Prevention Works

Dr Lucy Gunn discusses how the built environment can contribute to better health outcomes, and the importance of basing policies upon research evidence. A Senior Research Fellow at the Centre of Urban Research at RMIT University, Dr Lucy Gunn’s key interest is in understanding which urban environments are supportive of health and wellbeing outcomes. She is a lead co-investigator on a tool that allows people to understand the health impacts that come from replacing sedentary behaviour with more active behaviour. Dr Gunn defines liveable communities as having good access to shops, services, education, healthcare, cultural opportunities and employment by using public transport, walking and cycling. She also outlines other domains of liveability. Research shows that the built environment impacts the way people behave, which can contribute to better health and potentially reduce chronic disease. Because the built environment is difficult and expensive to build or to change, it is ideal if policies are based upon research evidence. This applies to both the new growth areas on the peripheries of cities as well as limiting growth by making use of existing infrastructure in the best possible way. The Importance of healthy liveable cities project brief explains the findings in simple English. Dr Gunn also discusses the importance of working within teams and across disciplines and skillsets to deliver better results.

Professor Emily Banks AM is a trailblazer in tobacco and e-cigarette research. Her world-leading review of the global evidence on the health effects of e-cigarettes has sparked national and international discussion. The use of e-cigarettes, or vaping, in Australia poses serious public health risks, especially among young people. In this episode, Professor Emily Banks discusses the Australian Government’s new e-cigarette product legislation reform alongside the bigger picture of vaping practices in Australia and her review of the global evidence, Health Impacts of Electronic Cigarettes. "The latest evidence is four out of five teenagers would say it’s easy to get hold of e-cigarettes or vapes and other people are saying, oh, well we should just educate kids about the dangers, but that’s like someone being in a flood and saying, oh, by the way, don’t get wet." Professor Emily Banks AM

In this episode, Dr Katherine Trebeck takes listeners into a deep conversation asking why our economy is not serving enough people and takes a hard look at the way our economic system operates through a public health lens. Katherine is a political economist, founder of the Wellbeing Economic Alliance, and describes herself as a freelance advocate for a more humane economy. Katherine casts a net of ideas around the distribution, or maldistribution, of wealth, resources, and power and how this impacts individuals, communities, and the planet, with a profound impact on health inequalities. Despite these flaws, there are opportunities for connection across areas that have traditionally been siloed and a move toward a wellbeing approach, one designed to deliver what people and the planet need. For example, improved levels of exercise and mental health have connections with improved liveability and public transport, and these arenas have co-benefits for us as humans living in the environment, so co-benefits for the environment as well. With a fascination for understanding the root causes of complex issues, Katherine compels audiences to look upstream and stay curious and attentive to the connections. She recommends channeling your inner three-year-old, asking but why, but why, why, and why, until we can get to the root cause, venturing beyond symptom-by-symptom, problem-by-problem, and crisis-to-crisis solutions.

How do you define and measure health equity and equality? Renowned epidemiologist Sir Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology at University College London, discusses the inequities created by the COVID-19 response in the UK. Professor Sir Michael Marmot CH discusses his recent publication, Build Back Fairer: The COVID-19 Marmot Review, explains the co-benefits of healthcare, and lists ways that we can bring about change to improve health outcomes. Sir Marmot's visit to Australia was hosted by Professor Helen Skouteris, Head of the Health and Social Care Unit, Monash University. Professor Skouteris is also Director of the Centre of Research Excellence in Health in Preconception and Pregnancy  (CRE HiPP), one of the CREs that contributes to the Collaboration for Enhanced Research Impact.

Join Dr Jenny Kaldor, lawyer, researcher, and policy analyst, and Maddie Heenan, Research Officer and PhD candidate, as they delve into how law, policy, and regulation affect public health, and what methods can help us better understand these relationships. Jenny took a brief advisory role in the development of the Prevention Centre's knowledge synthesis on public health law, regulation, and policy for prevention. This synthesis draws lessons from across nine years of projects. Maddie coordinated the knowledge synthesis, and has worked in advocacy for the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education and is currently working as a Research Officer with the Prevention Centre while undertaking a PhD with The George Institute for Global Health.

In this episode, we discuss with guest Jane Martin, Executive Manager of the Obesity Policy Coalition (OPC) and Alcohol and Obesity Policy at Cancer Council Victoria, the tipping points on tobacco and obesity in Australia and how we can leverage advocacy for action. Jane has worked in tobacco control for 20 years, commencing with Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Australia, as well as the role of Policy Manager with Quit Victoria. Jane has extensive experience in public health advocacy and policy development, and in building the evidence to supporting legislative and policy reforms. In 2011 she was awarded a Jack Brockhoff Churchill Fellowship and undertook the Williamson Community Leadership program in 2013. She has published papers on tobacco and obesity policy reform issues and has presented at national and international public health conferences.  Jane has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) majoring in Public Policy, a Masters in Public Health, and an Honorary Doctorate (Deakin University). 

An unhealthy diet is Australia’s key modifiable risk factor, resulting in more than 500,000 years of life lost to death and disability each year so it’s important that healthcare service providers provide a good role model. ​ Together, Professor Anna Peeters and Dr Miranda Blake, and colleagues, have produced large quantities of evidence that show it is possible to change the way food is sold to make it more healthy, and without disadvantage to the retailers - in fact, it can benefit them. In research conducted through Alfred Health, Professor Peeters and Dr Blake, modelled a change that saw the promotion of healthy drinks over sugary drinks in hospital onsite cafes and food services, and this has led the way for other mandated, but not legislated changes in health-services retail. Alfred Deakin Professor Anna Peeters is Director of Deakin University’s Institute for Health Transformation; and also Director of the Centre of Research Excellence in Food Retail Environments for Health, known as REFRESH, a collaboration of eight universities and organisations, and a member of the Collaboration for Enhanced Research Impact (CERI). Dr Miranda Blake is a dietician and Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow within the Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition (GLOBE), a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention. Miranda leads a program of research within RE-FRESH - bringing together health services policy makers together to improve food in health facilities - and has just won the Dietitians Australia Young Achievers Award.

It’s no surprise that half our population searches online to inform themselves, but how does that work for you when English is not your first language?  Culturally and linguistically diverse people in Australia are neglected in most academic research, and health is not exempt. In this episode, we discuss with guest, Dr Mridula Bandyopadhyay, how Australian health messaging reaches this cohort and how it might be done better. Dr Bandyopadhyay is a research fellow in obstetrics and gynaecology at Melbourne’s Royal Women’s Hospital and also works for the Centre of Research Excellence on Women and Non-communicable Diseases, also referred to as CRE WaND.

There are numerous ways in which population health could benefit if housing was improved in Australia. Join host Gretchen Miller and guest Professor Rebecca Bentley as they discuss the many aspects of this social determinant of health including how poor housing quality can exacerbate chronic disease and mental health, housing security, and how to address the intersection of housing, urban design, and health policy. Professor Bentley is an epidemiologist from the University of Melbourne’s School of Population and Global Health. She’s also the director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Housing, which is a member of the Collaboration for Enhanced Research Impact (CERI).  Established in June 2020, CERI is a joint initiative between The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre and associated NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence. We are working together to find alignment in the policy and practice implications of our work and to develop shared communications across our various projects and participating centres.

In this episode, host Gretchen Miller interviews guests Professor Helen Skouteris and Dr Alexandra Chung on the early days of our life's journey and how influential they are in preventing future health issues.  Our guests, both from Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, conducted a knowledge synthesis that examined the first 2000 days of our lives drawing on the combined research from various Centres of Research Excellence that make up the Collaboration for Enhanced Research Impact (CERI). Together they mobilised researchers from CERI to synthesise what we know about the importance of the first 2000 days in a child’s life for the prevention of future chronic disease. Professor Helen Skouteris is a developmental psychologist and implementation science expert and head of Monash University's Health and Social Care Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. Professor Skouteris is also Director of the Centre of Research Excellence in Health in Preconception and Pregnancy (CRE HiPP), one of the CREs that contributes to CERI. Dr Alexandra Chung is a VicHealth Postdoctoral Research Fellow whose interests include childhood obesity prevention, and the role of policy in equitably improving children’s diets.

Join podcast host Gretchen Miller and Professor Cathie Sherrington, Chief Investigator of the Centre of Research Excellence in the Prevention of Fall-related Injuries, as they discuss the rise in fall-related injuries, the various risk factors involved, and what can be done to improve those figures. Is it about physical activity, strength or balance exercises, or are there other strategies that can have a beneficial impact? Cathie also leads the Physical Activity Aging and Disability Research stream within the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health at the School of Public Health, University of Sydney. The CRE in the Prevention of Fall-related Injuries is a member of the Collaboration for Enhanced Research Impact (CERI).

Alcohol use contributes significantly to Australia's health burden (burden of disease) as well as contributing billions of dollars each year in Australia in terms of healthcare and non-healthcare economic costs. The Prevention Centre together with New South Wales Health and Cancer Institute NSW recently produced an Evidence Review on the value of prevention to reduce alcohol use. In this episode, Dr Elly Howse, Research Manager at the Prevention Centre, and Nikki Woolley, Skin and Lifestyle Portfolio Manager at Cancer Institute NSW, explore the value and challenges of prevention for reducing alcohol consumption in Australia.

International expert in tobacco control policy Associate Professor Coral Gartner explores an exciting concept and hopefully eminent reality, the beginning of the end for tobacco in Australia. Associate Professor Gartner is Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame and Head of the Nicotine and Tobacco Regulatory Science Research Group, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland.

Did you know, Australia is looking at doubling our current figures to a projected 1 million people with dementia by 2056? While our lifestyles have been shown to impact the chances of getting dementia, there is no national prevention plan because we don't yet know enough about the disease to fully advise. Our guests for this episode, Professor Henry Brodaty and Dr Martin McNamara are conducting separate studies to increase our understanding of dementia and its prevention in the Australian community.

Professor Penny Hawe, Professor of Public Health, University of Sydney and a member of the Prevention Centre's Leadership Executive, is a champion for prevention and finding creative ways to get the preventive health message to cut through with the public. "I just want to make prevention science interesting. I want the public to think that population health science, and the thinking that's behind some of those policies and programs that they see, is clever", she says.