Health promotion and prevention

Healthcare services have an important role to play in supporting patients and consumers to stay healthy and well; almost half of all Australians have health conditions that could be prevented.[i],[ii]

Health promotion and prevention activities occur in almost all healthcare settings.[iii] Healthcare services are encouraged to support health education and promotion, illness prevention and early intervention in their area of clinical practice, and tailor their messages to their specific patient population. For example, podiatrists working in a community with high rates of type 2 diabetes, or community health service working in an area with a large Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander population will present prevention and promotion messages in different ways.

Links to Actions 1.09 and 1.10 Patient populations and social determinants of health

• What are the priority health issues for the patients and/or the community?
• What lifestyle or other factors can the service promote or provide more information on? 
• Are there relevant health promotion events the service can promote, such as cancer awareness events?
• What evidence-based screening tools and referral services exist that might benefit the community? 
• What trusted websites or health information can be recommended to support patients? 

• Establish processes for routinely supporting health promotion and prevention in your service. This will include:
  • identifying the health education and promotion priorities relevant to the service’s patient population 
  • sourcing reliable and current health information and promotional material to aid discussion with patients or display in your service
  • having a process for conducting evidence-based screening and early intervention or referrals to another relevant healthcare provider, if appropriate. 
• Incorporate prompts into assessment processes to discuss preventative health and health promotion with patients and their carers.

The type and comprehensiveness of evidence used is dependent on each healthcare service context, but could include:

• Health promotion or prevention material displayed in the service, including where patients and carers can access additional information
• Information on services available, including handouts, leaflets, QR codes directing patients to online information 
• Observation of health promotion and prevention activities and discussions with patients and/or the community 
• Records of workforce professional development opportunities to maintain the skills and knowledge of current evidence-based screening, care and treatment.

Resources

• Australian Government Department of Health: About preventive health in Australia – working to enable healthy living through supportive environments. 
• Australian Government Department of Health: National Preventive Health Strategy 2021–2030 – outlines the overarching, long-term approach to prevention in Australia over the next 10 years.
• Council for Intellectual Disability: Easy Read resources for people with intellectual disability – a collection of health fact sheets in Easy Read format for people with intellectual disability, their families and carers. 
• Better Health Channel website: Health and medical information to improve the health and wellbeing of people and the communities they live in.
• Health Translations: a free online library with translated Australian health and wellbeing information. 
• National Mental Health Commission: Mental Health Calendar – a calendar of mental health and wellbeing events and days for acknowledgement.
• Zenzano T, Davidson Allan J, Bigley MB, Bushart, RL. The Roles of Healthcare Professionals in Implementing Clinical Prevention and Population Health. American Journal of Preventive Medicine February 2011, 40(2):261-7. Available from: Doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2010.10.023