Influencing population health performance: introduction of standards for area health services in New South Wales

This paper examines mental health policies in relation to African communities residing in New South Wales, Australia and the attitudes of African communities toward mental disorders and mental health services. Current mental health policy frameworks have shown an inadequate inclusion of African communities. This may negatively affect the design of mental health interventions and how African communities engage with mental health services. The available mental health literature on African communities showed disjointed and uncoordinated data which focuses on specific community-groups within African communities. Insufficient mental health or suicide data, combined with African community members’ perception toward mental disorders and mental health services, makes it very difficult to progress engagement and interventions. There is a need for proper and sizable data on mental health related to people of African descent in NSW and Australia wide, if positive outcomes are to be realised.

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Sociodemographic factors associated with food insecurity: data from the 2003–2014 New South Wales Population Health Survey

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980019005159 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 (11) ◽

pp. 1857-1867

Author(s):

Paraskevi Drakoulidou ◽

Bradley Drayton ◽

Leah Shepherd ◽

Seema Mihrshahi

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Population Health ◽

Health Survey ◽

Smoking Status ◽

New South ◽

New South Wales ◽

Sociodemographic Factors ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

South Wales

AbstractObjective:To determine the prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with food insecurity in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia.Design:Cross-sectional analysis of food insecurity data collected by the NSW Population Health Survey between 2003 and 2014. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine associations with key sociodemographic variables.Setting:NSW, Australia.Participants:212 608 survey participants responded to the food insecurity survey question between 2003 and 2014. 150 767 of them were aged ≥16 years. The survey sample was randomly selected and weighted to be representative of the NSW population.Results:On average 6 % of adults aged ≥16 years experienced food insecurity in NSW. The odds of food insecurity appeared to increase from one survey year to the next by a factor of 1·05. Food insecurity was found to be independently associated with age, sex, marital status, household size, education, employment status, household income, smoking status, alcohol intake and self-rated health. The association with income, smoking status and self-rated health appeared to be the strongest among all covariates and showed a gradient effect. Food insecurity appeared to increase significantly between the age of 16 and 19 years.Conclusions:The prevalence of food insecurity appears to be rising over time. Given the negative health consequences of food insecurity, more rigorous measurement and monitoring of food insecurity in NSW and nationally is strongly recommended. The findings provide support for interventions targeting low-income and younger population groups.

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OA28 At the clinical shores – palliative care volunteers and population health in new south wales (NSW)

BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care ◽

10.1136/bmjspcare-2015-000906.28 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (Suppl 1) ◽

pp. A9.2-A9

Author(s):

Linda Hansen ◽

Alex Huntir

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Population Health ◽

New South ◽

New South Wales ◽

South Wales

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What proportion of sexually transmissible infections and HIV are diagnosed in New South Wales’ public sexual health services compared with other services?

Sexual Health ◽

10.1071/sh12020 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 119 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Chris Bourne ◽

Debbie Allen ◽

Katherine Brown ◽

Stephen C. Davies ◽

Anna McNulty ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Services ◽

Sexual Health ◽

New South ◽

New South Wales ◽

Large Contribution ◽

Geographical Variations ◽

South Wales ◽

Sexually Transmissible Infections ◽

Geographical Regions ◽

High Risk Populations

Background: In New South Wales (NSW), publicly funded sexual health services (PFSHSs) target the populations at greatest risk for important sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and so may make a large contribution to the diagnosis of notifiable STIs. We aimed to determine the proportions of STIs diagnosed in PFSHSs and notified to the NSW Ministry of Health in 2009, and describe geographical variations. Methods: The number of notifiable STIs (infectious syphilis, gonorrhoea, HIV and chlamydia) diagnosed in 2009 was obtained for each Area Health Service (AHS) and each PFSHS. The proportion of diagnoses made by PFSHSs was calculated at the state and AHS level according to five geographical regions: inner and outer metropolitan, regional, rural and remote. Results: The overall proportions of diagnoses made by NSW PFSHSs were syphilis, 25%; gonorrhoea, 25%; HIV, 21%; and chlamydia, 14%. Within each zone, the proportions of these STIs were (respectively): (i) inner metropolitan: 32%, 26%, 21% and 13%; (ii) outer metropolitan: 41%, 24%, 43% and 9%; (iii) regional: 62%, 15%, 23% and 10%; (iv) rural: 8%, 29%, <5% and 20%; and (v) remote: <5%, 43%, <5% and 29%. There was considerable variation in proportions of STIs between and within AHSs (<5–100%). Conclusions: NSW PFSHSs contribute a large proportion of diagnoses for syphilis, gonorrhoea and HIV, but less so for chlamydia. Across AHSs and zones, there was considerable variation in the proportions. These data support the role of PFSHS in identifying and managing important STIs in high-risk populations.

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