and life expectancy for the general population?
Source:
AIHW Australian Burden of Disease Database
How healthy are Australians?
Content Point One
Analyse the current health status of Australians from Australia’s Health and other health reports, tables and graphs
Including:
- what does the data tell us?
- what are the major causes of morbidity and mortality, and the life expectancy for males, females and the general population?
- what are the sociological causes of risky health behaviours?
- where do inequities exist and what can we do about them?
Students do not need to know the latest statistics on the rates of illness and death. It is only important that they develop an understanding of the trends.
NESA Glossary of Key Words:
Analyse - Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications.
What - Provide characteristics and features.
Health Status of Australians - What are the sociological causes of risky health behaviours?
How healthy are Australians?
Content Point One
Analyse the current health status of Australians from Australia’s Health and other health reports, tables and graphs
Including:
- what does the data tell us?
- what are the major causes of morbidity and mortality, and the life expectancy for males, females and the general population?
- what are the sociological causes of risky health behaviours?
- where do inequities exist and what can we do about them?
Students do not need to know the latest statistics on the rates of illness and death. It is only important that they develop an understanding of the trends.
NESA Glossary of Key Words:
Analyse - Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications.
What - Provide characteristics and features.
Health Status of Australians - Inequities and what to do about them
Learning Activities
1. Participate in a ‘Health Status Gallery Walk’ where printed large graphs/tables from Australia’s Health 2024 are placed around the classroom (e.g. life expectancy, mortality, morbidity, burden of disease, differences by gender or population group).
Students rotate in pairs or small groups and annotate what the graph shows
(e.g. “Males have higher injury mortality”; “CVD is still a major cause”).
May include a QR code to AIHW links for live interaction with current statistics.
2. In small groups, use data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) or Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to create a “case file” containing the following key information:
- Top 5 causes of morbidity (illness and injury) in Australia
- Top 5 causes of mortality (death)
- Life expectancy for males, females and the general population (can also include First Nations Australians’ life expectancy for comparison)
Using your findings, create a timeline or infographic showing how:
- Life expectancy has changed over the past 50 years
- Leading causes of mortality have shifted (e.g. infectious to lifestyle diseases)
3. Discuss gender and sociological influences on risky health behaviours. Explain how gender norms and expectations affect the health behaviours of males and females in different ways. For example:
- Males might feel social pressure to engage in risky behaviours like smoking, drinking or violence due to cultural notions of masculinity.
- Females might face pressure to conform to beauty standards, leading to risky behaviours like unhealthy dieting, smoking or excessive weight control practices.
Revision Questions
1. Describe key morbidity and mortality trends for males and females in Australia.
2. Explain how life expectancy rates vary for males and females in Australia.
3. Describe examples of risky health behaviours that contribute to health issues in Australia.
4. Analyse how sociological influences impact health behaviours.
5. Describe examples of health inequities that exist in Australia.
6. Justify the effectiveness of strategies that may reduce health inequities in Australia.
Sample Answers
Sample answers coming soon.
