New health and wellbeing strategies for Victorians

The Victorian Department of Health has released two new health and wellbeing strategies – the first Victorian Men’s health and wellbeing strategy and the third edition of Victorian Women’s health and wellbeing strategy.

Both are four-year strategies that aim to deliver better health and wellbeing outcomes for all Victorian women and men, as well as focusing on identified populations with poorer health outcomes.

The release of the strategies provides a broad framework for understanding and responding to important gender differences in the incidence of health conditions, lifestyle risk factors, and health behaviours and attitudes.

The strategies will build on existing programs and policies and encourage collaboration with stakeholders in the non-government and corporate sectors.

They outline a range of opportunities for health services, community groups and government, to improve service delivery and health outcomes by adopting a greater focus on gender.

The priorities of the Men’s health and wellbeing strategy 2010-2014 are to improve the quality and length of men’s lives by focusing on six health conditions with large gender specific affects on men; to promote and facilitate men’s healthy living, and to strengthen health and community service delivery to men.

The Victorian Women’s health and wellbeing strategy 2010-2014 continues the work of the previous two strategies with priorities around improving health and reducing illness, mental health, sexual and reproductive health, as well as supporting interdepartmental work on violence. The strategy aims to apply some of the earlier achievements more broadly across the health sector.

The development of the strategies has included the preparation of background documents and supporting research, public consultation and submissions, and guidance from expert advisory groups.

The strategies provide a valuable blueprint for government and health agencies to understand the particular needs of women and men and what is needed to engage them.

Electronic copies of both strategies can be downloaded from the websites below.

Men’s health and wellbeing strategy http://www.health.vic.gov.au/mhws/

Victorian Women’s health and wellbeing strategy  http://www.health.vic.gov.au/vwhp/wellbeing/index.htm