This section of the Chief Health Officer report looks at health inequalities that exist in Victoria, and some of the reasons behind these inequalities.
It draws on:
- Inequalities in the social determinants of health and what it means for the health of Victorians, published by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2017
- Korin Korin Balit-Djak: the Aboriginal health, wellbeing and safety strategic plan 2017–27, published by the department in 2017
- the Victorian Population Health Survey 2016, published by the department in 2018
- Victorian Government package for people seeking asylum, published by the department in 2017
- The health and wellbeing of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, asexual population in Victoria – a short summary, published by the Victorian Agency for Health Information (unpublished).
This section covers the social issues that have a profound impact on health. It also discusses how disadvantage can sometimes become entrenched in successive generations of families – referred to as intergenerational disadvantage.
Finally, the section includes discussion of four groups for whom health inequalities can be marked:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians
- rural and regional Victorians
- lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex, queer and asexual (LGBTIQA+) Victorians
- people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds.
Updated