VGPPA Partnership
Victorian General Practice Prevention Alliance
GPV is a member of the Victorian General Practice Prevention Alliance. The members of the Alliance are the Cancer Council Victoria, Diabetes Australia � Victoria, General Practice Victoria, Heart Foundation (Victoria) and the National Stroke Foundation.
Background
- The Alliance is comprised of non-government organisations committed to support general practice in the primary, secondary and tertiary prevention (1) of chronic disease.
- Alliance members acknowledge each other�s respective strengths and the benefits to be gained from collaboration. The specific chronic diseases that the member organisations represent share common risk factors. The potential to make a significant contribution to improving health outcomes through supporting general practice to target these shared risk factors is recognised.
- The Alliance aims to develop a profile in the general practice community by reflecting its strong commitment to support prevention activities targeting chronic disease.
Evidence
- The behavioural risk factors of smoking, poor nutrition, harmful and hazardous alcohol use, insufficient levels of physical activity and overweight and obesity have been identified as significant contributors to the burden of disease in Australia. (2)
- The risk factors are linked to health outcomes associated with the National Health Priority Areas (NHPAs) of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers, injury, mental health, asthma and some musculoskeletal health conditions.(3)
- About 80% of the Australian population visit a general practice at least once in any year.(4)
- This provides substantial opportunity for GPs to support lifestyle risk factor modification.
Victorian General Practice Prevention Alliance MOU
1. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Putting prevention into practice. Guidelines for the implementation of prevention in the general practice setting 2nd edition. Melbourne. RACGP. 2006 2. Mathers, C, Vos T, Stevenson, C (1999) The Burden of Disease and Injury in Australia, AIHW, Canberra 3. National Public Health Partnership. Preventing Chronic Disease: A Strategic Framework � Background Paper, October 2001 4. Britt H, Miller GC, Charles J, Bayram C , Pan Y, Henderson J, Valenti L, O�Halloran J, Harrison C, Fahridin S 2008. General practice activity in Australia 2006-07. General practice series no.21. Cat. no. GEP 21. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
For further information contact:
Aimee Black, Population Health Consultant Ph: 03 9341 5208 | Fax: 03 9341 5299 | Email: a.black@gpv.org.au