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The SA State Public Health Plan
The Public Health Act 2011 mandates the preparation of a
State-level Public Health Plan, to guide the preparation of
Council or regional Public Health Plans.
The State Public Health Plan (South Australia – A Better Place
to Live ) was released in November 2013 and includes the
following priorities -
The tasks in establishing and building a system of public health
planning require the:
• strengthening of collaborative efforts
• reinforcing of coordinating processes
• development of opportunities to improve communication and
common understanding across spheres of government and
other sectors
• identification of opportunities for integration of public health
issues within other policy priorities
• development and strengthening of capacity within and
between State and Local Governments embedding of
community participation processes in the identification of
public health issues and the formulation of responses, and;
• building of basic mechanisms to support more sustainable
public health planning and action.
These ‘basic mechanisms’ include the:-
• development of consistent planning and reporting processes
• development and refinement of comprehensive data sets to
inform planning
• continuous gathering and synthesising of research and
evidence on effective public health policies and interventions
to inform state-wide and local action, and;
• development of monitoring, evaluation and accountability
measures that are meaningful to the ongoing improvement of
the public health effort.
(SA Public Health Plan 2013 p6-7)
The State Public Health Plan places a strong emphasis on the
newly emerging chronic diseases or health risks in Australia
such as poor nutrition, inactivity, obesity, diabetes, alcohol over-
use, and tobacco consumption - and highlights the importance
of further focusing public health programs on prevention of
chronic problems which are putting a significant burden on the
health care system, and on the wellbeing of individuals
and communities.
Key State-wide public health trends highlighted in the State
Plan’s research show:
• Cancer and cardiovascular disease continue to account
for the highest numbers of deaths caused by disease, at
19 per cent and 17.5 per cent respectively
• Infectious diseases, which were once the biggest cause of
death, now represent only 1.6 per cent of the total South
Australian disease burden
• Smoking rates are declining
• Children’s asthma rates are declining
• The prevalence of diabetes is expected to double, if not
triple, over the next 25 years due to increasing rates of
obesity and other demographic changes
Climate Change – an additional risk and challenge
A required new focus area, which is additional for all levels
of government, is the response to the projected impacts
of climate change on communities, infrastructure, and the
environment.The Commonwealth and State have produced
Adaptation Frameworks to facilitate and support the
effective and collaborative development of appropriate risk
management strategies to address this emerging issue. SA
Councils are also in the process of preparing regional Climate
Change Adaptation Plans which will link directly into Public
Health Plans and related programs.
4.0 POLICY CONTEXT
Council’s Public Health and CommunityWellbeing
Plan reflects the four priority areas within the SA
State Public Health Plan, which are –
• Stronger and Healthier Communities and
Neighbourhoods for All Generations
• Increasing Opportunities for Healthy Living,
Healthy Eating and Being Active
• Preparing for Climate Change
• Sustaining and Improving Public and
Environmental Health Protection