Health Promotion Awards
Winners of 2012 Health Promotion Awards announced
Eight extraordinary Victorian organisations have been formally recognised as the state’s champions of promoting good health and well being for Victorians. Winners of the 2012 Victorian Health Promotion Awards were announced at a ceremony in Melbourne on 5 December by His Excellency the Honourable Alex Chernov AC QC, Governor of Victoria.
This year, to acknowledge the growth in the state’s health promotion activities, applications were extended beyond VicHealth funded projects.
The last few years have been important for health promotion with attention focused on the prevention agenda by both the State and Commonwealth governments. This is in response to significant changes causing an increase in chronic disease. These include both demographic changes (growth and ageing of the population) and changes to lifestyles. The increase in chronic disease is having, and will continue to have, an impact on our health care system and prevention is seen by all levels of government as key.
Dr Nigel Gray AO recognised for leadership and contribution to health promotion
Eminent anti-cancer campaigner, Dr Nigel Gray, one of the founders of VicHealth, was also honoured with a special award recognising leadership in health promotion over several decades. The ‘VicHealth Award for Outstanding Contribution to Health Promotion’ was presented to Dr Gray for leading the effort for the benchmark 1987 legislation that banned tobacco ads and promotion, and designing an approach to tax tobacco sponsorship of athletic and cultural events. This innovative proposal was groundbreaking for its time and opened the door for a program of wide-ranging reform in health promotion.
The 2012 Victorian Health Promotion Awards winners
Professor David Hill Award for knowledge and understanding - The InFANT Feeding Activity and Nutrition Trial Program, Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University
The InFANT program aims to improve the health of first-time parents and their new born infants. It aims to reduce parent and child obesity risk through supporting development of healthy dietary behaviours, increased physical activity and reduced sedentary behaviours. This program is delivered within existing and sustainable social groups, such as the Maternal and Child Health nurse initiated first-time parent groups. Two-thirds of Victorian families join these local groups, which are sustained for 18 months. The six-session program is delivered quarterly by trained health workers.
Tackling health inequalities - Smokefree and Wellness Initiative, Neami
This Smoke-free and Wellness Initiative, in its third year, was established to support improved physical and emotional health outcomes of people with severe mental illness in response to high smoking rates. The project aims to create an environment conducive to supporting people with a severe mental illness who wish to reduce or quit smoking. In Victoria, Neami operates from 11 service delivery sites, offering services to 900 consumers and employs about 150 staff. In collaboration with Quit Victoria, an evaluation framework was developed including tools and resources to ensure the program is appropriately modified to meet the varying needs of participants.
Building health through arts - Tangle MOTION, Polyglot Theatre
Polyglot Theatre works collaboratively to empower children, develop their confidence in their own creativity and ignite their imaginations. Tackling the issues of positive engagement within family groups, child-parent relationships with play and health and alternatives to screen based entertainment, Tangle MOTION demonstrates instant physical play and ease of engagement with creative activity. In partnership with Berry Street Playgroups, Kinship Care and VicHealth, Tangle MOTION is being rolled out across three separate Victorian communities, aiming to reach 900 pre-school children and their families that experience significant levels of social exclusion.
Building health through sports - State Sporting Association Participation Program Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Aquatics Project, Year 1, Life Saving Victoria
Learning how to swim and behave safely around water opens the door to a variety of life-long sporting and recreational pursuits. One of Life Saving Victoria's key project aims is to provide water safety knowledge and aquatic life skills to Victoria's Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD)/new migrant community to increase both safety and healthy participation. Year 1 facilitated participation and skill development was available to more than 3,200 CALD/new migrant community members.
Building health through education - Smiles 4 Miles, Dental Health Services Victoria
Smiles 4 Miles works to improve children's oral health by encouraging good oral hygiene practices among children and their families. Reducing risk factors for poor oral health, particularly in children, can have far reaching additional health benefits long into adulthood. Dental Health Services Victoria identified the need to build capacity within early childhood services so that skills and organisational structures developed are sustainable. Many of the risk factors for oral diseases, including diet and hygiene, are also risk factors for other chronic diseases.
Building health through community and local governments - Preventing Violence Together: The Western Region Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women, Women’s Health West
This is the first collaboratively-developed, regional, primary prevention action plan of its type to prevent violence against women. Its vision is communities, cultures and organisations in the western region are non-violent, non-discriminatory, gender equitable and promote respectful relationships. The plan proposes a series of 39 mutually reinforcing actions to be implemented within and between signatory organisations in the western region. These concrete actions sit within seven objectives across the areas of partnerships and structures; community leadership; capacity and tools; communications, advocacy and champions; skills, attitudes and social norms; research and evaluation; and embedding.
Building health through workplaces - Incolink
The Incolink program delivers health checks on construction sites across Victoria. It aims to raise awareness of the risk factors of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease among male 'blue collar' workers. The confidential health check includes a lifestyle survey, measurement of blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and waist circumference. Results are provided immediately with health professional advice. Workers are encouraged to seek further assistance if identified at increased risk. More than 75 per cent of workers on participating building sites have taken part and over 17,000 health checks have been performed.
Communications in health promotion - Meet Mick Campaign, Quit Victoria 2011-2012, Quit Victoria
In July 2011, Victoria met Michael "Mick" Roberts, a 49-year-old man from Lara, who had suffered advanced emphysema for four years caused by smoking. Mick told his story as a way of expressing the loss of quality of life and impact on his family, in an effort to help others. The aims of the campaign were to: encourage smokers to make a quit attempt, create awareness among smokers of the dual effects of smoking both physically and emotionally, and encourage smokers currently thinking about quitting to plan a quit attempt.
More information
View previous years’ awards
Contact VicHealth on (03) 9667 1323 or email awards@vichealth.vic.gov.au