Part 1: Literature Review
1. Introduction
The literature review will focus on the different views of the authors about the disparities faced by the remote and rural populations in Australia. The rural and remote population in Australia faces disparities in accessing healthcare services due to the lack of educational facilities, geographical isolation, and lack of technology knowledge. The literature review will highlight the key health challenges and conditions faced by the rural and remote populations in Australia. This group of people is affected by cancer, heart disease, obesity, and mental disorders affecting their normal lifestyle.
2. Discussion
2.1 Disparities faced by remote and rural populations in Australia
The people who are living in remote and rural areas have higher rates of death, injuries, hospitalization, and poor access to healthcare services. Approximately, 7 million people in Australia live in remote and rural areas which represent 28% of the Australian population (Barclay, Phillips, & Lyle, 2018). The rural and remote population in Australia faces challenges in accessing healthcare services due to their geographic location. The rural population in Australia is deprived of their fundamental needs and they have poorer health outcomes compared to the metropolitan areas. The Australian population living in remote and rural areas has a shorter life span and they are not well-educated compared to the metropolitan areas. As mentioned by Barclay, Phillips, & Lyle (2018), the lifestyle differences, lack of employment, and educational opportunities to access health services. More than 78.6% of the rural population in Australia has long-term health conditions. People in remote and rural Australia tend to have higher injury and disease rates. The personal health risk factors, socio-economic conditions, and riskier environment reduce the access to medical services for the patients. Subspecialty and Specialty healthcare services are less likely available in remote and rural areas in Australia.
Approximately, 35% of the rural and remote people in Australia are affected by different diseases due to not having access to the highly sophisticated and highly intense care system (LeBlanc et al., 2020). It exacerbates issues for rural patients who are seeking specialized care. Rural minorities encounter a myriad of issues affecting their wellness and health ranging from chronic poverty to the scarcity of stable medical care for the migrant workers. The educational attainment and language barriers affect the decision-making process of the healthcare center. Rural and remote populations in Australia are less likely to receive preventive health screening. The lack of health concerns and knowledge creates issues for rural and remote people to access modern medical technology (LeBlanc et al., 2020). The perceived isolation and social disconnectedness are recognized as the negative predictors that directly affect geographical isolation. The rate of school dropping has increased from 70% in rural areas in 2010 to 79% in 2018. The lack of educational facilities creates challenges for the rural and remote populations to acquire knowledge regarding accession to medical treatment. According to Dodds & Siette (2022), COVID-19 creates a higher degree of disparities among rural and remote people as they do not have adequate knowledge regarding online medical treatment facilities. They are deprived of fundamental medical needs due to not having proper knowledge of accessing digital information and electronic prescriptions (Barclay, Phillips, & Lyle, 2018).
2.2 Identifying the key health conditions and challenges faced by this population group
Cancer:
A higher proportion of the remote areas in Australia tend to have an addiction to smoking and drinking. Additionally, they are also considered to be physically inactive compared to the rest of the Australian population. Hence, people who have the highest tendency to smoke and drink belong to comparatively a higher level of risk for cancer. Alcohol causes almost 80% of cancers in the human body.
Mental and behavioral conditions:
According to Van Spijker et al., (2019), compared with major cities the rate of mental diseases in rural and remote areas is almost the same. The reason behind this is the difficulties in assessing the back support people need and more relevant factors.
Obesity:
As per current reports, more than 70% of adults in Australia suffer from obesity in rural areas. According to Machado et al., (2020), this is the main reason behind people having high blood pressure in such areas. Type-2 diabetes is another undeniable issue that can be raised from obesity. Additionally, adults in the rural areas of Australia are also suffering from gallbladder diseases due to obesity.
Back pain:
Back pain especially in remote areas has become a primary source of disease due to a high remoteness. This causes leg pain, twisting, difficulties in walking or standing, and many more.
Heart diseases:
Rural and remote people experience higher rates of heart disease due to obesity and physical inactivity. Rural people have limited options or health choices to set their diet plans compared to modern urban settings (Dodds & Siette, 2022). Poverty is the most common factor that creates obstacles for remote and rural people to access health services. People with lower incomes have more stress-oriented brain activities connected with greater inflammation in the body. The inflammation has higher heart attack risks and creates serious health issues for them.
Diabetes:
The rural and remote population faces issues to put their weight under control and more than 47% of the Australian people living in the rural and remote area suffer from obesity. It also leads to type-1 and type-2 diabetes and women living in remote and rural Australia are 1.3 times more susceptible to reporting diabetes compared to people living in major cities (Dodds & Siette, 2022). Unhealthy pregnancy routines and complications arising from pregnancy create challenges for women in rural and remote areas to put their weight under control. The sudden increase in weight after pregnancy increases the chance of becoming more susceptible to diabetes. The male in the rural remote area is frustrated with the family pressure and their lower income level leading to diabetes from mental pressure and tension (Barclay, Phillips, & Lyle, 2018).
3. Conclusion
Based on the above discussion, it can be stated that the rural and remote people in Australia are deprived of medical facilities. The main reasons for disparities faced by the rural and remote people in Australia include lack of internet access, education, employment facilities, and geographical isolation. The lifestyle of the rural people is different from the people living in the metropolitan cities. The literature review has discussed the key health challenges and conditions encountered by rural and remote people in Australia.
Part 2: Need Analysis
| Section | Questions | |||
| 1 | Geography | ● Victoria Park is located in the inner south corner of the city of Perth, Western Australia within the major green square.
● The population of Victoria Park included medium-high-density suburbs within the former industrial land. The projection of the population of the town has stated that, from the year 2016 to 2036, it will be increased by approximately 49% (victoriapark.wa.gov.au, 2022).
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| 2 | Density | ● The density of the population includes around 8,000 residents. It will increase by around 54,700 residents within the year 2036 (victoriapark.wa.gov.au, 2022). | ||
| 3 | Age | ● In the town of Victoria Park, it has been analyzed that, the number of pre-schoolers in the area will increase from 2,194 and 2,819 between the years 2016 to 2036, and the number of young scholars is around 1404 to 2573 between the above-mentioned period, the number of adults is around 27,413, that will be increased by around 40,299 within the similar period, and, several elderly people will be increased from 3622 to 7198 between the year 2016 to 2036 (victoriapark.wa.gov.au, 2022).
● Small area projection of the population of Victoria Park has stated that, in Burswood, the number of pre-schoolers has included 62 will be increased by around 521, the number of young scholars will reach around 657, the number of adults will be reached by around 12, 533 and number of senior-aged people will be increased by around 2928 within the year 2036 (Abs.gov.au, 2022). ● It has been noted from the comparison of the analysis between the population projection of the segmented area and the wider population of Australia, that the population of Victoria Park will be increased by around 43,750 within the year 2031. It has been estimated that it will increase by around 14% as compared to the wider population of the country (Abs.gov.au, 2022). ● The age distribution of Victoria Park has stated that with the increased population of different age groups, specifically, the increase of the young population within the government area, the needs of the park residents are going to increase. As a result, the government needs to consider different facilities and planning to develop the planning of the town effectively considering the basic needs of the residents (Victoria Park, 2016).
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| 4 | Gender | ● There is around 48.9% female and 51.1% male in the area of Victoria Park, as per the census of 2016.
● In the case of Western Australia, the number of males is around 50% and the number of females is around 50%, according to the census report of Australia in a similar period (Victoria Park, 2016).
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| 5 | Trends | ● It can be stated that the changing nature of the population of a specific geographical area can impact the health care service. In the case of changing demographics of the population of Victoria Park, Perth has represented that, the increased number of young age groups, young workers, adults, and older age groups can develop new healthcare requirements that need to be analyzed by the government to develop effective planning of healthcare facilities (Heartfoundation.org.au, 2016). The authorities have to focus on enhancing women and child care units, along with enhancement of old aged people to fulfill the needs of child care and health care system for an aging population.
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| 6 | Language and literacy | ● In that area, the common language English has been used by the major population. The government has provided significant literacy programs for adults and different efficient literacy programs for children.
● It is essential to implement literacy programs to enhance the socioeconomic structure of the community, ensure enhancement of the health care system, and improve the living standard of people in the society (Abs.gov.au, 2022).
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| 7 | Employment and socioeconomic status | ● The socio-economic profile of the place has reflected that the authorities have provided more focus on enhancing literacy and the health care system for the young age group and their families. The huge increase in young students has forced the authorities to increase the number of schools and also has encompassed the creation of job opportunities for an increasing number of employable young workers (Victoria Park, 2016).
● According to the census of 2016, in that area, the percentage of unemployment was around 8.7%. ● A comparison of the unemployment rate of the Western population has stated that, in the year 2016, the unemployment rate was around 7.8%.
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| Health status and health behaviors (12 marks) | ||||
| 8 | Life expectancy | ● Life expectancy within the area of Victoria Park according to the statistics of the year 2016, is 74.41 for men and 77.59 for women.
● In the case of Western Australia, 78 years is for men and around 83 years in the case for women. |
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| 9 | Morbidity | ● In Western Australia, around 56% of cardiovascular disease has been generated by heart failure, among them around 86% of patients have died. (Healthmap.com.au, 2022). Victoria Park has suffered from diabetes, around 32.1% have developed a mental illness because of fewer activities and an unhealthy lifestyle, and around 21.7% people of in the society are obese (Government of Western Australia, 2016).
● Different factors have impacted the health factors of the population, which are the main causes of cardiovascular disease, obesity, etc, such as consuming unhealthy foods, smoking, increasing alcohol consumption, and less physical activity. |
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| 10 | Health behaviours | Physical activity:
● 68% population of the are engaged in Physical activity in the area. ● Only 10% of the Perth, WA population practices Physical activity which is quite less than the Victoria Park region. Smoking: ● 14.9% of adults in the region currently smoke. ● Throughout Australia, 11.8% of people smoke, which is quite overwhelming for this region. Alcohol consumption ● Developing long-term harm, 29.5% of the total population in the Victoria Park area has a drinking issue. ● 17.2% of the Western Australian population are suffering from Alcohol consumption problems. |
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| 11 | Access to health services | General Practitioner
● In the Victoria Park region, 5 General practitioners are available. ● For 1000 people, 1 and 1.5 General practitioners or Psychologists are available in this region (Heartfoundation.org.au, 2016). ● Compared with the overall population of the country, this rate is quite similar, as it lies between 3-4. Psychologist ● In the specified region, there are 3 psychologists available (Healthmap.com.au, 2022). ● For 1000 people, 0.1-0.2 practitioners can be seen as available. ● The country has been facing a significant shortage of available Psychologists recently, therefore, the rate is nearly increasing day by day. Dietician ● In the region, 13 Dieticians can be seen operating full-fledged (Healthmap.com.au, 2022). ● 0.5 practitioners are available for 1000 people in this area (Heartfoundation.org.au, 2016). ● The rate is quite similar depending on the ongoing crisis of health care professionals. |
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| 12. Identifying health needs (6 marks) | ||||
| Identified need | Key indicators | Supportive evidence |
| Insufficient healthcare service | The increasing rate of cardiovascular diseases can represent the issue.
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The analysis of the population has stated that, in Victoria Park, the increasing population of the younger generation and increasing rate of life expectancy can generate issues with the healthcare system such as, poor health conditions can generate chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, etc (Government of Western Australia 2016).
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| Increasing demand for physical activity but, a lack of service providers
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Improper infrastructure, lack of motivation among people
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The population has stated that around 32.1% person is not able to get efficient physical activity. Around 37.7% population needed an effective physical activity system (Victoria Park, 2016).
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| Poor Health Literacy Program | Socio-economic disadvantage
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Health and well-being awareness in Australia is very poor than other countries. It can impact health literacy programs.
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References
Barclay, L., Phillips, A., & Lyle, D. (2018). Rural and remote health research: does the investment match the need? Australian Journal of Rural Health, 26(2), 74-79. Retrieved on: 01.09.2022, from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ajr.12429
Abs.gov.au, (2022), Perth (WA) 2016 Census All persons QuickStats, Retrieved on: 01.09.2022, from: https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2016/SSC51218#:~:text=In%20the%202016%20Census%2C%20there,up%201.0%25%20of%20the%20population.&text=The%20median%20age%20of%20people,(WA)%20was%2032%20years.
Dodds, L., & Siette, J. (2022). Challenges, solutions, and future directions for public health innovations targeting dementia prevention for rural and remote populations. Australasian Journal on Ageing. Retrieved on: 01.09.2022, from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ajag.13105
Government of Western Australia (2016), Town of Victoria Park Health and Wellbeing Profile, Retrieved on: 01.09.2022, from: https://ehq-production-australia.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/0184b1e5293231d2e91f19338de31fe2d9afff70/documents/attachments/000/046/761/original/16-1004_SMPHU_Victoria_Pk_LGA_May2016_v1_WEB.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIBJCUKKD4ZO4WUUA%2F20220831%2Fap-southeast-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20220831T190931Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=06068a92abff9c7810158be7d8bdaf1cdbd5067931f5e64be8371d5060e72524/
Healthmap.com.au, (2022), Australian Health Map, Retrieved on: 01.09.2022, from: https://www.healthmap.com.au
LeBlanc, M., Petrie, S., Paskaran, S., Carson, D., & Peters, P. A. (2020). Patient and provider perspectives on eHealth interventions in Canada and Australia: a scoping review. Rural and remote health, 20(3). Retrieved on: 01.09.2022, from: https://search.proquest.com/openview/857e425d82b05f3b045f2ae20aeda664/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=5492965
Machado, P. P., Steele, E. M., Levy, R. B., da Costa Louzada, M. L., Rangan, A., Woods, J., … & Monteiro, C. A. (2020). Ultra-processed food consumption and obesity in the Australian adult population. Nutrition & diabetes, 10(1), 1-11.Retrieved on: 01.09.2022, from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41387-020-00141-0
Van Spijker, B. A., Salinas-Perez, J. A., Mendoza, J., Bell, T., Bagheri, N., Furst, M. A., … & Salvador-Carulla, L. (2019). Service availability and capacity in rural mental health in Australia: Analysing gaps using an Integrated Mental Health Atlas. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 53(10), 1000-1012. Retrieved on: 01.09.2022, from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0004867419857809
Victoria Park (2016), 2016 Census All persons QuickStats, Retrieved on: 01.09.2022, from: https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2016/SSC51476#:~:text=In%20the%202016%20Census%2C%20there,up%200.9%25%20of%20the%20population/>, Heartfoundation.org.au, (2016), National Physical Activity Plan 2016 Survey Findings, Retrieved on: 01.09.2022, from: https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/getmedia/6a32b12f-15b8-4265-ba7e-d1cdfff5bee4/National_Physical_Activity_Plan_Survey_2016_-_Report1.pdf
victoriapark.wa.gov.au, (2022), Home, Retrieved on: 01.09.2022, from: https://www.victoriapark.wa.gov.au/Home
