Australia has the eighth highest life expectancy among the 35 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). At the end of last month, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare published a report presenting information on life expectancy across 31 Primary health Networks areas in Australia.
The average life span in Australia in 2011-2013 was 82.1 years, which rose to 82.4 years in 2013-2015. Unsurprisingly, research found that life expectancy in metropolitan areas tended to be longer than in regional areas. Northern Sydney, which includes the affluent suburbs of Ryde and Palm Beach, had the longest life expectancy at an average of 85.5 years.
The Northern Territory, in the central and central northern regions of Australia, had the lowest life expectancy at an average of 77 years. Most Primary Health Network areas reported an increased rate of life expectancy with the largest increases in Queensland.
Potentially avoidable deaths
The report also looked at potentially avoidable deaths during the period 2013-2015 and found this too varied across Primary Health Networks with Northern Sydney again coming out on top with the lowest rate of potentially avoidable deaths at 62 deaths per 100,000 people. Potentially avoidable deaths are those which occur before the age of 75, from causes that potentially could have been avoided through the provision of care. During the period covered by the report, there were almost 80,000 potentially avoidable deaths and again, the Northern Territory had the highest rate of potentially unavoidable deaths at 226 per 100,000.
The report states that regional areas had a higher rate of potentially avoidable deaths than metropolitan areas. Premature deaths are often influenced by health risk factors such as smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and high blood pressure. Regional Primary Health Networks have higher proportions of people reporting such health risk factors. Additionally, those in regional areas tend to have higher occupational risk due to farming, mining and transport.
Overall the rate of potentially avoidable deaths has decreased, averaging 108 deaths per 100,000 people nationally in the period 2013-2015 down from 117 per 100,000 in the period 2009-2011.
The full Healthy Communities report is available on the My Healthy Communities website, an interactive site that allows users to see how their local health service is performing against similar areas.
HealthStaff Recruitment has healthcare positions available across in most states and territories. If you would like to make a difference to life expectancy rates or rates of potentially avoidable deaths in Australia, contact us today and we will help find a suitable position for you.