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  • "She'll be right, mate!": do Australians take their health for granted?

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    Author(s)
    Harris, Paul
    Salehi, Asiyeh
    Kendall, Elizabeth
    Whitty, Jennifer
    Wilson, Andrew
    Scuffham, Paul
    Griffith University Author(s)
    Harris, Paul
    Kendall, Elizabeth
    Scuffham, Paul A.
    Whitty, Jennifer A.
    Year published
    2020
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    Abstract
    INTRODUCTION: Health consciousness highlights the readiness of individuals to undertake health actions and take responsibility for their health and the health of others. AIM: To examine the health consciousness of Australians and its association with health status, health-care utilisation and sociodemographic factors. METHODS: This quantitative cross-sectional study was a part of a larger project aiming to engage the general public in health-care decision-making. Adults from Queensland and South Australia (n = 1529) were recruited to participate by a panel company. The questionnaire included the Health Consciousness Scale ...
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    INTRODUCTION: Health consciousness highlights the readiness of individuals to undertake health actions and take responsibility for their health and the health of others. AIM: To examine the health consciousness of Australians and its association with health status, health-care utilisation and sociodemographic factors. METHODS: This quantitative cross-sectional study was a part of a larger project aiming to engage the general public in health-care decision-making. Adults from Queensland and South Australia (n = 1529) were recruited to participate by a panel company. The questionnaire included the Health Consciousness Scale (HCS), health status, health-care utilisation, sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables. RESULTS: The health consciousness of Australians was relatively low (mean score = 21), compared to other international administrations of the HCS, and further investigations revealed that more health-conscious people tended to live in South Australia, be female and single, experience poorer physical and mental health and were more frequent users of health-care services. DISCUSSION: The general approach to health in this sample of the Australian public may reflect ‘here and now’ concerns. It appears that an attitude of ‘she’ll be right, mate’ prevails until a change in an individual’s health status or their exposure to the health system demands otherwise. These findings need to be investigated further to see if they are confirmed by others and to clarify the implications for primary health programmes in Australia in redressing the public’s apparent apathy.
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    Journal Title
    Journal of Primary Health Care
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1071/HC20025
    Copyright Statement
    © Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners 2020. This is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
    Note
    This publication has been entered in Griffith Research Online as an advanced online version.
    Subject
    Sociology
    Public Health and Health Services
    Nursing
    Science & Technology
    Life Sciences & Biomedicine
    Primary Health Care
    General & Internal Medicine
    Health consciousness
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/397345
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    • Journal articles

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