Quick questions on Priority health conditions in Australia: HSC Health and Movement Science Focus Area 1

An umbrella term for diseases of the heart and blood vessels - coronary (ischaemic) heart disease, stroke (cerebrovascular disease), heart failure and peripheral vascular disease.

A group of diseases in which abnormal cells grow uncontrollably. The most common in Australia include prostate, breast, melanoma, bowel (colorectal) and lung cancers.

A chronic condition in which the body becomes resistant to insulin and/or does not produce enough, raising blood glucose. It accounts for the large majority of all diabetes.

age, family history / genetics and biological sex. These cannot be changed but help identify higher-risk people for screening.

regular physical activity, a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, limiting alcohol, and participation in cancer screening. Because the protective factors mirror the risk factors, a single healthy-lifestyle message lowers risk across all three conditions at once.

For each condition, be ready with mortality, morbidity, prevalence and incidence in a sentence each. The fastest marks come from correctly distinguishing the pairs (death vs illness; new vs total).

Replace "lots of people have diabetes" with "about 1.3 million Australians live with diagnosed diabetes (AIHW, 2023-24)". A figure WITH a year and an AIHW/ABS source earns marks a vague claim cannot - and flag a figure as indicative if you are unsure of the exact value.

Add the equity strand: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, lower socioeconomic groups, regional and remote populations. Then make the analytical move - the risk factors CLUSTER with the determinants, so the burden concentrates where disadvantage does.

For a data item, first DESCRIBE (rank order and the figures), then EXPLAIN (why those conditions lead - common AND fatal/disabling), then say what it IMPLIES (the largest, most preventable burden is the rational prevention target).