Public health needs to be a part of the electoral platform

Short-term electoral strategy a barrier to much-needed, long-term structural public health reform.

The AMA’s journal—the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA)—takes a timely look at public health and public health policy as the May 21 Federal Election draws near.

In this week’s MJA Podcast the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) CEO Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin laments the lack of big picture public health discussion and the ‘imperative… to get through the next election, to sell policy that is popular now.”

An article in Insight+ pays further attention to public health and the AMA’s efforts to lobby the major parties to commit to public hospital funding reform through the Clear the Hospital Logjam campaign.

Professor Slevin agreed that funding is a huge part of the problem in terms of expanding capacity in the public health system.

“Most people are shocked to learn that currently, less than 2% of health expenditure goes into public and preventive health. So, if you think of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure, we’re not even getting micrograms. That’s the fundamental problem,” Professor Slevin said.