SACE Stage 2 Health and Wellbeing key terms

The conditions of a person's birth, growth, living, working and ageing, including income, education, housing and social support, that shape how healthy they can be.

A person's relative position in society based on income, occupation and education, which affects access to resources such as nutritious food, secure housing and health care.

Unfair and avoidable differences in health between groups, arising from unequal distribution of power, money and resources rather than from biology or personal choice alone.

A measurable difference in health status or access to care between population groups, which may or may not be unjust depending on its cause.

A condition or resource, such as strong family support or regular physical activity, that reduces the likelihood of harm and supports positive health outcomes.

A characteristic, behaviour or circumstance that increases a person's chance of developing a health problem or injury.

The capacity to adapt and recover when faced with adversity, stress or change, drawing on personal skills, relationships and community resources.

The ability to find, understand, judge and use health information to make decisions and act on them in everyday life.

Practical help, emotional care and information received from family, friends, peers and services, which buffers stress and improves wellbeing.

The value derived from networks, trust and shared norms among people, which enables cooperation and gives members access to resources and opportunities.

The full range of personal, social, economic and environmental factors that combine to influence a person's health status over their lifetime.

A description of how healthy a person or population is, measured through indicators such as life expectancy, morbidity and self-rated health.

The study of how often and why health conditions occur in populations, used to identify patterns, causes and targets for prevention.

The occurrence of illness, injury or disability within a population, as distinct from death, and often expressed as rates per group.

The number of deaths in a population over a set period, often expressed as a rate and used to compare health between groups.

The average number of years a person is expected to live, based on current death rates in a given population.

An environment where a person's cultural identity is respected and their needs are met, so they feel safe and able to access services without discrimination.

The knowledge, attitudes and skills that allow a worker or service to respond respectfully and effectively to people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Negative labelling and stereotyping of a person or group that can lead to discrimination, shame and avoidance of health services.

Unfair treatment of people based on characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity or disability, which can limit opportunities and harm health.

Health outcomes and service access in areas distant from cities, often affected by workforce shortages, long travel distances and reduced infrastructure.

The extent to which people can obtain needed care, shaped by cost, distance, waiting times, availability and whether services feel welcoming.

The fair distribution of health opportunities, achieved by giving extra support to those with greater need rather than treating everyone identically.

Fairness in the way resources and support are distributed, recognising that different people need different amounts of help to reach similar outcomes.

The process of enabling people to increase control over and improve their health, through education, supportive environments and healthy public policy.

A 1986 framework for health promotion built on five action areas: healthy public policy, supportive environments, community action, personal skills and reorienting health services.

Action taken to stop health problems occurring, detect them early or reduce their complications, commonly described as primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

Testing people who appear healthy to detect a condition early, when treatment is more likely to be effective.

Policies and programs that aim to reduce the negative consequences of risky behaviour without requiring the person to stop that behaviour.

Strengthening the skills, resources, networks and confidence of a community so it can identify and address its own health priorities.

The process by which individuals and groups gain confidence, skills and power to make decisions and act on issues affecting their lives.

Planned learning experiences that build knowledge, attitudes and skills so people can make informed decisions about their health.

The thoughts and actions a person uses to manage stress or difficult situations, which may be adaptive, such as seeking help, or maladaptive, such as avoidance.

Health issues and responses that cross national borders and require cooperation between countries, including pandemics, food security and health workforce migration.

The growing interconnection of economies, cultures and people worldwide, which spreads knowledge and products but can also spread disease and unhealthy products.

Seventeen goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015 to be achieved by 2030, covering poverty, hunger, health, education, equality and environmental sustainability.

A system in which all people can access needed health services without facing financial hardship, regardless of income or employment.

A condition that is not spread between people, such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer, often linked to lifestyle and environmental factors.

An outbreak of an infectious disease that spreads across multiple countries or continents, affecting large numbers of people.