HBS107 Understanding Health

Introduction

The Australian Government is engaging in a variety of medical education, infrastructure, public wellbeing, and primary care programmes around Victoria, which would result in true, tangible health benefits for all Victorians. Victoria's Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 established the Victorian public health and wellbeing programme for 2019–2023 (Victoria State Government, 2019). The Victorian public health and welfare programme 2019–2023 (the plan) pursues a goal of the Victorian government for Victorians' health and welfare: Free from the avoidable strain of illness and damage, Victoria will offer all Victorians the finest level of wellness, welfare and engagement at all ages. The strategy continues the goals of the previous plan while acknowledging two major challenges to public health and well-being: the health effects of climate change and the antimicrobial resistance. This report focuses and discuss upon the betterment of health and well-being of citizens of Australia. It focus to four priorities which are tackling climate change and its impact, promoting healthy eating, encouraging more active living and reducing harm related to tobacco.

The World Health Organization characterised climate change as the key public health problem in the 21st century. It is an immediate problem with economic, national and community consequences. Climate change has an impact on health in many respects: explicitly due to the heightened severity and frequency of severe weather conditions, such as heatwave, flooding and forest fires; and indirectly due to deterioration in environmental quality, improvements in the transmission of infectious diseases, threats to food protection and drinking water quality and mental health consequences. Victorian councils have also taken steps to combat climate change and its wellbeing implications, by implementing policies both in health-promoting and emission-reducing Victorian communities. The World is warming at an alarming pace as greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere rise.  Over the last few decades, Victoria's atmosphere has improved, becoming hotter and drier, and the changes are expected to continue.

Strategic actions- Continued emphasis on identifying and assessing public health hazards from climate change. Promoting human contribution to public health challenges linked to climate change. Well-being assessment and co-benefits of carbon reduction greenhouse gas policies.

Strategic action for increasing healthy eating- Accelerate safe food (and drink) delivery programmes in all primary public contexts (including healthcare facilities, schools and childcare systems, sports and leisure facilities, activities and workplaces). Implement healthy practises and behaviours policies and methods. Investing in collaborative balanced living approaches and raising access to healthy foods in neighbourhoods (Victoria State Government, 2019).

Strategic action for increasing active living- Increase the transport proportion journeys using active travel modes. Improve easier access to parks, green fields and public areas with physical fitness options where appropriate. Integrate regular healthcare programmes with safe living advice and referrals.

Strategic action for reducing tobacco related harm- Reduce smoking-related risk and smoking behaviour by continuously supporting and modernising tobacco control regulations in Victoria. Support smokers to stop using and gaining better access to nicotine. Incorporate smoking identification and reduction in standard treatment.

Focus

The priority area is tackling climate change and its impact on health. The Victorian Public Health and Wellness Plan 2019-2023 also reflects on the fight against climate change and its health implications, and conciliates must take into account the national agenda during the preparation of an MPHWP in accordance with the Public Health and Wellbeing Act of 2008. Engagement with the society, partners and councils involves understanding what is relevant, what is already going on, and where more intervention is needed (or where opportunities exist). It will also expose attitudes, interactions and events that may help shape how the health and well-being profile of climate change is viewed.

The development decisions and the development phases include the places where the municipal scan and interaction suggest that changes are essential (Department Of Health and Human Services, 2020). Many adaptations to climate change and mitigation activities intersect. It is therefore advantageous to consider climate change measures in an interconnected way that takes into consideration other co-benefits. The objective of addressing climate change and its consequences for health through municipal health and well-being preparation is: advice to local governments, 2020 (this guidance), helping municipalities comply with their regulatory responsibilities and implementing measures in conjunction with 'Climate Change Management and its Effect on Health' in the field of victorian public health and well-being.

The effects of climate change have also been felt and are expected to grow in Victoria. The 2019 Victoria Climate Science Study shows how the state's weather has changed, cooler and drier in recent decade, with an increase in the average frequency of excessively hot days (extreme warming), a decrease in cool seasonal rainfall and many days of fires in spring. The World is warming at an alarming pace as greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere rise. Since pre-industrial levels 1°C global warming has existed and new estimates indicate that the existing pollution rates will exceed 1.5°C warming by 2030 (Department of Health, 2019). The scale of climate change will depend on the collective solution to curb greenhouse gas pollution; but, even as all global emissions cease to warm up to a further half degree above the current amount tomorrow, research shows that existing levels of carbon dioxide are still contained in the atmosphere. The 2019 Victorian environment forecasts reflect the predicted potential shift in Victoria's climate, expected to occur in the low and large future pollution scenarios up to 2090 at a scale of 5 km by 5 km.

Victoria has been experiencing overt and indirect health and well-being effects, which are more often and intensely caused by climate change, combined with disasters such as flooding, fires and heat waves. There are only few examples: The 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, the 2009 and 2014 Victorian heatwaves and the 2016-2017 Victorian floods. Any of them and others would be more addressed.

Heatwaves- Heatwaves affect community wellbeing directly and immediately, in particular disadvantaged communities such as infants, persons over the age of 65 and persons with underlying health conditions like cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases. Heatwave health effects include hot attack, heat exacerbation and mortality. Heat-related hot-day deaths and heatwaves are potentially one of the primary health consequences of global change and often higher in temperate cities. In Victoria during the 2009 heatwave, there were 374 excess deaths* and an increase of 12% in emergency hospital presentations; in the same way, 167 excess deaths were recorded during the 2014 heatwave event and there were a 5-fold spike in public emergency hospital presentations. It is expected that an additional 402 heatwaves in Victoria will cause deaths each year by 2050 unless adaptation steps are taken.

Mental health impacts- Climate change and climate-related threats will lead to overwhelmingly obvious and indirect impacts on mental well-being. Extreme weather events may directly affect mental health, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, nuanced complaints, victim disgrace, trauma, rehabilitation fatigue, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. For example, studies after the Victorian Black Saturday Bushfires revealed that a large minority with chronic PTSD, depression and psychiatric disturbance associated with the fires still complain many years after the bushfires. Extreme heat and humidity will also directly affect those with current mental health issues and effects (Hayes, et al., 2018).

Indirect mental well-being effects of climate change may be attributed to cultural, economic and environmental disruption combined with changing climate conditions such as damage to physical and social environments, effect on physical health, food and water shortages, conflict and relocations. Incremental environmental changes including growing temperatures, rising water levels and episodic drought would also affect mental health - by, for example, altered farming environments, higher financial and connection stresses, elevated threats of conflict and hostility and relocation of whole populations.

Harmful or nuisance algae- The consistency of the water in Victoria is threatened by climate change, which leads to elevated threats to human health. This means a greater chance of toxic algae, extended algal bloom, widening of the repertoire of pastly climate-restricted pathogens and new pathogens. The selection of hazardous algal species can emit toxins that have serious health effects on humans, pigs, birds and animals through consumption, inhalation and contact with skin. For instance, from December 2011 to early May 2012, The toxin-producing Nodularia spumigena blue-green algal bloom in Victoria's Gippsland Lake (Department of Health and Human Services, 2019).

This major event contributed to limits on fishing activities and public alerts that contaminants bioaccumulation could prevent fish and seafood from eating from the lakes. Members of the Community were often told to prevent interaction with the water impacted. This affected the travel, leisure and commercial fishing industries in the area. In 2020, algae blooms began to impact Gippsland lakes and in July, which is unusual for winter, large amounts of algae were also observed. Algal blooms are now affecting the supply of drinking water in Victoria more and more. A blue-green algal bloom in raw water collection, for example, harmed the Tongala water supply system's water filtration system in 2019.As a result, the removal of microorganisms was not possible, and the Tongala Township was issued a boil-water advisory for nearly 48 hours. Other consequences included carving water from other storages to big consumers and including substitute water for vital customers.

Conclusion

In the conclusion this paper conclude the four key health priorities stated in this paper which are tackling climate change and its impact, promoting healthy eating, encouraging more active living and reducing harm related to tobacco. In the background and context it is concluded that it is an immediate problem with economic, national and community consequences. Climate change has an impact on health in many respects: explicitly due to the heightened severity and frequency of severe weather conditions, such as heatwave, flooding and forest fires; and indirectly due to deterioration in environmental quality, improvements in the transmission of infectious diseases, threats to food protection and drinking water quality and mental health consequences. It was found that Victoria's atmosphere has improved, becoming hotter and drier, and the changes are expected to continue. It has also elaborated the strategic plan all the four key health priorities. It reflects on combating climate change and the health consequences and the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 requires councils to take into account the State agenda while organising an MPHWP.

References

Department of Health and Human Services. (2019). Victorian public health and wellbeing plan 2019–2023.

Department Of Health and Human Services. (2020). Tackling climate change and its impact on health through municipal public health and wellbeing planning.

Department of Health. (2019). Victorian Health Plan.

Hayes, K., Blashki, G., Wiseman, J., Burke, S., & Reifels, L. (2018). Climate change and mental health: Risks, impacts and priority actions. International journal of mental health systems, 12(1), 1-12.

Victoria State Government. (2019). Public health and wellbeing planning.

Victoria State Government. (2019). Victorian public health and wellbeing plan 2019-2023.

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