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Campaigns to encourage healthy behaviour among South Australians are disjointed, ignore broader societal issues and need greater involvement from state government, a Flinders University review has found.
The research, conducted by Flinders University’s Southgate Institute for Health, Society and Equity led by Professor Fran Baum, included a review of health promotion activity being run in Adelaide’s southern suburbs during 2019.
“We found a range of services being coordinated by a number of different organisations, with local governments and non-government organisations responsible for the bulk of the activities,” says Dr Anna Roesler from Flinders University’s Caring Futures Institute and lead author of the review published in the Health Promotion Journal of Australia.
Redirecting health services to align with these aims (WHO, 1986).
Health promotion can, therefore, mean improving the health of a nation through effective partnership working and supporting individuals to achieve good health through prevention and education. BSW launched its population-based screening programme for people aged 60-74 years in 2008. In 2018-19, it reported its highest level of participation since it started, with 57.3% (n=160,652) of those eligible (n=280,556) returning the test kit (PHW, 2020a). Following a positive test result, 1,744 procedures were carried out (Table 1).
The BSW programme feeds directly into PHW’s strategic plans and ambitions to transform the health and social care system in Wales; by adopting a prudent healthcare model, screening programmes such as BSW are key determinants to its success (Public Health Wales Observatory, 2018). The aim is that the expansion of screening programmes will improve survival rates and it is envisaged that preventive