The Health Promotion team helps prevent chronic disease and injury among the population in the North Metropolitan Health Service (NMHS) region. Chronic diseases are health conditions that can have a number of contributing factors, develop gradually, and have long-lasting effects, such as cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and a range of cancers.
These chronic diseases share five common modifiable risk factors:
- Overweight and obesity
- Poor diet
- Physical inactivity
- Smoking
- Harmful alcohol use.
Small changes in these risk factors across the population can result in significant health gains.
Our approach
We partner with community and local organisations to develop evidence-based interventions, practices and policies that support healthy behaviours. Our priorities are:
- Curbing the rise in overweight and obesity
- Increasing healthy eating
- Increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour
- Reducing smoking rates and exposure to tobacco smoke
- Reducing harmful levels of alcohol use
- Preventing injury and promoting safer communities.
Our focus is to create population-level changes that will keep the well population well. High priority groups include those with a higher risk of developing chronic diseases or experiencing injury, such as Aboriginal people, people with mental health issues and seniors.
Our work is guided by the Department of Health’s Western Australian Health Promotion Strategic Framework 2017-2021 (external site).