The role of VicHealth in promoting health, including its mission, priorities and how it reflects the social model of health

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The role of VicHealth in promoting health,
including its mission, priorities and how it
reflects the social model of health
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The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation

• The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation
  (VicHealth) was established in 1987 by the
  Victorian government.
• VicHealth was formed to promote good health and
  prevent disease in Victoria and was originally
  funded through taxation on tobacco
• It works in partnership with organisations,
  communities and individuals to make health a
  central part of our daily lives. 

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About VicHealth

• It is the peak body for health promotion in
  Victoria
• Its role is to promote good health for all
  Victorians
• VicHealth acknowledges that health is influenced
  by many factors
• The principles guiding Vic healths strategic
  focus are consistent with the social model of
  health and the Ottawa Charter

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• Vic Health itself does not run health- promotion
  programs and projects in the community rather
  it funds and works in partnerships with
  organisations, communities and individuals to
  create opportunities for more people to be
  informed about health, to learn new skills and to
  have greater access to activities and healthy
  environments.

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The VicHealth priorities as identified in the
VicHealth Strategy and Business Plan 20092013
are

• reducing smoking
• improving nutrition
• reducing harm from alcohol
• increasing physical activity
• increasing social and economic participation
• reducing harm from UV exposure

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The VicHealth mission statement

• That is VicHealth envisages a community where
• health is a fundamental human right
• everyone shares in the responsibility for
  promoting health
• everyone benefits from improved health outcomes

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• Our mission is to build the capabilities of
  organisations, communities and individuals in
  ways that
• change social, economic, cultural and physical
  environments to improve health for all Victorians
• strengthen the understanding and the skills of
  individuals in ways that support their efforts to
  achieve and maintain health.

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VicHealth and the social model of health

• The approach of VicHealth reflects the social
  models of health, including the Ottawa Charter
  for Health Promotion, namely
• Build healthy public policy
• Create supportive environments
• Strengthen community action
• Develop personal skills
• Reorient health services

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Increasing participation in physical activity

• Focus on disadvantage populations, indigenous,
  disabilities and low income
• helping clubs buy equipment and train staff,
• getting children to be more active by walking to
  school and playing out of school hours ( walking
  school Bus)
• promoting the importance of good urban planning
  to encourage walking and cycling, reduce car
  dependency and improve safety
• connecting organisations and individuals so that
  local communities have better access to physical
  activity and sporting options
• research about what influences people to be
  physically active

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Reducing tobacco use

• VicHealth invests nearly 4 million each year to
  reduce harm from tobacco. The money supports Quit
  Victoria and the VicHealth Centre for Tobacco
  Control at the Cancer Council Victoria.
• The Quit campaign runs smoking cessation
  programs is involved in legal and regulatory
  reform works to prevent young people from taking
  up smoking and promotes smokefree environments.

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Legislation on smokefree environments

•  On 5th May 2005, the Health Minister Bronwyn
  Pike announced reforms to the Tobacco Act which
  include
• smoking bans in enclosed workplaces from 1 March
  2006
• smoking bans in enclosed licensed premises from 1
  July 2007
• bans on the promotion of tobacco products and the
  sale of tobacco products at underage
  'music/dance' events from 1 March 2006
• smoking bans in covered areas of train station
  platforms, tram stops and bus stops from 1 March
  2006
• bans on 'buzz marketing' and non-branded tobacco
  advertising from 1 March 2006
• strengthening laws to enforce the ban on
  cigarette sales to young people from 1 March 2006
  

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Increasing optimal nutrition

• investments in healthy eating are primarily
  focused on improving regular access to healthy
  food among Victorias most disadvantaged.  
• In addition, work in partnership with researchers
  and non-government organisations to advocate for
  and support policies and legislation that
  encourage nutritious food choices in the areas of
  food retail, marketing, advertising and supply

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Food for all

• VicHealth believes that local councils are best
  placed to develop relevant, integrated and
  long-lasting strategies to tackle this
  problem. Vic health supports councils to
• making sure there are local sources of fresh
  fruit and vegetables at affordable prices
• ensuring that those living in poor quality
  housing have access to food storage and cooking
  facilities
• improving food and cooking knowledge amongst
  disadvantaged groups
• improving transport options for those without a
  car
• increasing community awareness of the problem of
  food insecurity 

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Reducing harm from alcohol

• VicHealth works with government and community
  partners to facilitate innovative approaches to
  alcohol-harm reduction.
• an emphasis on advocacy and research to build the
  evidence base for policy and programs
• Alcohol policy Coalition
• Good sports program

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Promoting healthy eating

• VicHealths Food for All program supports eight
  local councils to increase local access to
  healthy and affordable food, particularly fruit
  and vegetables.
• VicHealth is also working with health researchers
  and health organisations to influence policies
  and laws relating to food production, advertising
  and sales, so that it is easier for people to
  make healthy food choices.
• Diabetes Victoria is funded to create the
  Parents Jury, a web-based network of parents in
  which they can share information and work
  together to push for changes to improve the food
  and physical environments for children.