Food And Nutrition Related Health Risk Factors In Western NSW: Prioritizing And Targeting Disadvantaged Groups

Population Data Table: Western LHD compared to state and national statistics

Population Data Table: Western LHD compared to state and national statistics (ABS, 2018)

The current population for Western LHD is 270,775 of which 48.7% are males and 51.3% comprising of females. The female/male ratio in comparison to NSW and Australia is quite similar with the latter representing a 49.3% and 50.7% for males and females respectively. The Aboriginal population comprises a mere 2.9% of the entire population. The median age for the entire population is 36 while that of the aboriginal group is 22. These averages are also not far from the NSW and Australian median ages of 38 for the entire population and 23 for the aboriginal group. Significant differences however occur when the weekly average incomes are taken into consideration. There is a significant income disparity between Western LHD and NSW and Australia. In this case, while the median weekly household income in Western LHD is 1089$, the same income in NSW and Australia is 1486 and 1438 respectively (ABS, 2018). 

Categorization of education in Western LHD is also quite different compared to NSW an Australia. In this light, the available data indicates the education levels in three distinct categories comprising of mainly education completed in 10 years below (37.1% of the population), equivalent to 10 years (23.9% of the population), and equivalent to 12 years (49.2%). Ideally it can be presumed that these percentages represent primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education in comparison to data available for NSW and Australia. It is also noteworthy that in this region, households are further subdivided into family based households, lone households and others (ABS, 2017). 

The data presented above is reliable because it is current and represents the actual population of the region. Precisely, the data focuses on the accurate account of the region’s population. Furthermore, it captures a wide spectrum of the population and its characteristics. Likewise, this data also draws its strength from the fact that aside from encompassing the region’s entire population, other aspects such as income and housing are also presented in this data. However, this data’s credibility can also be questioned due to various weaknesses that are associated with the provided data. For instance, since it is based on household heads, the data can be comprised since the household heads do provide falls data. Also, the data may be subject to inaccuracies especially in areas with high levels of illiteracy.

Socioeconomic Status: SEIFA by Local Government Area (LGA)

Summary of Population Data

Health Data

Health Data: Western LHD compared to state and national statistics

Smoking rates in Western NSW is very high compared to NSW and the nation as a whole. This is because the smoking rate in this region is 17.4% compared to 15% and 14.5% in NSW and Australia respectively. As a result, smoking is one the leading causes of death in this region with an estimated 100 deaths per 100,000 individuals. This is unlike the 60.8 and 74 registered in NSW and Australia (NSW, 2015). This therefore indicates that aside from the rates being quite high, smoking contributes to a significant number of deaths when a comparison of the region is compared to that of the national level.

However, data on the ATSI population is limited and as such, the smoking rate among this population is inconclusive. In comparison to smoking alcohol consumption also a serious health issue in Western NSW. Particularly, the alcohol consumption level in Western NSW is also high at 35.2%. Most worryingly is the fact that the consumption of alcohol contributes to a significant number of deaths since it results in 55 deaths per 100,000 individuals. In comparison to NSW and at the national level, these rates are significantly higher since in NSW alcohol consumption rate is 31% and associated deaths per 100,000 is 15.4%. At the national level, the same rates are further lowered with 17.4% reported cases of alcohol 

consumption contributing to an estimated 17.4 deaths per 100,000 persons (NSW, 2017). Thus, the available evidence illustrate that there is need to address this health issue specifically in Western NSW.

This population however strives to maintain a balanced diet in comparison to fruit and vegetable intake. For example, the population maintains a commendable 48.2% fruit recommended daily consumption. This is higher than the 47.3% maintained at NSW and less than the 50% maintained at the national level. Fruit recommended intake among children is also considerably high at 67.2% in Western NSW which is higher than the 66% observed at the NSW region. Vegetable consumption is however lower than the 6.6% at the regional level with Western NSW maintaining a 6.1% (NSW, 2013). This is unlike vegetable consumption in children which is 0.5% higher than the NSW level. In addition, the population in Western NSW also maintains high levels of physical activity as evidenced by the 46% rate of physical activity. This healthy life can perhaps explain the lower levels of obesity and overweight cases in the region with the former representing a rate of 22% and the latter representing a rate of 53% (Spurway et al, 2016). Hence, it is also not surprising that the number of BMI related deaths is lower at 26.7 per 100,000, compared to the 29.5 per 100,000 observed at NSW region.

Socioeconomic Status: SEIFA by Local Government Area (LGA)

Health Service Data: Comparison of Services Available in your selected town to NSW

There are more than 220 public hospitals in Western NSW. Particularly in Bourke, public hospitals offer a number of services including; emergency care, maternity services, nursing home care and rehabilitation programs amongst others. Hospital beds in these public hospitals amount to a total of 21,152 beds (NSW, 2018). In comparison to Bourke, the number of hospital beds has been estimated to range between 80 and 120. In regards to the time spent in emergency department, Bourke observed a 2 hours and 18 minutes average compared to the 4 hours and 34 minutes observed at the regional level. Also, Bourke had an estimated 2.8 days length in hospitalization (Healthdirect.gov, 2018).

The identified area of priority comprising of food and nutrition related health risk factors is the practice of poor dietary habits. In this case, the focus will be on consumption of foods that are rich in energy such as starch, fat and sugars, but with low amounts of essential nutrients (Reddy & Katan, 2014). Ideally, the consumption of such foods have adverse effects on an individual’s health especially since it contributes to energy excess as well as other health conditions such as obesity and diabetes. Hence, the consumption of such foods can hamper the well-being of an individual and expose them to life threatening chronic conditions (Burkert et al, 2014).

The targeted population comprises of adults residing in Bourke. From the available data on Western NSW, it is evident that the population strive to maintain a healthy life especially through physical exercises and, fruit and vegetable intake. However, the rates of overweight and obesity is also high indicating the consumption of high energy foods could be high. Specifically, for the female gender, the data indicates that they could be at the highest risk of such health conditions. As such, the focus shall be placed on the female population residing in this region and particularly in Bourke.

Conclusion

The demographic data on the population residing in Western LHD indicate that the composition of this population in regards to the male/female ratio, median age and aboriginal composition is quite similar. Differences only occur in the income levels and the level of education. In consideration of the available health data, it is noteworthy that the smoking rates and alcohol consumption rates as well as their associated deaths are quite higher than those observed at the regional and national level. Although they maintain somewhat commendable dietary habits, the rates of overweight cases and obesity cases have been high. Focusing on the female population in Bourke can help illustrate this disparity and also indicate the probable causes inclusive of consumption of high energy foods.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2018). Census: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Population. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/MediaRealesesByCatalogue/02D50FAA9987D6B7CA25814800087E03?OpenDocument 

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2017). Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia, 2016. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/3235.0 

Burkert, N. T., Muckenhuber, J., Grobschadl, F., Rasky, E., & Freidi, W. (2014). Nutrition and Health: The Association between Eating Behavior and Various Health Parameters: A Matched Sample Study. PLoS ONE, 9(2), 1-7. Retrieved from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0088278&type=printable 

Healthdirect.gov. (2018). Community Health Services, Bourke NSW. Retrieved from https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/australian-health-services/results/bourke-2840/tihcs-aht-10578/community-health-services?undefined&pageIndex=1&tab=SITE_VISIT 

NSW Government. (2013). A Picture of Health SLHD Health Profile 2013. Retrieved from https://www.slhd.nsw.gov.au/pdfs/SLHD_Health_Profile_2013.pdf 

NSW Government. (2015). Western NSW Local Health District Tobacco Strategic Plan 2015-2021. Retrieved from https://wnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/Downloads/Publications%20and%20Reports/WNSWLHD_TobaccoPlan.pdf 

NSW Government. (2017). Current Smoking in Adults. Retrieved from https://www.healthstats.nsw.gov.au/Indicator/beh_smo_age 

NSW Government. (2018). Hospitals/ Health Services. Retrieved from https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/hospitals/pages/default.aspx 

NSW Government. (2018). Population Health: Operational Plan 2014-2018. Retrieved from https://www.swslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/pdfs/OP_PopHealth.pdf 

NSW Government. (2018). Western NSW. Retrieved from https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/lhd/pages/wnswlhd.aspx 

Reddy, K. S., & Katan, M. B. (2014). Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Hypertension and Cardiovascular Diseases. Public Health Nutrition, 7(1), 167-186. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/public_health_nut5.pdf 

Spurway, J., Logan, P., Pak, S. C., & Phil, S. N. (2016). A Comparison of a Regional NSW Obstetrics Population to District, State and National Statistics. Australasian Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, 19(3), 118-122. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ajum.12017 

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