What we do
Working together to advance women’s health and equality
We are experts in health promotion and primary prevention.
Primary prevention takes action to address the attitudes, systems and structures that lead to unequal health outcomes. We work to prevent ill health from occurring in the first place. A healthier, safer society means less demand is placed on secondary and tertiary prevention services such as clinical and response services, reducing the burden of disease.
Guided by the World Health Organisation’s Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, we work collaboratively to:
create better public policies that promote good health
give people the information and supports needed to make positive, informed choices about their health
empower communities to have more ownership and control over their health and health services
ensure the environments where we live, work, learn and play are safe, equal and foster better health outcomes
improve health service provision, reach and accessibility.
We use best practice evidence-based approaches to ensure our work is effective and efficient
We recognise that the most effective way to achieve complex social progress is through coordination, collaboration and mutually reinforcing initiatives working towards shared collective goals.
We are a crucial conduit between population-level frameworks and community-level action, supporting all three levels of government to achieve the visions set out in their legislation, policies and strategies.
Our statewide services deliver the research, evidence and tools needed to support best practice health promotion and advocacy.
Our place-based metropolitan and regional services provide leadership and expertise to drive coordinated local health promotion across their regions.
As a network, we work collectively to deliver consistent, coordinated statewide action and drive systemic change.
We contribute a unique gendered expertise to Victoria’s public health infrastructure.
Our work includes:
testing innovation and promising practice
research and evidence-building, including monitoring and evaluation
workforce development
sector and settings capacity-building, including public and private sectors, and community
policy and advocacy
regional coordination and statewide movement-building.