Health promotion and prevention in 2009
Introduction
2009 is emerging as an important year for health promotion, with high-level attention focused on the prevention agenda, primarily through the work undertaken by the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission (NHHRC) and the National Preventative Health Taskforce (NPHT). It is pleasing that national health reform is seeking to embed health promotion and prevention as a priority for the future health of Australia.
The breadth and pace of discussion about health promotion and prevention at the national and state level in 2009 has been exciting, but it is also proving to be demanding for observers to keep abreast of all the developments in this changing environment. VicHealth has therefore provided the following summary overview of the key health promotion and prevention developments.
Victoria
In June 2009 the Victorian Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) provided a response to the Victorian Auditor General’s 2007 review of Victorian health promotion activities. PAEC identified the following areas for improvement: health promotion funding, capacity building, data, research, performance indicators, evaluation and social marketing.
The PAEC report is available at :
http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/paec/reports/PAEC-86_Findings_AG_07_2009.pdf
Commonwealth
Coalition of Australian Governments (COAG)
On 29 November 2008, COAG committed to a National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health as a part of a broader package of reform for the health and hospital system. This will result in $872.1 million invested in prevention activities over the next six years. A key commitment outlined in the agreement is the establishment of a national preventive health agency.
At the same meeting COAG committed to an Indigenous Health National Partnership in order to: reduce health inequities; close the life expectancy gap; and halve the under-five child mortality gap. The proposal includes targeted prevention activities to reduce the burden of chronic disease in addition to expanded primary health care. $1.6 billion was allocated over four years.
National Health and Hospital Reform Commission (NHHRC)
The NHHRC was established on 25 February 2008 by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health and Ageing and tasked with developing “a long-term health reform plan for a modern Australia”. The NHHRC’s final report A healthier future for all Australians - June 2009 was released on Monday 27 July 2009.
‘Embedding prevention and early intervention’ was identified as a priority under the reform goal of ‘redesigning our health system to respond to emerging challenges’.
Among the 123 recommendations in the NHHRC’s final report, there were a number that related to health promotion and prevention, including:
• Establishment of a new Australian Health Promotion and Prevention Agency;
• Healthy Australia Goals 2020 – everyone taking responsibility for health;
• Shifting the curve of government spending on health towards prevention;
• Building prevention and early intervention into our health system and other sectors, such as:
- A healthy start to life for all Australian children;
- Health promotion in schools;
- Encouraging good mental health in our young people; and
- Development of local community health information, including a ‘wellness footprint’ of communities.
The concept of a ‘wellness footprint’ is similar to work being undertaken through the Community Indictors Victoria (CIV) project funded by VicHealth and hosted by the McCaughey Centre. Community indicators were developed to provide local health information to support local-level planning and policy making. A range of community indicators have been developed to measure health, wellbeing and sustainability.
For further information refer to:
http://www.communityindicators.net.au/
National Preventative Health Taskforce (NPHT)
Shortly after the NHHRC was established, the Minister for Health and Ageing announced the establishment of the NPHT on 9 April 2008. The NPHT has developed a National Preventative Health Strategy to address obesity, tobacco and the excessive consumption of alcohol, which was delivered to the Government on 30 June 2009 and released to the public on 1 September 2009.
Work undertaken by the NPHT is available at:
http://www.preventativehealth.org.au/
The Henry Review: Australia's Future Tax System
The government announced a review of Australia’s tax system on 13 May 2008. The Treasury Secretary Dr Ken Henry (AC) is chairing the panel tasked with reviewing the tax system and providing recommendations to the government in relation to meeting future demographic, social, economic and environmental challenges.
VicHealth in collaboration with other health bodies provided a submission to the Review Panel titled Alcohol Taxation: a submission made by various bodies concerned with alcohol harm minimisation.
The submission recommends that a coherent and consistent principles-based alcohol taxation regime be established. Principles proposed include:
• Taxing products that contain alcohol;
• Creating a taxation system on alcohol products that is simple, efficient and equitable;
• Taxation revenue from alcohol should recognise the real costs arising from the harmful consumption of alcohol; and
• Alcohol content should be taxed progressively to encourage less harmful consumption.
The report is available at:
http://taxreview.treasury.gov.au/content/submissions/pre_14_november_2008/Alcohol_Education_Rehabilitation_Foundation171008.pdf
The National Preventative Health Taskforce has also identified taxation as a tool that could contribute to addressing obesity and tobacco issues, in addition to alcohol.
The final report from the Review Panel will be submitted to the government in December 2009. Further information is available at:
http://taxreview.treasury.gov.au/content/Content.aspx?doc=html/home.htm
National Indigenous Health Equality Council
In March 2008 the government announced the establishment of the National Indigenous Health Equality Council. The role of the Council is to advise the government on the development and monitoring of health-related goals and targets to reduce inequalities in life expectancy and child mortality among Indigenous people.
Further information is available at:
http://www.nihec.gov.au/internet/nihec/publishing.nsf/Content/home-1
The future for health promotion and prevention in Australia
A rare period of intense attention is currently being enjoyed by the health promotion and prevention community, which provides a unique opportunity to gain essential investment in prevention efforts.
Moving the agenda forward will require support from all Australians: individuals, families, communities, health professionals, educational providers, employers, industry and all levels of government.
COAG, the NHHRC and NPHT have all highlighted the need to invest in essential prevention infrastructure to ensure health promotion and prevention effectiveness. Key infrastructure investments include: social marketing, research, evaluation, surveillance and monitoring systems, evidence building and transfer mechanisms, workforce development and effective funding models for prevention.
One of the key infrastructure investments will be the national prevention agency. The NHHRC and the NPHT propose roles and responsibilities beyond those outlined by COAG in the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health. Recommendations highlight the need for the agency to be capable of working effectively across many sectors, coordinating activities at national, state and local levels, informing government policy through the provision of strategic advice, and providing progress reports to the Australian community.
National Charter for Health
Published: 22/02/09
This issues paper by VicHealth CEO Todd Harper and Professor Brian Oldenburg, Research Director, Australian Institute of Health Policy Studies, sets out the prospects, evidence and challenges for health promotion. It also details effective, alternative models to tap the potential of health promotion and proposes a framework in the form of a National Charter for Health, to guide, inform and evaluate efforts to improve the health of all Australians.
Download
National Charter for Health