Australia Yearbook - 2001

352 Year Book Australia 2001
Combination of risk factors
About half the people who smoked also had
other risk factors, with 12% of smokers, or 2%
of the adult population, also having no physical
exercise, and almost no fruit or vegetable intake
(table 9.33).
About three-fifths (61%) of people who took no
physical activity had neither of the other risk
factors. This was true for 44% of people who ate
almost no fruit or vegetables, and 47% of people
who smoked.
While only 2% of the adult population had all
three risk factors, this is more than twice the
proportion that could be expected if there were
no correlation between these risk factors (if
there were no correlation between the three
risk factors, then 1.1% of Australians (21% of
18% of 30%) would be in this group).
9.33 AUSTRALIAN ADULTS, Combination of Risk Factors—1995
Smoker
Non smoker
Combination of risk factors
%
%
%
Physically inactive
Almost no fruit or vegetables 2.4 4.3 6.7
Some fruit or vegetables 5.1 18.4 23.5
Total 7.5 22.7 30.2
Physically active
Almost no fruit or vegetables 3.5 8.0 11.5
Some fruit or vegetables 9.8 48.5 58.3
Total 13.3 56.5 69.8
Totals
Almost no fruit or vegetables 5.9 12.3 18.2
Some fruit or vegetables 15.0 66.9 81.8
Total 20.8 79.2 100.0
Source: Unpublished data, 1995 National Health and Nutrition Survey.
Total
Health care delivery and
financing
Government role
The Commonwealth has a leadership role in policy
formulation, particularly in areas such as public
health, research and national information
management. It funds most non-hospital medical
services, pharmaceuticals and health research. With
the States and Territories, it jointly funds public
hospitals, and home and community care for aged
and disabled persons. Residential facilities for aged
persons are funded by a number of sources,
including the Commonwealth. Public health
insurance is provided through Medicare, which
is discussed in more detail later in this chapter.
The States and Territories are primarily
responsible for the delivery and management of
public health services and the regulation of health
care providers. They deliver public hospital
services and a wide range of community and public
health services. For example, some State and
Territory government funded organisations
provide school dental care and dental care for
low income earners, with other dental care being
delivered in the private sector without government
funding. Local governments within States deliver
most environmental health programs.
Public hospitals, which provide the majority of
acute care beds, are funded by the
Commonwealth Government and the State and
Territory Governments, in addition to receiving
revenue from services to private patients. Large
urban public hospitals provide most of the more
complex types of hospital care such as intensive
care, major surgery, organ transplants and renal
dialysis, as well as non-admitted patient care.
Public hospitals have their own pharmacies which
provide medicines to in-patients free of charge
and do not attract direct Commonwealth
subsidies under the Pharmaceutical Benefits
Scheme. This is discussed in more detail later in
this chapter.
A small number of doctors and paramedical
professionals are salaried employees of the various
tiers of government. Many salaried specialist
doctors in public hospitals are able to treat some