Healthy Focus grants

We want every Tasmanian to have equal opportunities for good health and wellbeing, and equal access to health information and health care. Evidence shows that addressing the needs of populations who are most at risk of ill health can achieve significant health improvements and benefits the entire community.

Some population groups in Tasmania experience poorer health than the general population. These include people living on low incomes, Aboriginal people, people from the LGBTIQ+ community, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people living with disability. There are many reasons for these inequalities, including social, economic and historic disadvantage, stigma and discrimination, and language and access barriers.

Children and young people are also a priority for Healthy Tasmania. The vision of It Takes a Tasmanian Village  Tasmania’s Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy is that children and young people in Tasmania have what they need to grow and thrive. In Healthy Tasmania we will work to achieve this vision by creating healthy places where children and young people live, learn and play.

We want to fund projects that:

• address barriers to health and wellbeing for priority populations
• are inclusive and engage those most in need
• show a good understanding of your target group's lived experience and self-identified needs
• involve people in the design and delivery of your program
• show good relationships and partnerships to build trust with people
• support communities, families, parents and carers to provide healthy settings for children to grow up in.

These documents will provide more evidence and guidance:

• National Agreement on Closing the Gap Implementation Plan Tasmania (2021)
• Cultural Respect Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health 2016–2026.
• Improving Aboriginal Cultural Respect Across Tasmania’s Health System Action Plan 2020 – 2026
• It takes a Tasmanian Village: Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy
• Strong, liveable communities: Tasmania’s Active Ageing plan 2017-2022
• Aboriginal Cultural Respect in Tasmania’s Health Services Community Consultation Report 2018
• Private Lives: A national Survey of the health and wellbeing of LGBTIQ+ people in Australia. 2020
• Our Multicultural Island. Tasmania’s Multicultural Policy and Action Plan 2019-21
• Accessible Island: Tasmania’s Disability Framework for Action 2018-2021
• Tasmanian Women’s Strategy 2022–2025 (draft)

Health literacy means people have the knowledge, skills and confidence to access, understand, remember and use information and services to make everyday decisions about their own health and wellbeing. Health literacy is affected by people’s individual circumstances and social setting. Factors that may challenge a person’s health literacy include experiencing grief, receiving a new diagnosis, limited literacy, or negative past experiences with the health system. Factors that may strengthen health literacy include having access to social support, having at least one healthcare provider to talk to about health problems, and knowing how to find the right health care.

To develop health literacy for all, we need good organisational health literacy practices that make it easier for people to find, understand and use the information and services they need for better health and wellbeing. Examples of such practices include providing easy-to-read written materials, engaging with consumers in a friendly and welcoming way, checking people’s understanding of health information, and involving consumers in decision-making.

We want to fund projects that:

• are community driven solutions to connect people to the information and services they need
• improve health literacy awareness across the community
• increase health literate organisations that can respond to individual and community health literacy needs
• develop a health literate workforce across Tasmania with the knowledge and skills to make best practice every day practice.

These documents will provide more evidence and guidance:

• Health Literacy Action Plan for Tasmania (2019-2024)
• National Statement on Health Literacy – Taking action to improve safety and quality (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care)
• 26TEN Tasmania: Tasmania Strategy for Adult Literacy and Numeracy 2016-2025

Positive mental health and wellbeing is important for the overall health of Tasmanians. Better mental health and wellbeing has personal, social, financial and economic benefits for individuals, families and the wider community. It means people are able to contribute to their community, work and study productively, connect with others, and cope with stress and challenges.

Factors that support mental health and wellbeing include:  

• social support and meaningful connections with others
• purpose through a job, education or volunteering
• stable housing, access to open green spaces and affordable, nutritious food
• freedom from discrimination and stigma
• physical activity.

We hope to fund projects that:

• support community action to promote mental health and wellbeing in communities across all life stages, especially through opportunities for lifelong learning, volunteering, social connection, positive relationship building and reducing loneliness
• work with the Arts sector to deliver innovative arts and health approaches to promote mental health and wellbeing
• increase community understanding of mental ill health and reduce stigma and discrimination for people experiencing a mental illness
• promote mental health and wellbeing in Tasmanian workplaces.

These documents will provide more evidence and guidance:

• Rethink 2020: A state plan for mental health in Tasmania 2020–2025
• Prevention First: a Prevention and Promotion Framework for Mental Health (Everymind)
• The National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy
• National Preventive Health Strategy 2021-2020

The health benefits of being physically active are well known. Active living has benefits beyond physical and mental health, including social, economic and environmental benefits.

To increase physical activity in Tasmania, we need to create environments that support people to naturally be more physically active. For example, well-designed streets, public open spaces and green areas, public transport and other facilities and infrastructure all encourage people to be active on the way to work and school and to enjoy sport and active recreation in their leisure time. Neighbourhoods designed for young families with prams will also suit older Tasmanians and people living with a disability. Participation in sport and active recreation not only encourages physical activity, it is also good for mental health and ways for people to socially connect.

We want to fund projects that:

• create inclusive and accessible places to support all Tasmanians to be active
• address the barriers to people participating in recreation and physical activity
• are in line with the national physical activity guidelines
• focus on helping people go from doing no activity to some activity.

These documents will provide more evidence and guidance:

• Australian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines and 24-Hour Movement Guidelines
• WHO Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018–2030: more active people for a healthier world 2050
• Tasmanian Sport and Active Recreation Strategy. Discussion paper 2021
• Tasmanian Walking and Cycling for Active Transport
• National Preventive Health Strategy 2021-2020
• National Obesity Strategy 2022- 2032

Eating well reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. It also improves overall physical, mental and social wellbeing, and supports healthy ageing. Eating well is more than just what people eat, it is about enjoying and having a positive relationship with food, having the time to eat, and enjoying eating with others. To eat well, people need access to a variety of affordable, nutritious foods. If this food is locally produced, there will also be benefits for our environment, society and economy.

We want to fund projects that:

• promote local, affordable, nutritious food and reduce exposure to unhealthy food and drink
• address the barriers to food security so people can have enough nutritious and quality food when they need it
• give people knowledge and skills to be able to plan, manage, prepare and eat the food they need
• are in line with the Australian Dietary Guidelines
• take a weight-neutral approach and avoid any focus on weight. Eating well is promoted because it’s important for everyone to do, regardless of body size and shape
• promote, support and protect breastfeeding.

These documents will provide more evidence and guidance:

• National Health and Medical Research Council. Eat For Health. Australian Dietary Guidelines
• Food Relief to Food Resilience: Tasmanian Food Security Strategy 2021–2024
• Oral Health Promotion Strategic Plan 2017–2022
• Australian Breastfeeding Strategy: 2019 and Beyond
• NOURISHING Framework (World Cancer Research Fund)
• National Preventive Health Strategy 2021-2020
• National Obesity Strategy 2022- 2032 

When we talk about ‘Smoking’ in Healthy Tasmania we mean the use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other tobacco industry products. Smoke-free communities are places where the access and use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other tobacco industry products is rarely seen. We aim to improve the health, social and economic wellbeing of Tasmanians by creating smokefree communities, preventing young people from taking up smoking, and supporting those who smoke to quit.  

We would like to fund projects that:

• Encourage and support all people who smoke to quit for good.
• Prevent Tasmanians from taking up smoking.
• Prioritise support for people with the greatest needs.
• Create supportive environments that protect Tasmanians from tobacco industry harms.

Note: if your project includes the supply of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), such as gum or patches, it should be consistent with the evidence base on the use of NRT. Many quit attempts fail because smokers do not take the correct dose for their level of addiction. Therefore, it is important that projects provide correct information, consistent with existing service providers (such as the Tasmanian Health Service (THS) Smoking Cessation Program or Quit Tasmania). Training can be provided.

These documents will provide more evidence and guidance:

• Tasmanian Tobacco Action Plan: reducing the use of tobacco and related products 2022–2026
• Smoke Free Young People Strategy 2019–2021 (Tasmania)
• No One Left Behind: An action plan to achieve a smoke free Tasmania 2018–2021
• National Tobacco Strategy 2022–2030
• World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
• National Preventive Health Strategy 2021-2020

Reducing harmful alcohol consumption will benefit individuals, families and communities. Drinking alcohol at risky levels is a major cause of preventable disease and illness and impacts communities by contributing to issues such as road accidents and community and family violence. Factors that protect against alcohol-related harms include social connection, education, safe and secure housing, and a sense of belonging to community.

A range of responses is needed to reduce and minimise harms from alcohol. These include health promotion, prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery focused approaches. Healthy Tasmania will support communities to prevent and respond to alcohol harms. This will complement other actions in the Tasmanian Drug Strategy.

We want to fund projects that:

• promote the national guidelines to reduce the health risks of drinking alcohol, to support informed decisions about alcohol consumption and promote better public understanding of alcohol-related harms
• build the capacity of communities to prevent, identify and respond to alcohol-related harm, and promote healthy alternatives to alcohol, especially in priority populations.

These documents will provide more evidence and guidance:

• Tasmania Drug Strategy 2021-2027 (draft)
• National Alcohol Strategy 2019-2028
• National Preventive Health Strategy 2021-2020

Climate change and health are closely linked. Tasmania is forecast to experience rising temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, more storms, longer fire seasons, more hot days and more heat weaves. These all have implications for the health of Tasmanians. For example, there is a clear link between heat and illness, with more emergency department presentations, especially for children and older people during heatwaves. A changing climate can affect access to nutritious food, clean air and water, and the liveability of communities. It can also affect mental health and wellbeing by causing worry and anxiety about the future.

According to the World Health Organization, the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people will disproportionately feel the health impacts of climate change. We need to anticipate adverse events and intervene early to protect those who are most susceptible.

Lifestyles that continue to rely on car use and the consumption of highly processed foods not only increase the risk of developing chronic diseases, they also contribute to climate change through increased greenhouse gas emissions.

We will work together to prevent and mitigate against the potential impacts of climate change on our health. We can do this by reducing emissions from food and energy production, reducing air and waste pollution and increasing active transport such as more cycling and walking.

Acting on climate change will result in immediate and direct benefits for the health of Tasmanians now as well as for future generations. These actions will reduce the risk factors for chronic disease and improve the liveability of our communities.

We want to fund projects that:

• raise awareness about the links between climate change and health, and ways communities can take action and respond to climate change
• create more liveable communities that improve health and wellbeing and tackle climate change. This includes active living strategies and supporting local food production, as well as actions to support good water and air quality
• protect priority populations from the impacts of climate change, such as bushfires, extreme heat and cold weather events.

These documents will provide more evidence and guidance:

• Climate Action 21: Tasmania’s Climate Change Action Plan 2017-2021 (under review)
• Tasmanian Climate Change and Health Roundtable Final Report. June 2020.

Date

Chair, Healthy Tasmania Fund Healthy Focus Round 1 Review Panel

Department of Health

Public Health Services

GPO Box 125

Hobart TAS 7001

RE: Sponsorship of [name of applicant organisation]’s application for a Healthy Tasmania Fund Healthy Focus grant.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Our organisation is an incorporated not-for-profit organisation and is prepared to act as the sponsoring body for the [name of applicant organisation] should it be successful in obtaining funding for a Healthy Tasmania Fund Healthy Focus Round 1 grant, to undertake [name of project].

We are aware that if [name of applicant organisation]’s application is successful, the grant will be paid to our organisation and we accept the legal and financial obligations involved in accepting the grant.

Yours sincerely

[Name]

[Position in organisation]