An Introduction to Benalla and Its Health, Victoria.
June 2019 - July 2019
I wanted to visit a small rural town that was outside of Queensland so I could see what Australia had to offer. I ended up in a small quaint city called Benalla in Victoria. Overall, I really enjoyed Benalla and decided to look up at its health and see how a rural town was doing compared to a major city.
Introduction
Before arriving in Benalla for my placement I decided to do some research about the city and look at its health. I managed to find its demographic, health and what Benalla relies on as its economy. I then used these facts and compared to what I experienced as an individual whilst visiting.
All references are at the end.
Finding out what Benalla is as a town is important, hence using the Modified Monash Model (MMM) and the Australian Statistical Geography Standard-Remoteness Area (ASGS-RA) was really useful. I could relate the access of urgent care and emergency medicine such as if a helicopter needed to be dispatched or where the critically ill patient went (Melbourne or Wangaratta).
The geography of Benalla Rural City is divided by the Hume Freeway with hills, valleys, grazing land and forests to the south. The communities include those of Acherton, Baddaginnie, Boho South, Glenrowan West, Lima, Lima South, Lurg, Molyullah, Moorngag, Samaria, Swanpool, Tatong, Upper Lurg, Upper Ryan’s Creek, Warrenbayne and Winton.
The north side of the freeway is characterised by plains and rolling hills used as cropping and grazing land. The communities include those of Boweya, Boxwood, Broken Creek, Bungeet, Chesney Vale, Devenish, Goomalibee, Goorambat, Stewarton, Taminick, Tarnookand and Thoona.
The percentage of the population aged 25–44 is well below average while people aged 45+ are over-represented.
I could describe Benalla as a retirement city with a high amount of an ageing population. The red on the left-hand side is exactly what the grey represents on the right-hand side (which is the Australian population) and indicates that people after high school leaves for TAFE or University. Young people from 18 years of age to the older adults of age 50 do not stay in Benalla and that makes the town ‘deserted of young people’. A presence I definitely felt whilst walking in the street. I find that it is a challenge to retain young health care professionals as I can understand that young families would not usually settle in Benalla but rather in a nearby town such as Wangaratta which I believe is twice as big as Benalla.
It was found that:
The percentage of people with food insecurity is among the lowest in the state.
The rate of family violence incidents per 1,000 population is well above average.
A higher than average percentage of people consider Benalla to be an active community.
The percentage of households with rental stress is among the highest in the state, however, the percentage of rental housing that is affordable is above the state measure.
The percentage of people 19 years old having completed year 12 is among the lowest in the state.
The percentages of year 9 students attaining national minimum standards in literacy and numeracy are both higher than average.
Published 15th August 2019. Last reviewed 1st December 2021.
Reference
Australian Bureau Statistics. 2011 Census Community Profiles - Benalla. Australian Bureau Statistics website. https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/communityprofile/SSC20115?opendocument&navpos=220%20LGA%20Profiles%202015. Published 2011. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Australian Bureau Statistics. 2016 Census QuickStats. Australian Bureau Statistics website. https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/2?opendocument. Updated December 13th, 2018. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Australian Bureau Statistics. Benalla (RC) (LGA) (21010). Australian Bureau Statistics website. https://itt.abs.gov.au/itt/r.jsp?RegionSummary®ion=21010&dataset=ABS_REGIONAL_LGA2017&geoconcept=LGA_2017&maplayerid=LGA2017&measure=MEASURE&datasetASGS=ABS_REGIONAL_ASGS2016&datasetLGA=ABS_REGIONAL_LGA2017®ionLGA=LGA_2017®ionASGS=ASGS_2016. Updated November 9th, 2018. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Australian Bureau Statistics. Life expectancy gender gap narrows. Australian Bureau Statistics website. https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/latestProducts/3302.0.55.001Media%20Release12015-2017. Updated October 30, 2018. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Australian Early Development Census. Benalla community. Australian Early Development Census website. https://www.aedc.gov.au/data/data-explorer?id=135261. Published 2018. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Australian Government Department of Health. Modified Monash Model (2015). DoctorConnect. http://www.doctorconnect.gov.au/internet/otd/publishing.nsf/Content/locator. Published 2015. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Australian Government Department of Health. ASGS remoteness areas (2016). DoctorConnect. http://www.doctorconnect.gov.au/internet/otd/publishing.nsf/Content/locator. Published 2016. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Benalla Health. Health Services. Benalla Health website. http://www.benallahealth.org.au/. Accessed April 26th, 2019.
Benalla Rural City. Council Plan 2017-2021 (2018 Review). http://www.benalla.vic.gov.au/Your-Council/Strategies-Plans-Policies/Council-Plan-2017-2021-2018-Review. Published 2018. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Enjoy Benalla. Benalla Aviation Museum. Enjoy Benalla website. https://www.enjoybenalla.com.au/listing/benalla-aviation-museum-benalla/. Accessed April 16th, 2019.
Enjoy Benalla. History and Heritage. Enjoy Benalla website. https://www.enjoybenalla.com.au/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/. Accessed April 16th, 2019.
Enjoy Benalla. Visit Benalla Tours. Enjoy Benalla website. https://www.enjoybenalla.com.au/listing/visit-benalla-tours-benalla/. Accessed April 16th, 2019.
ID Community. Benalla Rural City: SEIFA by Local Government Area. ID Community website. https://profile.id.com.au/benalla/seifa-disadvantage. Published 2016. Accessed April 23rd, 2019.
PHIDU Torrens University Australia. Social Health Atlas, Primary Health Networks (incl. Local Government Areas). PHIDU Torrens University Australia website. http://phidu.torrens.edu.au/current/maps/sha-aust/phn_lga_single_map/atlas.html. Published 2019. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Victoria State Government. Challenges to healthy eating – food insecurity in Victoria: Findings from the Victorian Population Health Survey 2014. Victoria State Government website. https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/~/media/Health/Files/Collections/Research%20and%20reports/F/food-insecurity-report. Published 2014. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Victoria State Government. Health status of Victorians. Victoria State Government website. https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/population-health-systems/health-status-of-victorians. Published 2015. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Victoria State Government. Hume Region 2015. Victoria State Government website. https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/about/publications/data/hume-region-2015. Published 2015. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Victoria State Government. The Health and Wellbeing of Aboriginal Victorians. Victoria State Government website. https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/population-health-systems/health-status-of-victorians/survey-data-and-reports/health-and-wellbeing-of-aboriginal-victorians-2008. Published 2015. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
Victoria State Government. The Victorian happiness report. Victoria State Government website. https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/about/publications/ResearchAndReports/victorian-happiness-report. Published 2015. Accessed April 17th, 2019.
