The South Metropolitan Health Service (SMHS) Population Health Service has released a series of new community health and wellbeing profiles to guide local governments in creating healthy living environments.
The profiles, which were first published in 2013, provide seven local government areas (LGAs) in SMHS with a snapshot of their community’s demographics, the prevalence of chronic health conditions and their associated risk factors.
SMHS Health Promotion Manager Ann Barblett said the aim is to provide councils with evidence and quantifiable measures to support their planning in promoting and protecting the health and wellbeing of their communities.
“We have been partnering with each local government to develop, implement and evaluate a range of plans and programs,” Ann said.
“Our goal is to build strong, collaborative partnerships with local governments to prevent chronic disease and create healthy places for people to work, live and play.”
The profiles were developed using information sourced from the Epidemiology Branch, Department of Health Western Australia, and databases such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the WA Health and Wellbeing Surveillance System (HWSS).
Read the local government health and wellbeing profiles: