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Comprehensive primary health care and social determinants as top priorities

Fran E Baum
Med J Aust 2013; 199 (4): . || doi: 10.5694/mja13.10873
Published online: 19 August 2013

Make everyone more equal and good health will follow

Compared with other countries, Australia does very well in terms of health. We rank second in terms of life expectancy, reflecting our level of education, housing and living standards. We have a health system many envy — based on universal public health insurance. And yet, there is room for improvement.


  • Southgate Institute for Health, Society, and Equity, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA.


Correspondence: fran.baum@flinders.edu.au

Acknowledgements: 

I am funded by an Australian Research Council Federation Fellowship.

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

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  • 2. Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2008.
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