and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

Itís a basic human right, essential for a long and happy life

and something we all strive for

At VicHealth, we understand this

Since 1987, weíve worked in partnership with organisations, communities and individuals

to make health a central part of our daily lives

Our focus is to create good health by tackling the conditions that lead to chronic disease

and making positive changes to the world around us

We call all this ëHealth Promotioní

In the last three decades, health promotion has developed into a hugely important area of work across the globe

And for good reasonÖ

Chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers

as well as anxiety, and depression

all present huge challenges to the health system as theyíre expensive to treat

and burden families and communities through pain and suffering

loss of income or productivity

Stemming from a complicated mix of risk factors, including lifestyle and behaviours

chronic diseases cause half of the deaths here in Australia

costing our economy $267 billion a year

But the good news is that many of these risk factors can be modified

and death and disability from poor health can be prevented

Encouraging lifestyle change is one way Health Promotion works to modify risk.

But when we look deeper, we see that itís about more than just encouraging lifestyle change

There are also more complex, underlying elements that contribute to illness

These are known as the ësocial determinants of healthí

and they include your income, your cultural background, your gender

whether or not you work, where you work, the type of house you live in, your level of education

and even the strength of your social support.

For example

If youíre unemployed, youíre more likely to live in poor housing

have limited social support, and thus, are more likely to experience stress, anxiety, depression

and youíre more likely to smoke

Similarly, if youíre from a culturally-diverse background

you may experience racism which can also lead to stress, anxiety and depression

Health promotion works to address issues like these by supporting strong social networks

advocating for respectful relationships

encouraging attitude change

developing healthy, safe and supportive communities

ensuring research informs efforts and supports good public policy

and working to reduce health inequalities

In other words, health promotion equals multiple wins

For example

By developing healthy environments, we work to encourage people to be more active

A 5% cut in physical inactivity across the population

can save 1,000 lives

and has the potential to result in $48 million in health costs annually

Or supporting a person who is likely to experience racism

through strong social networks in the community

we work to prevent risky behaviours such as tobacco use

and if we can reduce tobacco smoking by just 4%, we can save 3000 lives each year

See, it really can make a difference.

At VicHealth, we aim to reduce the significant costs of treating chronic disease

enhance economic productivity, bridge the health gap between certain population groups

create healthier places for people to live, inform government policy, and most importantly

improve the quality of peopleís lives.

If youíd like to know more about health promotion and what we do, visit vichealth.vic.gov.au