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National Strategies Coordination Reference Network

Background

An early emphasis of the National Public Health Partnership (NPHP) Group was on improving the effectiveness of National Public Health Strategies. Guidelines for Improving National Strategy Development and Coordination [PDF, 731kb] (1999) [filename: stratguidelines.pdf – in publications folder] were produced which include a broad framework for national strategy coordination; best practice guidelines for strategy development and implementation; the identification of opportunities and mechanisms for improved coordination and collaboration; and monitoring and evaluation of strategies coordination. The best practice component (Part 3) of the document was endorsed by the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council for application to new national public health strategies and the review of existing strategies.

The 1999 Guidelines identified opportunities for enhancing strategies, which included ensuring that the needs of key (priority) population groups are addressed and ensuring coordination of initiatives in related areas (be they in common settings, population groups or related risk factors). Key population groups identified included Indigenous Australian communities and intervention settings included General Practice.

Further work has been undertaken to develop companion guidelines for effective approaches to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander public health. Similarly, the Joint Advisory Group on Population Health and General Practice has developed the Smoking, Nutrition, Alcohol and Physical Activity (SNAP) Framework as a guide to prevention for General Practice.

A further initiative stemming from capacity building through improved efforts in strategy coordination is the Background Paper Preventing Chronic Disease: A Strategic Framework [PDF, 228kb] (2001). Chronic, non-communicable diseases are conditions of great concern, because of the significant burden they place on individuals, communities and health services. Yet many chronic diseases are preventable, and effective action on prevention is therefore a high priority.

The Background Paper presents a national framework for system-wide strategic action that draws on the evidence about underlying determinants of poor health, knowledge of risk factors that are common to a number of diseases, and a lifecourse perspective on predisposing factors.

The framework is based on public health principles and practice, with a strong emphasis on health promotion, and describes how this practice can be incorporated across the continuum of care. The Paper was endorsed by the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council as the basis for further national collaborative action. This is being pursued by the NPHP under its agendas specific to nutrition, physical activity and injury prevention, and through its links with the National Health Priority Action Council and the Australian Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance.

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