The Health Promotion professionals work to create a healthy environment, where healthy choices are the easy choices. The team are striving to make Yarriambiack shire a healthy place for all to thrive while supporting community settings to have access to healthy environments through healthy food options and physical activity spaces where everyone feels socially connected.
Accessing this service
As health promotion works to improve community health and wellbeing, our services are targeted towards the general population. RNH Health Promotion used the Department of Health’s Health Promotion Community Guidelines to the 2021-2025 RNH Health Promotion Strategic Plan. This plan uses a settings based approach and provides a roadmap that aims to improve health outcomes in the following areas within our community:
• Schools
• Hospitals
• Sporting clubs
• Food outlets
Our Team
The health promotion service is delivered by a team of health professionals with university qualifications in the health sciences. Using a range of lenses, models, strategies, themes and influencers in accordance with the latest evidence, the team aims to improve rural liveability and the physical, social and mental wellbeing of the Yarriambiack community.
Current projects within the RNH health promotion service
School Achievement Program
RNH Health Promotion has started collaborating with Yarriambiack shire schools to join more than 700 Victorian schools signed up to the Healthy Schools Achievement Program.
This program is based on the World Health Organisation’s Health Promoting Schools model and is aligned to key policies and guidelines including the Victorian Curriculum, Framework for Improved Student Outcomes and School Improvement Framework.
The program is centred around seven key health areas to achieve a whole-of-school approach to health and wellbeing, which include:
• Healthy Eating and Oral Health
• Physical Activity and Movement
• Sexual Health and Wellbeing
• Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Sun Protection
• Safe Environments
• Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Drugs
Each health area has a set of targets to achieve, resulting in healthy changes to school’s physical environment, policies and practices, and health promoting activities. When schools achieve all targets for a health area, they will receive Victorian Government recognition.
Vic Kids Eat Well (VKEW)
This is a new state-wide healthy eating initiative being launched by the Cancer Council. RNH Health Promotion is locally implementing this program in sporting clubs to improve canteen food and drinks offered via the following strategies:
• Reduce sugary drinks and offer healthier ones
• Reduce unhealthy snacks and offer healthier alternatives
• Add fruit and vegetables to main meals
• Reduce fried foods and savoury pastry options
• Reduce unhealthy marketing
3-in-1 Walking Group
RNH Health Promotion are implementing the 3-in-1 Walking Group project in partnership with West Wimmera Health Service (WWHS). The 3-in-1 Walking Group project integrates the Heart Foundation Walking (HFW) group framework. The project involves weekly organised walking groups, educational healthy eating workshops and walking incentives for participants in local towns. It is called 3-in-1 as it meets three community health goals within the one project:
• Increased physical activity
• Healthy eating
• Social connection
As a promotion to further improve healthy eating – for every two walks completed, participants will receive a voucher from RNH to spend on green category foods from participating local food outlets (valid for the duration of the six month pilot program).
Active Travel to School
RNH Health Promotion team is working with the local Warracknabeal primary schools to coordinate and encourage students to actively travel to school by riding, walking, scooting or skating more regularly. Using a community development model approach, this project has been co-designed to provide the school community with ownership over this physical activity initiative. Wheelie Wednesdays, bike education and road safety lessons, and a walking bus drop off zone are some example initiatives that were identified from the co-design process that are being implemented to improve the amount of active travel.