Media Release
23 November 2009
Preventive health agency can work for the bush
Establishment of the National Preventive Health Agency has been identified by Council of the
NRHA as one of the priorities for practical action to improve health in rural and remote areas.
The Alliance wants to see the Agency progressed with urgency so that it can implement
specially targeted preventive programs for ‘at-risk’ groups, including people in rural and
remote communities.
“We believe the Bill should be passed by the Senate as soon as possible,” said Alliance Chair,
Dr Jenny May. “There is no doubt that, as a nation, we need to focus more on keeping people
healthy as distinct from treating illness.”
About one third of Australia's burden of disease is preventable, much of it relating to the
chronic diseases associated with cigarettes, alcohol and obesity.
National prevention programs targeting these risk factors have been successful in urban areas,
but less so in rural and remote areas. For example, rates of smoking in the major cities
decreased by more than 15 per cent between 1995 and 2004-05, whereas over the same period
the rates in regional and remote areas appear not to have changed.
In the same period, the incidence of a sedentary lifestyle decreased by 5 per cent in the major
cities, while in regional and remote areas it increased by about 5 per cent.
The establishment of a National Preventive Health Agency was recommended by both the
Health and Hospitals Reform Commission and the National Preventative Health Taskforce.
Governments should be encouraged to follow up as quickly as practicable on important
proposals from health reform reviews.
Most interested parties believe the need and purposes for the new Agency have been well
established. The belief that ‘form follows function’ is not a valid argument for holding up
expansion of the nation’s work on preventive health.
“A stronger emphasis on health promotion is good policy for the nation and its impact can be
even greater in rural and remote areas where people have poorer levels of health, face greater
risk factors and have fewer services,” Dr May said.
Further Contacts
Dr Jenny May - Chair: 0427 885 337
Marshall Wilson - Media: 0419 664 155
NEWS 
