QI Calendar

We have around 621,500 people in our region. Nearly 40% of them (app. 243,600 people) have a BMI over 30, which is considered obese.

Following a holiday season full of 'good cheer' and the start of New Year's resolutions aimed at counteracting the impact of that good cheer, people can be more motivated to take steps to improve their health and their weight in January.

January QI Activity

Heart disease is still Australia’s leading cause of death and affects families and communities around the country.

In our region, 4.6% of patients have reported they had heart disease (including heart attack or angina). This is higher than both the Queensland (4.2%) and national (3.9%) averages.

February QI Activity

The theme for International Women's Day in 2025 is 'Accelerate Action.' Collectively, we can accelerate action for gender equality.

In our region, 52.1% of women aged 50-74 participated in breast screening, which is lower than the national (64.7%) average.

March QI Activity

World Immunization Week, celebrated in the last week of April, aims to highlight the collective action needed and to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease.

In our region, 44% of patients were fully immunized against influenza, and 36% against COVID-19.

April QI Activity

The number of patients needing treatment for kidney failure has doubled in the last 20 years. 1 in 10 Australians and 1 in 5 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged 18 and over are living with signs of chronic kidney disease. If chronic kidney disease is detected early and managed appropriately, deterioration in kidney function can be reduced by as much as 50%.

In our region, 8,190 people have kidney disease. 23.54% of our region has high blood pressure which is higher than the state (23.07%) average.

May QI Activity

June marks Men’s Health Month — an important opportunity to focus on the health and wellbeing of men and boys in our communities. Men are at greater risk of dying prematurely from preventable causes, yet health check uptake among men remains low. 50 men die every day in Australia from preventable causes and Australian men die, on average, 5.4 years younger than women. Timely health checks can significantly reduce the risk of early death.

June QI Activity

This month is an opportunity to raise awareness of diabetes, promote early detection, and support best-practice care for those living with the condition. Diabetes continues to be one of the most prevalent and costly chronic diseases in Australia.

In our region, 41,133 patients are diagnosed with diabetes. The rate of obesity (37.44%) is higher than the state average (32.7%), and 72.8% of the region's population undertake insufficient physical activity, which is significantly higher than the state average (67.88%).

July QI Activity

August’s focus is on bone health and osteoporosis prevention, with an emphasis on early identification of patients at increased risk. Osteoporosis affects over 1 million Australians and often remains undetected until a fracture occurs.

Fractures related to osteoporosis are common, serious, and preventable. Up to 1 in 2 women and 1 in 3 men over 60 will experience a minimal trauma fracture in their lifetime. Despite this, many at-risk individuals are not receiving appropriate screening or management.

In our region, more than 21,000 people are diagnosed with Osteoporosis.

August QI Activity

The peak time for asthma is is mainly Spring but can extend to December during the grass pollen season.

This time presents an opportunity for general practices in our region to focus on patients impacted by asthma to promote the importance of asthma management such as ensuring correct medication use and device technique and having an up to date asthma action plan.

In our region, 56,560 people are impacted by asthma and it accounts for 10.4% of presentations.

September QI Activity

National Mental Health Month is an important time where the Australian community comes together to raise awareness and promote better mental health for all.

National Mental Health Month provides an opportunity for general practices in our region to focus on patients impacted by mental health and to promote the importance of mental health treatment plans.

In our region, 18% of GP presentations (98,331) each year are related to mental health and from this cohort, 12% will not have a mental health treatment plan in place.

October QI Activity

With changes to our national programs, all that is required is one (1) dose of HPV vaccine for young people PLUS cervical screening every five (5) years for women and people with a cervix from age 25–74 years.

The self-collection cervical screening project within our region has increased from from 1,533 (20%) in July 2022 to 2,984 (34%) in March 2024, which means we are now above the QLD PHN average of 29% self-collection.

In our region, self-collection cervical screening within our region has increased from 1,533 or 20% (July 2022) to March 2024 2,984 or 34% (March 2024) compared to the Qld average of 29%. While this is good progress, we'd love to see these rates increase even more.

November QI Activity

We have around 621,500 people in our region, and 6.5% of our population identifies as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. This is higher than the state average of 5.2% and the nearly double national average of 3.8%.

• There is an 11.8-year gap in health-adjusted life expectancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents in the Darling Downs region, and an 8.3-year gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents in the West Moreton region, compared with other residents (Queensland Health 2017).
• Across the Darling Downs and West Moreton region, more than 35% have at least one chronic condition.
• In the Darling Downs region, cardiovascular disease (2.9 years), mental health (1.2 years), cancer (2.1 years) and diabetes (1.5 years) are the most significant contributors to the gap.
• In the West Moreton region, cardiovascular disease (2.4 years), diabetes (1.5 years) and mental health (1.4 years) are the most significant contributors to the gap.

December QI Activity