In response to the rising incidence of preventable chronic diseases globally, there are a series of health promotion and public health related recommendations to be actioned across different sectors. True to a multi sector public health approach, these recommendations include action across the social determinants of health, including transport, housing, education, employment and health. Such recommendations include a variety of joined up approaches to comprehensively reduce risk factors for chronic disease including increasing physical activity and healthy eating, eliminating tobacco smoking, promoting positive mental health and sun protection. One of the key sectors noted in recommendations is local government. As the closest form of government to the people, local government is often recognised as key to prevention and public health approaches. However, actioning these recommendations can be a challenge for local government, especially those in rural and regional areas. Limited resources and large geographic areas can be challenging. Competing local priorities all need to be considered. However, supporting chronic disease prevention action takes many forms and many of these are consistent with the usual core business of local government. In addition, there are many existing tools and resources aimed to support local government’s role in building healthy communities. However, in the North Queensland context, what are the barriers faced by local governments? What are the enablers?
This project aimed to undertake:
- review of current recommendations for local government to be involved in chronic
disease prevention action - undertake background scoping of the current action within North Queensland local
governments - seek feedback on a toolkit for North Queensland local governments
- identify barriers and facilitators for North Queensland local governments to address chronic disease prevention action
- build the frameworks for partnerships to enable implementation.
Full Project Report
Toolkit: What can local
government do in chronic
disease prevention?
This toolkit provides a step by step guide, and a series of resources, to support chronic disease prevention action in local governments. It provides another step towards building healthy communities across Queensland.
Funding / Grants
- Northern Queensland Primary Health Network
