Variations in the health status of population groups in Australia, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the factors that contribute to these variations

What this dot point is asking

This dot point asks you to identify which population groups in Australia have poorer health status and to explain, using data and the determinants of health, why those variations exist. You should be able to name a group, describe how its health differs (using indicators), and link the difference to specific contributing factors.

Groups that experience health inequities

VCAA expects you to be able to discuss variations between groups such as:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples compared with non-Indigenous Australians.
• People living in rural and remote areas compared with major cities.
• People of low socioeconomic status compared with high socioeconomic status.
• Males compared with females.

For each group you should be able to use indicators such as life expectancy, mortality, morbidity and burden of disease to describe the gap, then explain it.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience a lower life expectancy, higher rates of many chronic conditions, higher infant mortality and a greater burden of disease than non-Indigenous Australians. These differences are not biological; they reflect inequities in the determinants of health.

Contributing factors

The same factor can act through several pathways. For example, lower average income (a sociocultural determinant) can reduce access to fresh food, affordable healthcare and safe housing, which raises the risk of chronic disease and lowers life expectancy. Remoteness (an environmental determinant) reduces access to health services and healthy food, which increases morbidity. Historical and ongoing impacts of colonisation, dispossession and discrimination contribute to the social and emotional determinants affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

When you answer a variations question, name the group, quote a relevant indicator to show the gap, then explain with two or more clearly identified determinants linked in a cause-and-effect chain to the health outcome.