VCE Health and Human Development cheat sheet

Health is a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living; it is a positive concept emphasising social and personal resources as well as physical capacities (WHO).

WHO definition (1946): health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity; it is idealised and unattainable for most.

Wellbeing dimensions: physical, social, emotional, mental and spiritual; each can be optimal to poor, and the dimensions interact rather than operate independently.

Dynamic nature of health and wellbeing: it changes over time in response to circumstances, age, illness and environment; it is not fixed at a single point.

Subjective nature: health and wellbeing is experienced and judged by the individual, so two people with identical conditions may rate their health differently.

Illness is the subjective experience of a disease; disease is a physical or mental disturbance involving symptoms, dysfunction or tissue damage.

Burden of disease measures the gap between current health status and an ideal where everyone lives to old age free of disease and disability; measured in DALYs.

DALY = YLL (years of life lost to premature death) + YLD (years lived with disability); one DALY equals one lost year of healthy life.

Life expectancy at birth: average number of years a newborn can expect to live if current death rates persist; a summary indicator of mortality across all ages.

Health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) adds a quality dimension by subtracting years lived in poor health from life expectancy.

Under-five mortality rate and infant mortality rate are sensitive indicators of a population's health system, nutrition and sanitation conditions.

Mortality strata: WHO classifies countries as low, lower-middle, upper-middle and high mortality; high-mortality countries are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.

Double burden of disease: some countries face high rates of communicable disease alongside rising non-communicable disease and obesity.

Communicable diseases include malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and diarrhoea; they predominate in low-income countries and are linked to poverty and poor water and sanitation.

Non-communicable diseases include cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and respiratory disease; they are the leading cause of death globally and are rising in low- and middle-income countries.

Sustainable Development Goals: 17 goals adopted by the UN in 2015 with a 2030 target; SDG 3 seeks good health and wellbeing for all ages.

Australia's health system combines Medicare (universal public access), private health insurance, and pharmaceuticals subsidised under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Medicare is funded through general taxation plus a 2% Medicare levy; it provides free or subsidised treatment by doctors and in public hospitals.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience lower life expectancy, higher rates of chronic disease and higher infant mortality than non-Indigenous Australians.

Social determinants of health include socioeconomic status, education, employment, social support, housing and geographic location; they explain much of the variation in health status.

Biological determinants include genetics, body weight, blood pressure and birth weight; behavioural determinants include smoking, alcohol use, diet and physical activity.

Sociocultural determinants include family, peers, media, culture and religion; environmental determinants include housing, workplace safety, water and air quality and access to health care.

Australia's population is ageing: the proportion aged 65 and over is rising, increasing demand for aged care and chronic disease management.

Rural and remote Australians generally have higher rates of injury, chronic disease and mortality, and reduced access to health services compared with metropolitan residents.

Globalisation is the increasing integration of economies and societies through trade, investment, technology, migration and communication across borders.

The WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2008) concluded that health inequities are avoidable and arise from unequal distribution of power, income, goods and services.

Aid types: bilateral (government to government), multilateral (through organisations such as the UN), emergency or humanitarian, and non-government organisation aid.

Australian aid is delivered through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and focuses on the Indo-Pacific, reflecting geographic and strategic priorities.

The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) identifies five action areas: healthy public policy, supportive environments, community action, personal skills and reorienting health services.

The Jakarta Declaration (1997) added to the Ottawa Charter by emphasising investment in health, settings for health and partnerships across sectors.

Human development is about enlarging people's choices; the Human Development Index combines life expectancy, education and income indicators.

Health and wellbeing is both a cause and a consequence of development: healthier populations support economic growth, and economic growth enables investment in health.