Australians who live in rural and remote communities are more likely to be exposed to the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, more likely to be hospitalized due to various CVD-conditions, and more likely to die from cardiovascular diseases than people from urban areas (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014). According to the Heart Foundation in Australia, CVD is the leading cause of death for the indigenous population in the rural areas, and they experience and die from this condition at a higher rate than is the case for the other Australians.
According to the study that was conducted by the Heart Foundation, it stated that Indigenous Australians living in the rural and remote settings are 1.3 times more likely to be diagnosed with the cardiovascular disease than the other populations (Heart Foundation, 2015). It was also stated that they were three times more likely to experience a major coronary event such as a heart attack than the other groups of people living in Australia. Also, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations living in remote parts of the country are twice as likely to report they have been diagnosed with a cardiovascular disease or have experienced a coronary event, than for the Indigenous people who live in the metropolitan cities (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014).The study also found out that for both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, they are highly likely to have the risk factors that are related to cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, being obese and be diagnosed with another chronic condition such as diabetes.
Health Goal
Based on the above description it can be deduced that the Australian populations, in particular, the Indigenous sub-population have poorer health as compared to their metropolitan counterparts in respect to cardiovascular diseases. They also have higher mortality rates, meaning that they also have a lower life expectancy than the people who live in metropolitan regions. It has also been established that they are hospitalized at a higher rate for coronary events such as heart attacks than the people who live in metropolitan regions. The health goals on the identified sub-population and the health condition that affects them are to ensure that the sub-population is educated in regards to cardiovascular disease, the risk factors involved, and the preventative measures that can be taken to ensure that they reduce their chances of being diagnosed with the cardiovascular disease. Different approaches can be taken to educate the people who are mostly affected by this condition so that they can become aware of the condition, know how it affects, and why it affects them at a much higher rate than in the other sub-populations. They will also know the right steps that they can take regarding preventative measures to reduce the risk factors that are associated with this condition.
Healthy Settings Approach
It is defined as a place or a social context whereby people meet on a regular basis to create and solve problems that relate to their health. In the rural area, there are villages whereby; the residents in a certain community have defined roles. To reduce the number of people who are adversely affected by cardiovascular diseases in rural Australia, health workers who operate in these regions can introduce the Healthy Villages programs. In this case, health will be defined by the residents who live in a particular village. However, it is important that the people know the risk factors that lead to cardiovascular diseases, the preventative measures that they can take to reduce their chances of being diagnosed with the condition such as eating a balanced diet and regular exercises, and even how to manage the condition for the people who have been diagnosed. It is also important if the people in the different villages in rural Australia have access to the basic healthcare services, and they do not feel as if they are discriminated against. It will ensure that they take the right step and go for regular checkups.
The reason as to why this approach should be used is because it takes on a holistic approach to tackling the problem. The goal is to reduce the number of people being diagnosed and dying from the cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the people will be taught about the risk factors that exist in their community, preventative measures such as proper dieting and regular exercises, and management of the condition. The advantage of this approach is that the villagers will meet on a regular basis to discuss this health problem that is affecting them. It will increase their knowledge base in regards to this condition.
Health in All Policies Approach
It is a collaborative approach whereby; to improve the health of people, there is the need to incorporate various health considerations into the decision-making process. It emphasizes on the aspect of the decision makers who deal with implementing health policies should be informed regarding the health, equity and the consequences of the different health policy options that they implement. It shows the relevant stakeholders such as the government and regional health providers of how their policies affect the health of people in a region. It is based on the aspect that all the health challenges that affect people such as chronic illnesses, health inequities, and even the high health costs are linked in one way or another (American Public Health Association, 2013). Therefore to address certain health disparities in a community, the first step that needs to be taken is addressing the various social determinants of health such as education, transportation, access to healthy foods, and jobs (American Public Health Association, 2013). This approach can work because the relevant stakeholders are shown how their decisions affect people who live in a certain region. For instance, if the people who live in rural areas are educated in regards to the importance of exercising and provided with jobs that will provide them with a stable income, they will be able to have properly balanced diets. It will reduce their risk of being diagnosed with CVD (World Health Organization, 2013).
Integrated Health Promotion
It is a health approach that is meant to improve the overall health of a community through the promotion of positive wellbeing, ensuring that they have minimized the burden of a serious condition that is affecting people who live in a certain area, and ensuring that the communitys capacity is strengthened in terms of their health knowledge (Central Victorian, 2014). It is important to point out that in order to reduce the prevalence of a condition in a certain region, various steps such as education and access to health care facilities have to be taken in order to ensure that the people will have control over the issues that affect them, and therefore be in a better position to improve their health. For instance, if people are educated on the risk factors that lead to the cardiovascular condition, they may reduce their tobacco and alcohol intake, and this will reduce the chances of most of the people regarding being diagnosed with the condition (Central Victorian, 2014). Also, if the government introduces measures that the rural indigenous people will have access to jobs, it will overall improve their livelihoods. They will have more economic opportunities, and therefore most of them will not have stress, which reduces the frequency of people who are diagnosed with high blood pressure, a risk factor associated with cardiovascular disease.
Healthy Settings and Health in All Policies Working in Support of Each Other in an Integrated Health Promotion Strategy
When these two approaches (health setting and health in all policies) are used together, they can promote the healthy well-being of the indigenous people who live in rural areas about cardiovascular diseases. The overall goal of these two approaches is to promote the health and well-being of the citizens in a certain region (in this case indigenous people living in rural and remote areas) (Central Victorian, 2014). It is important to point out that Health in all Policies normally brings together stake-holders from different sectors that influence the economic, physical and social environments in areas where people live. On the other hand, the healthy setting takes into consideration the social context of where people who live in a certain area meet on a regular basis to discuss the health issues that affect them.
The people who are involved in making and implementing various health policies should meet with the community members in the affected region to discuss the cardiovascular disease health issue that is affecting them. During these discussions, they will learn why this condition is more prevalent in the rural region than in urban areas (World Health Organization, 2017). They will also learn why the existing policies have not worked, and what steps can be taken to ensure that the future policies will address the problem that they are currently facing. The overall changes that will be made will focus on the problem. It will ensure that they deal with both the short and long-term problems that affect the people in the region, reducing the prevalence of the condition.
References
American Public Health Association. (2013). Health in All Policies. APHA, 1-4.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2014). Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health survey: updated results, 201213. Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Central Victorian. (2014). Integrated Health Promotion. Central Victorian: Primary Care Partnership.
Heart Foundation. (2015). CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IN RURAL AUSTRALIA. National Rural Health Alliance Inc, 1-2.
World Health Organization. (2013). Health in All Policies: Framework for Country Action. WHO, 1.
World Health Organization. (2017). Healthy Settings. WHO, 1.
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