HMS, HIC EQ-Bank 027

How is morbidity data used to assess the health status of Australians? In your answer, outline TWO limitations of using this data. (5 marks)

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*Cause-and-effect language that directly addresses the “How” keyword is bolded in the answer below.

Morbidity data collection begins when healthcare services record illness frequency, duration and severity.
This then flows to health authorities who analyse disease patterns which leads to identification of priority health issues.
As a result, resources target areas with the highest burden.
For example, when hospital data shows high cardiovascular rates in Western Sydney, this causes targeted prevention programs there.
This demonstrates how data directly shapes interventions.

Limitations:

Limited healthcare access creates gaps. This happens when remote or disadvantaged populations avoid medical care. Which leads to unrecorded illnesses. Consequently, data underestimates true burden because it only captures those accessing services.
Missing contextual information affects programs. When data focuses only on disease counts, it fails to capture social determinants like poverty. This causes surface-level interventions. As a result, programs miss root causes because data collection excludes social context.

Show Worked Solution

*Cause-and-effect language that directly addresses the “How” keyword is bolded in the answer below.

Morbidity data collection begins when healthcare services record illness frequency, duration and severity.
This then flows to health authorities who analyse disease patterns which leads to identification of priority health issues.
As a result, resources target areas with the highest burden.
For example, when hospital data shows high cardiovascular rates in Western Sydney, this causes targeted prevention programs there.
This demonstrates how data directly shapes interventions.

Limitations:

Limited healthcare access creates gaps. This happens when remote or disadvantaged populations avoid medical care. Which leads to unrecorded illnesses. Consequently, data underestimates true burden because it only captures those accessing services.
Missing contextual information affects programs. When data focuses only on disease counts, it fails to capture social determinants like poverty. This causes surface-level interventions. As a result, programs miss root causes because data collection excludes social context.