Health checks at AVA Conference

^{Image: Health screening at AVA Conference 2024.}

Each year at AVA Conference, free health screening is made available to attendees.

Why? Well, two reasons stand out;

1. Because people that are physically and mentally healthy perform well. They are satisfied in their work/lives – motivated and focused, managing their stress and making a positive contribution (Chang 2024¹). We all want that!

And,

2. Because the health checks support AVA’s strategic priority to better support all veterinarians and create a sustainable profession. We all want a sustainable profession!

SISU Health conducted 84 health checks at this year’s conference.

The checks focus on health measures attributable to the greatest burden of disease risk and loss of employee productivity, namely blood pressure (BP), body fat percentage, AUSDRISK (risk of type 2 diabetes), stress, readiness to make behavioural change, and smoking status.

Demographic data was also collected - gender, age and socioeconomic status (SES).

The results are summarised in the infographic below. Happily, only 1.4% of participants reported high stress levels.

Bench-marking against 2016 census data shows that our cohort of people had;

• Less people with high BP (13.9% compared to 22.8%) than the adult population
• Less overweight people (54.9% vs 67%)
• Less people that smoke (4.9% vs 15.1%)

Our numbers are lower than the average adult population but that does not make them good. Factors such as the relatively high SES of the AVA health check participants and the higher number of women, will influence this.

23 people recorded one or more of the 3 key risk factors (high BP, obesity and/or smoking) and 14 health checks triggered a recommendation to consult a general practitioner.

Have you had a health check lately? Maybe now is the time to book in to have a check or to follow up on parameters flagged in previous screens. Life is more enjoyable when we are well.

^{Image: Summary of results from health screening at AVA Conference 2024.}

1. Chang, Rong. (2024). The Impact of Employees’ Health and Well-being on Job Performance. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences. 29. 372-378. 10.54097/9ft7db35.