Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney, New South Wales.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2010 Aug;34(4):386-93. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2010.00571.x.
To examine current health policy in Australia and New Zealand and assess the extent to which the policies equip these countries to meet the challenges associated with increasing rates of multi-morbid chronic illnesses.
We examined reports from agencies holding data relating to chronic illness in both countries, looking at prevalence trends and the frequency of multiple morbidities being recorded. We undertook content analysis of health policy documents from Australian and New Zealand government agencies.
The majority of people with chronic illness have multiple morbidities. Multi-morbid chronic illnesses significantly effect the health of people in both Australia and New Zealand and place substantial demands on the health systems of those countries. These consequences are both predicted to increase dramatically in the near future. Despite this, neither country explicitly acknowledges multi-morbidity as a major factor in their policies addressing chronic illness.
In addition to considering policy responses to chronic illness, policy makers should explicitly consider policies shaped to address the needs of people with multi-morbid chronic illness.
考察澳大利亚和新西兰的现行卫生政策，并评估这些政策在多大程度上使这些国家能够应对与多种慢性疾病发病率上升相关的挑战。
我们查阅了与两国慢性疾病相关数据的机构报告，观察了患病率趋势和记录多种合并症的频率。我们对澳大利亚和新西兰政府机构的卫生政策文件进行了内容分析。
大多数患有慢性疾病的人都有多发性疾病。多种慢性疾病严重影响澳大利亚和新西兰人民的健康，并对这些国家的卫生系统提出了巨大的需求。预计这些后果在不久的将来都会急剧增加。尽管如此，两国都没有明确承认多种合并症是其解决慢性疾病政策的主要因素之一。
除了考虑慢性疾病的政策应对措施外，政策制定者还应明确考虑制定政策以满足患有多种慢性疾病的人的需求。
