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Report reveals inequality in health outcomes between remote and metropolitan areas
Vivien Lin
A new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reveals that although the overall health of the Australian population has improved substantially, those in remote and very remote communities are still disadvantaged when it comes to health outcomes.
The Australian Burden of Disease Study: Impact and causes of illness and death in Australia 2015 analyses the impact of over 200 diseases and injuries in relation to living with illness and premature death.
It shows that the Australian population has become healthier overall, experiencing an 11 percent reduction in total burden between 2003 and 2015. Further gains in health can be achieved by limiting exposure to lifestyle-related risk factors including tobacco use, obesity and dietary risk.
Nevertheless, disease burden is not shared equally across Australia with large inequalities across remoteness areas. Remote and very remote areas are significantly disadvantaged and experience burden 1.4 times higher than major cities. This is driven by noticeably higher burden rates for kidney and urinary diseases, injuries, infectious diseases, endocrine disorders and cardiovascular diseases.
In addition to this, the three leading causes of fatal burden – cancer, cardiovascular diseases and injuries – are respectively 1.2, 1.8 and 2.6 times higher in remote and very remote areas in comparison to major cities.
Health adjusted life expectancy is also 5.2 and 5.8 years shorter for males and females respectively than for those in major cities.
The difference in the disease burden rate is most pronounced in the Northern Territory where the burden rate is around 1.4 times higher than the national average.
The AIHW report identifies a number of factors that may explain this disparity, noting that those in more remote areas are often disadvantaged when it comes to educational and employment opportunities, income, and access to goods and services.
Health behaviours in remote areas also differ from that in major cities. For example, the proportion of people who go to hospital for conditions that are considered potentially preventable with timely and adequate non-hospital care is higher outside major cities.
Furthermore, providing health services in more remote areas is often more costly due to the limited availability of infrastructure and the workforce required to provide these services.
Research by the National Rural Health Alliance has found that there are 80 percent less specialists in remote Australia compared to major cities.
You can learn more about rural and remote health here.
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Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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