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View this email in your browser | October 2020

HealthWest Partnership aims to bring local communities, organisations and councils together to achieve real improvements in health and wellbeing for everyone in Melbourne’s west.

News at HealthWest

Welcome to the October eNewsletter.

We’ve taken the opportunity in this edition to look back at some of the things we have achieved over the financial year 2019-2020. Celebrating our successes and partnerships spurs us on to look ahead to how we can serve Melbourne’s West better.

Primary Care Partnership funding update

Last month we received news from the Department of Health and Human Services that Primary Care Partnerships across Victoria will have their funding extended until June 2021, and that a reform process will take place for the platform during this time. HealthWest welcomes DHHS’s commitment to reform of the PCP platform and looks forward to contributing to the reform process over the coming months. Stay tuned as we keep our partners informed of the reform as it occurs.

Thank you Mallika

At the end of September, we farewelled Mallika Dhamankar. Mallika started at HealthWest in April this year on a student placement from Victoria University, and has since supported some of our work in a range of areas, including workforce mutuality, health literacy and prevention. Many thanks to Mallika for your work over the past 6 months!

Regards,

Anna Vu
Acting Executive Officer
anna.vu@healthwest.org.au
Work mobile: 0428 307 892

Looking back: HealthWest in 2019-2020

We partnered with 35 organisations

in the areas of
primary prevention, economic inclusion,
prevention of violence against women, and health literacy

We want to say a special thank you to the
organisations most active in our projects and networks

We are also excited to be working with new partners this year

We engaged extensively with eight community representatives

in our Community Advisory Group, workforce mutuality project, and in the Health Literacy Alliance. This kind of engagement has helped us to engage with a wide range of community members in all of our projects.

We celebrate these resources where
our findings and learning are sharedThis represents the many hours of hard work
and collaboration in project work

The Importance of Social Inclusion

Enter the Man Box

We hosted over 200 professionals and community members

in a variety of forums, webinars, workshop and events on topics of economic inclusion for health, building evaluation capacity, social inclusion, and engaging men in the prevention of violence against women

Economic Inclusion for Health forum
October 2019

Evaluation Capacity Health Check workshop
October 2019

Social Inclusion forum
November 2019

Project Momentum: A Journey of 365+ Days
November 2019

Leading Workforce Mutuality: Executive workshop
March 2020

Working Together with Men webinars
May 2020

We led the Health Literacy Alliance and Prevention Taskforce

to support the coordination of shared learning and action across the region. Each network consists of 12-13 organisations. More: Health Literacy Alliance; Western Region Primary Prevention Taskforce

About HealthWest: Download our 3 page PDF Introducing HealthWest

COVID recovery: Fair access to jobs is priority

Economic inclusion is a vital element of Victoria’s COVID recovery work and an area of priority for HealthWest. The necessary restrictions to slow the spread of the virus have had a devastating impact on current employment. But it will also create an ongoing risk factor for health in the coming years, since we know that employment and work conditions are linked with individual’s health status.

But economic inclusion is not only about having a job, it’s also about access to meaningful work. Building on previous Workforce Mutuality work, as well as exploration of economic inclusion as a priority with our partners in 2019, HealthWest is making a contribution to recovery efforts in this space through community conversations for economic inclusion.

Read the full blog

October is #HealthLiteracy month

Celebrate by taking steps towards becoming a health literate organisation

A health literate organisation makes it easy for anyone to find, understand and use information and services.

Make it Easy Handbook

The Make it Easy handbook supports organisations to become health literate by providing:

A clear understanding of what it means to be a health literate organisation
A summary of requirements to help you get there
Specific ideas and steps needed to make improvements, and
Essential tools and high quality resources

To learn more about the benefits and process of becoming a health literate organisation, download Make it Easy: A Handbook for Becoming a Health Literate Organisation now!

More about Health Literacy

Drop the jargon Tuesday 20 October

Drop the Jargon is a day for professionals in Australian health, community services and local government to use plain language.

Find out more

Useful links

Primary prevention, social inclusion

Promoting social health practice: Rethinking what keeps us healthy | Lirata Consulting
What does the future hold for chronic disease prevention research? | Journal article
Systems thinking across disciplines: Working, moving and living within systems | Podcast by The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre
Prevention Headlines is a summary of media stories about the prevention of chronic disease and the social determinants of health with a focus on the Australian landscape | By The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre
The primary prevention of mental health conditions | By VicHealth

Prevention of violence against women

Free course: Family Violence Foundations | By DVRCV
This course provides a common starting point upon which professionals may seek to develop the skills needed to undertake their role in family violence prevention and response

For your diary

Feedback requested

Survey of Health and Wellbeing: Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 | By Swinburne Uni

Understanding the experiences of young people during COVID-19 | Commission for Children and Young People

Victorian Youth Strategy | By Vic Gov
Due date: 14 Dec

Victorian volunteer strategy | By Vic Gov
Due date: 31 Dec

Grants

Let’s Stay Connected Fund | Vic Gov
To support community-led initiatives that build connection, reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation that can be implemented quickly.

Priority response to multicultural communities during coronavirus (COVID-19) | Vic Gov

Reimagining Health: A VicHealth Grant
Applications open 16 Sep
Apply by: Tue 27 Oct

Brimbank Business Recovery Grants | Brimbank City Council
Apply by: Thu 12 Nov

Information about assistance for organisations affected by COVID-19

LivingWorks Start | Living Works and NWMPHN
A 90-minute online training program that prepares trainees with the skills to recognize when someone is having thoughts of suicide and respond to keep them safe.Currently a special pilot with NWMPHN
Free training if you live in the areas; Moorabool, Melton, Brimbank, Wyndham, Hume, Macedon Ranges, Moreland, Moonee Valley, Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay, Melbourne, Yarra, Darebin.

October is Health Literacy Month!

October Events

Australian Public Health Conference 2020
When: Mon 19 – Fri 30 Oct
Where: Online
Facilitated by: Public Health Association Australia

Drop the Jargon
A day for professionals in Australian health, community services and local government to use plain language.
When: Tue 20 Oct
Facilitated by: CEH

[Free] Organisational Health Literacy – Drop the Jargon Day Edition
When: Tue 20 Oct, 12.00-12.30pm
Where: Online
Facilitated by: CEH

[Free] Can stakeholders pursue digital engagement with diverse communities in a post-pandemic world? Findings of a recent study
When: Wed 21 Oct, 3.00-4.00pm
Where: Online
Facilitated by: Victorian Transcultural Mental Health

[Free] Responding to the ‘Shadow Pandemic’ Webinar Series
Keeping Perpetrators ‘in view’ during the COVID restrictions
When: Wed 21 Oct, 12.00-1.30pm
Where: Online
Facilitated by: The Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre and Domestic Violence Victoria

[Free] Social Isolation and Social Prescribing Webinar Series
When: Thu 29 Oct, 26 Nov and 18 Feb, 12.00-1.00pm
More info: Program for Thu 29 Oct
Where: Online
Facilitated by: Australian Disease Management Association, Bolton Clarke Research Institute, Melbourne Academic Centre for Health, Monash Partners and the Western Alliance

November Events

Culturally Responsive Practice: Working With Young People From Migrant And Refugee Backgrounds
When: Thu 12 Nov
Where: online
Facilitated by: Centre for Multicultural Youth

Conference: Connection, Creativity, Community: Finding Hope in a Climate of Crisis
When: Mon 16 – Tue 17 Nov
Where: online
Facilitated by: Communities in Control

Prevent-X
When: Tue 17 – Wed 18 Nov
Where: online
Facilitated by: DVRCV

Workforce inclusion & diversity conference
When: Tue 17 – Thu 19 Nov
Where: Sydney
Knowledge partner: EEON

Next year

Better care everywhere: Healthcare variation in practice – Feb 2021
Evidence and Implementation Summit (EIS) – Mar 2021
aes20 International Evaluation Conference – Sep/Oct 2021

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