Western Australians enjoy a standard of living and a standard of health amongst the highest in the world, and consistent with that of a modern developed country. Public health is concerned with this big picture. About how and where we live, work and play – and how we organise society to maximise health and wellbeing, and share benefits more equally.
This report provides solid information to allow us to reflect on the past, learn its lessons and consider how the future could be better. Trends in life expectancy show a continuing improvement over time (with dramatic declines in deaths in infancy and from infectious diseases and heart disease for example), but further improvements will be harder to achieve (the law of diminishing returns) and there are new threats, such as rising levels of obesity, that might lead to reversal of some gains in future generations.
Report