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The VicHealth Awards are the state’s highest accolade for health promotion, recognising the efforts of local grassroots projects to state-wide campaigns and everything in between.

VicHealth CEO Jerril Rechter said the nominations highlighted the impressive achievements of Victoria’s health promotion sector.

“Our hardworking health sector is truly making a huge difference in the community and this year’s nominations really show why Victoria is the home of health promotion,” Ms Rechter said.

“Congratulations to all of the 2018 finalists who are working in innovative ways to help Victorians embrace a healthier lifestyle.”

Ms Rechter said the nominations received this year were some of the most diverse she’s seen.

“We saw an incredible mix in this year’s nominations. From councils taking novel approaches to promote gender quality, to sports clubs working with culturally diverse communities,” she said.

“It was also great to see so many partnerships included in this year’s nominations. Health promotion is strongest when we work together, and this year’s nominations certainly highlighted this.”

This year, all the finalists in the VicHealth Awards are being showcased in an online Finalist Gallery.

“The Finalist Gallery is a great way to find out more about all the finalists. The finalists represent some of the best health promotion work happening in Victoria right now, and it’s a privilege to shine the spotlight on their achievements and share their great work,” she said.

The 2018 VicHealth Awards finalists are:

Promoting healthy eating

• Aligning Recreation Facilities to Healthy Choices - Monash Health
• Communities lead change to decrease childhood obesity - Southern Grampians Glenelg Primary Care Partnership
• Portland Secondary College SRC - Portland Secondary College
• Sport and Recreation Healthy Eating in the West - Wyndham City Council
• Victorian Pleasurable Food Education Package - Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation

Promoting health through physical activity and sport

• Creating a Place for Women in Sport - Yarra Ranges Council
• LEAP Seniors Golf Program - City of Whittlesea
• Robert Rose Foundation Victorian Wheelchair Football League (VWFL) - AFL Victoria and Disability Sport & Recreation
• Rock Up Netball - Netball Victoria
• SWAP @ Monash University - Monash University
• Wheel Women – Wheel Women

Preventing tobacco use

• Best Bites - Peninsula Health
• Deadly Dan at the League - Victorian Aboriginal Health Service
• Tackling Tobacco in Mental Health Services Project - Quit Victoria

Preventing harm from alcohol

• Adapting program delivery to meet young people’s changing needs - Ballarat Community Health
• Just Think – Geelong Football Club
• The Driving Change Project - A Partnership Study Using Shared Emergency Department Data to Reduce Alcohol-related Harm - Deakin University

Improving mental wellbeing

• Arts Wellbeing Collective - Arts Centre Melbourne
• #HisTribe Program - Victorian Aboriginal Health Service
• Live4Life Communities - Youth Live4Life Inc.
• Sons of the West Men's Health Program: Improving Mental Fitness - Western Bulldogs Community Foundation
• The Cook, The Chef and Us - Hepburn Health Service
• We Stand Together Action Group - Yarra City Council

Improving health through arts

• AllPlay Dance – Deakin University, Deakin Child Study Centre
• Big Dance – Ausdance Victoria
• Music for Wellness – St John of God Frankston Rehabilitation Hospital
• [SUB]URBAN STUDIO – City of Greater Dandenong
• The Coming Back Out Ball – All The Queens Men

Improving health equity

• Accessible Sport for All – Valley Sport
• Bi Cultural Interns Project – cohealth
• Healthy Koori Kids – Monash Health
• Increasing Breast Screening Participation in Arabic and Italian Women – BreastScreen Victoria
• Launch Housing’s Education Pathways Program – Launch Housing

Promoting gender equality

• Communities of Respect and Equality (CoRE) – promoting gender equality to prevent violence against women and their children in the Grampians Region - Women’s Health Grampians
• Gender Equality Action Plan - North Melbourne - North Melbourne Football Club
• Preventing intimate partner violence in Wodonga: A collective impact and systems approach - City of Wodonga
• The Line – Our Watch
• The Rural Challenge Gender Equality Leadership Program - Macedon Ranges Shire Council

Research into action

• BeUpstanding - The University of Queensland
• Healthy 4U Project - Bendigo Health
• Inside our Food Companies: driving accountability for nutrition policy change - Global Obesity Centre, Deakin University
• Sport and Recreation Spatial - Federation University and Victoria University
• The business case for healthy food retail - Deakin University

Communications in health promotion

• Be Brave, Speak Up – The Huddle
• Do the test – save your life! – Cancer Council Victoria
• seeUV: using augmented reality to create an engaging tool for today’s SunSmart generation – Cancer Council Victoria
• Unpacking the Salt in Victoria – Heart Foundation

Outstanding reporting of women’s sport

• Angela Pippos
• Cheryl Downes
• Kate O’Halloran
• Sam Lane

Other key information:

• The 2018 VicHealth Award Ceremony will be held on the evening on Wednesday 5 December 2018
• For more information about the 2018 VicHealth Awards and to access the VicHealth Awards Finalist Gallery visit http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/awards or email [email protected]

 

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Media Contact:

Rachel Murphy, VicHealth Senior Media Advisor on 03 9667 1319, 0435 761 732 or  [email protected]