Health Determinants: Exploring the Impact of Employment and Income on the Whittlesea Council Community
Question
How can policies promoting equal access to education and job opportunities contribute to improving health outcomes and reducing health disparities related to income in the Whittlesea Council community?
Answer
Introduction
The location of the City of Whittlesea is on the north side of Melbourne. Its distance is 20 km from the Central Business District (CBD). This is one of the largest municipalities in the Melbourne metropolitan city of Victoria state (Kaur, 2020). It covers an area of 489 square kilometers. The maximum part (70%) of this city is a rural area and the rest 30 % is an urban area (Myeza, 2020). This municipality shows a fast growth rate in Australia. The fourth local government with the largest growth rate in Victoria is the City of Whittlesea. The overall health as well as well-being of a person is influenced by some factors which are called health determinants. A vast range of society, environment, and economic as well as lifestyle-related factors along with education, income, conditions of living, and accession to healthcare are included in health determinants. This essay aims to show how two health determinants employment and income have impacts on the health of the community of the Whittlesea Council, Victoria, Australia.
Discussion
Examination of Health Determinant 1
According to the employment data in 2018, over 69,000 jobs were listed in the City of Whittlesea. In the previous year, 2017 around 13,645 local businesses were identified. Approximately 88,500 residents of this municipality have employment. 65% of the employed residents work in the outside area of this municipality (Bennett, 2021). Out of them, many people work in the areas of Hume, inner Melbourne as well as Darebin. 62 % of the employees work full-time. 36% of the employees work part-time. The employers in this municipality come from three sectors of industry at the highest level. They are from health care along with social assistance 13 % of employers come, 12 % employers come from Retail trade and 10 % employers come from the sector of construction (Spataru et al., 2020).
The health of the community of the Whittlesea Council in Victoria is shaped by the significant role played by employment. Along with financial stability the mental as well as physical well-being of individuals are also impacted positively by a well-paid stable job. Due to stable economic conditions, they can access any healthcare treatment easily (Ramadan, 2022). The overall quality of life of residents of this municipality area can be enhanced by providing better employment opportunities. The cohesion of the community is strengthened by the reduction of disparities in the economy. Thereby social inclusion is promoted.
A range of protective as well as risk factors is faced by The Whittlesea Council community in Victoria. A strong sense of community which is strong, availability of quality healthcare services, opportunities for education along prospects of employment are the factors that are protective within this community. However, disparities in the economy, lower access to services related to mental health, and cultural diversity-related challenges are risk factors experienced by this community (Hobbs, 2020). Various resources and support services are offered by Whittlesea Council so that these risk factors can be addressed. Centers for community, arrangements of programs for mental health, and initiatives that promote the diversity of culture along with social cohesion are included in this.
The size of the labor force in this city was observed to be 113,804 in 2021. Out of this 35,884 employees did part-time jobs and 64,046 employees did the full-time job (Brown et al., 2020). The status of employment is analyzed as a percentage of the force of labor in the City of Whittlesea for the year 2021. When the status of employment is compared with the greater Melbourne a lower rate of employment was observed. In the above graph, the change in the status of employment is observed based on the change in the number of people in the labor force.
One relevant health policy for this health determinant, employment is The Localities Embracing and Accepting Diversity (LEAD) program. This program aims to improve the quality of the mental health of Victorians who are Aboriginal (Brain et al., 2019). The discrimination between races along with participation in the economy is addressed by this. The Aboriginal Employment Pathways Strategy (AEPS) is adopted as a part of LEAD by the council of Whittlesea to increase the employment of Aboriginals who live here (Gilbert et al., 2021).
Examination of Health Determinant 2
The annual survey of the household of the council helps to measure the income. The weekly gross income from all relevant sources is asked from the individuals who are 15 years old or above. The pensions as well as allowance are also included in the list of sources. The maiden income of a person every week was observed to be $528 in 2016. This amount greatly fluctuated from a low amount which was $495 in 2014 to an amount of $581 which was high in 2015 (Ooi & Gill, 2019). It is significant to note that the distribution of income is not the same across the municipality.
The health of the Whittlesea Council community in Victoria has been profoundly impacted by income. Access to quality healthcare becomes better along with the maintenance of nutrients, as well as housing. The risk of health disparities is reduced by this. The level of stress can also be lowered by an adequate amount of income. The well-being of the mind is improved by this. Recreational activities as well as performed in the time of leisure are increased by the opportunities provided by a good job. Conversely, financial stresses can be led by low income. Inadequate income limits the access of the resources which are essential like quality health care.
A significant health determinant is income in the community of Whittlesea Council. Availability of employment opportunities is stable, housing at affordable rates along with the literacy program in finance are some protective factors by which residents are empowered to manage their finances effectively (Ginis et al., 2023). However, there are some risk factors also present. Disparities in income, unemployment, and insecurity of finance are included as risk factors. Resources like training programs for jobs, initiatives for housing assistance along support services for income such as financial counseling can be used to cope with these challenges.
In 2021, 19.1 % of the total households in the city of Whittlesea had low income in comparison to 19.05 in greater Melbourne. A similar ratio of households with low income was observed in the city of Whittlesea though the percentage varied based on the city. In the city of Donnybrook a low range of ratio 7.5% is observed in Donnybrook to a high range of ratio 31.3% was observed in Thomastown. The three areas that show the highest percentage rate were Thomastown at 31.3%, Lalor at 27.9%, and Bundoora at 23.4% (Ginis et al., 2023). The cities of Whittlesea are plotted against the percentage of households.
One relevant health policy for this health determinant, income is putting the Health and Wealth Back into Whittlesea (2015-2017). It is a project which is based on community this aims to save individuals from harm associated with gambling. The groups who are exposed to gambling because of the nature of the work they do are focused on this project. The poor economic conditions of the shift workers and unemployed or underemployed persons have a higher chance to engage in this game. Whittlesea Community Connections (WCC ) is working with an agency of community health as well as a job seeker named YMCA Whittlesea, Melbourne market, City of Whittlesea to increase the economic conditions of community members (Myeza 2020).
Strategies and Recommendations
Focusing on the two determinants of income as well as employment, the improvement of the outcomes of health in the community of the Whittlesea Council can be done by the implementation of policies that promote equal access to both education along job opportunities (Kaur, 2020). This can be beneficial for health disparities related to income. In terms of employment which is an important health determinant, a supportive ecosystem can be created for the benefit of job seekers along with entrepreneurs. The establishment of career counseling and placement centers for jobs, development of funds, and programs for supporting small businesses can be included in the process of Employment generation.
Services of health care that are sensitive to culture and easily accessible to diverse populations should be provided by healthcare providers. Help from the local organizations can be taken so that determinants of health which are social can be addressed by the provision of screening for unemployment along with financial stress during the visit to health care. Several workshops can be organized by the organizations of the community for upskilling individuals for jobs, helping in financial planning, and supporting the mental health of individuals due to unemployment.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that unique challenges along with opportunities are faced by the city of Whittlesea which is located in Victoria, Australia. This is due to the two health determinants of income as well as employment. How the health of the community of the Whittlesea Council in Victoria is shaped by the significant role of employment is observed. Financial stability and the mental as well as physical well-being of individuals are also impacted positively by a well-paid stable job. The health of the Whittlesea Council community in Victoria has been profoundly impacted by income.
Access to quality healthcare becomes better along with the maintenance of nutrients, as well as housing. The risk of health disparities is reduced by enhancement in income. Some recommendations are also provided in this essay for the local government, healthcare providers, or community organizations. The overall quality of life of residents of this municipality area can be enhanced by providing better employment opportunities. The cohesion of the community is strengthened by the reduction of disparities in the economy.
