Pregnancy warnings on alcohol products

Pregnancy warnings on alcohol products

Women have a right to know if a product is going to cause harm to their unborn child. 

Alcohol is a ‘teratogen’, a known substance that can cause birth defects. Alcohol is the leading cause of non-genetic developmental disability in Australia in the form of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Yet one in four pregnant women in Australia continue to drink alcohol after knowledge of their pregnancy, resulting in approximately 75,000 alcohol exposed pregnancies annually. One reason that women continue to drink is that they are unaware of, or underestimate, the severity of the risk. Our research shows that older pregnant women in particular can be unaware of the potential risks of alcohol for the unborn child. 

On Friday 20 March 2020 the Ministerial Forum, made up of Ministers in Australia and New Zealand considered pregnancy warning labels on alcoholic products. The decision was made to further delay the introduction of pregnancy health warning labels

Reducing trauma on nsw roads

Reducing trauma on local roads in NSW

The George Institute for Global Health is pleased to make this submission to reducing trauma on local roads in NSW.

The George Institute is a leading injury research centre and its Injury Division is a designated World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre in Injury Prevention and Trauma Care. The Injury team investigates solutions to prevent the world’s most significant injury problems and transform injury and trauma care globally. Harnessing the power of governments, markets and communities through research, advocacy and thought leadership, we are at the forefront of innovations to reduce the burden of injury.   We currently lead over 30 injury-related projects in Australia, India, Bangladesh, China, Uganda and South Africa, including developing Australia’s National Injury Prevention Strategy, and a specific focus of projects that aim to deliver tangible reductions in road trauma worldwide.

As our overall strategic aim is to reduce the burden of injury, we support any move towards the reduction of trauma on local roads in New South Wales.  

Joint committee on road safety

Road Safety in Australia

The George Institute for Global Health is pleased to make this submission to the Joint Select Committee on Road Safety. We have partnered with the Transurban Road Safety Centre at the Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and the School of Public Health and Community Health at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney to develop this submission.

The George Institute is a leading injury research centre and its Injury Division is a designated World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre in Injury Prevention and Trauma Care. The Injury team investigates solutions to prevent the world’s most significant injury problems and transform injury and trauma care globally. Harnessing the power of governments, markets and communities through research, advocacy and thought leadership, we are at the forefront of innovations to reduce the burden of injury.  

The George Institute currently leads over 30 injury-related projects in Australia, India, Bangladesh, China, Uganda and South Africa, including developing Australia’s National Injury Prevention Strategy, and a specific focus of projects that aim to deliver tangible reductions in road trauma worldwide.

Sugar in Australia: A Food Systems Approach

Sugar in Australia: A Food Systems Approach

The George Institute for Global Health global thought leadership program seeks to challenge the status quo and foster the kind of debates and discussions that lead to positive changes in health outcomes in a range of strategic focus areas, such as promoting healthy environments.

In Australia much of the debate around sugar to date has focussed on a sugar tax, a concept which is often polarising and where we haven’t seen much progress. It could also be argued that it is only a small part of a bigger problem. With this in mind, The George Institute commissioned a report, “Sugar in Australia: A Food System Approach. Competing Issues, Diverse Voices, and Rethinking Pathways to a Sustainable Transition”, with the objective of broadening the debate through investigating different sides of sugar in Australia from a food systems-perspective.

The report was launched at a breakfast meeting in Sydney on 20th February 2020. The report’s author, Vanessa Clarkson, presented the findings followed by a lively discussion chaired by Professor Bruce Neal and attended by 50 delegates from across health, environmental and food industry sectors. Further information on planned next steps will be posted here in March.

 

Also read Sweet Transition: Priorities for collaborating to transform the food system in Australia

Public Consultation

Food Regulation Policy Guideline

As a research organisation with a chronic disease focus, The George Institute for Global Health is interested in the impact of these policy guidelines on public health. Guidelines that are clearly aligned with promoting healthy food consumption will enhance our ability to advocate for effective regulatory strategies to improve population diets.

The George Institute supports the development of a policy guideline to provide guidance to FSANZ when developing or reviewing food labelling measures. This type of guidance has potential utility in empowering FSANZ’s increasing work on the public health objective of reducing obesity and diet-related chronic disease.

Download the submission (PDF 936 KB)

Injury prevention and trauma management

The George Institute is a leading injury research centre. Injuries claim almost 5 million lives every year, the majority in low- and middle-income countries. The large burden of non-fatal injury health loss and disability worldwide is compounded by the fact that many people do not have access to primary health care. The Injury Division aims to improve the safety of men, women and children and optimize their care and rehabilitation in the event of an injury through: 

injury strategy australia

The National Injury Prevention Strategy 2020 - 2030

In the 2018-19 budget, the Australian Government committed to developing a National Injury Prevention Strategy (the Strategy) in recognition of the ongoing and substantial burden of injury in Australia. This new strategy follows the expiration of the previous National Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Action Plan (2004-2014).

In March 2019, The George Institute for Global Health was appointed by the Federal Department of Health as the Project Lead to facilitate and write the Strategy. The George Institute partnered with the Australasian Injury Prevention Network, Monash University and the Ngarruwan Ngadju First Peoples Health and Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Wollongong to develop the Strategy.

The Team:

  • Dr Kate Hunter: Senior Research Fellow in the Injury Division at The George Institute, and conjoint Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales
  • Associate Professor Julie Brown: Program Head of the Injury Division at The George Institute, and Associate Professor at UNSW Sydney
  • Dr Amy Bestman: Research Fellow, Injury Division, Conjoint Lecturer, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales
  • Jacek Anderst: Research Associate, Injury Division, The George Institute
  • Keziah Bennett-Brook: Manager, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Program, The George Institute
  • Chelsea Hunnisett: Policy and Advocacy Adviser, Global Advocacy & Policy Engagement, The George Institute
  • Professor Lisa Keay: Head of the School of Optometry and Vision Science and Honorary Professorial Fellow at The George Institute
  • Dr Ben Beck: President of the Australasian Injury Prevention Network, Deputy Head of Prehospital, Emergency and Trauma Research, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University.
  • Professor Kathleen Clapham: Director, Ngarruwan Ngadju First Peoples Health and Wellbeing Research Centre, University of Wollongong.
  • Dr Jane Elkington: Principal, Jane Elkington & Associates.

What will a National Injury Prevention Strategy do?

The National Injury Prevention Strategy will create a national focus on injuries and their prevention.

The Strategy has priority areas for action around injuries that place a high burden on the community, particularly on groups at high risk of injury, for which there is evidence of promising injury prevention approaches. The Strategy will complement rather than duplicate existing strategies and frameworks for action.

The National Injury Prevention Strategy is being developed in recognition of the following:

  • Injuries are the leading cause of death of all people aged 1-44 years yet are rarely a focus of national attention;
  • Intentional and unintentional injuries are preventable; 
  • There is demonstrable success in some areas (e.g. road trauma) with lessons that can be applied to other areas;
  • Given the aging population, increasing urbanisation, climate change and associated increasing extreme weather events and prolonged periods of heat and drought, many types of injuries are expected to rise, placing increased pressures on the health care system;
  • Change will require coordinated action across many and varied departments and agencies – health, transport, housing, urban planning, work health and safety, social services, education, policing and justice;
  • There is a need for focused, evidence-based action that will ensure that emphasis is placed on preventing injury among people and population groups most at risk.

What types of injury will be covered in the Strategy?

The Strategy adopts the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander holistic view of health. Injuries are not just the physical harm caused by an external event, but the spiritual, emotional and cultural aspects of harm. This means that injury prevention should focus not only on reduced hospital bed days or lives lost, but also the safety and emotional well-being of individuals as well as the whole community.

An injury event can be caused by the exchange of energy between the environment and a person, or by the sudden absence of oxygen or warmth, which take the body beyond its bounds of resilience. Whether physical, psychological or social harm, injuries can be unintentional or intentional. In 2002, the World Health Organization broadened this definition of injury from physical injuries to include psychological, maltreatment or deprivation.

The Strategy addresses these broadest definitions of injuries – the physical, cultural, spiritual and community cost of injuries. It addresses intentional injuries, including violence and self-harm and unintentional injuries, including road traffic injuries, falls, sports-related injuries, poisoning, drowning and burns, although many of these latter types of injuries can also be the result of intended harm.

How is the Strategy being developed?

In developing the Strategy, actions to date and planned include:

  1. Two round table discussions in March 2019.
  2. A literature review June 2019. The review was conducted by a collaboration led by The George Institute and provided a summary of current data on the burden of injury in Australia and available evidence on intervention strategies that address this burden.
  3. An Expert Advisory Group, comprising representatives from government and non-government organisations, was appointed to advise development of the Strategy.
    • Ms Tiali Goodchild (Chair), Assistant Secretary, Preventive Health Policy Branch, Population Health & Sport Division, Australian Government Department of Health
    • Ms Pamela Binnington, Director, Evidence and Strategic Policy, Safe Work Australia
    • Colette Colman, Director, Policy and Strategy Development, National Rural Health Alliance
    • Dr John Crozier Chair, National Trauma Committee Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
    • Mick Drew, Australian Sports Commission
    • Prof Caroline Finch, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Edith Cowan University
    • Ms Jessica Hall, First Assistant Secretary, Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Communications
    • Prof Rebecca Ivers, Head of School Public Health and Community Medicine, The University of New South Wales
    • Ms Andrea Kelly, Branch Manager, Health and Wellbeing Branch, Social Policy and Programs Group, National Indigenous Australians Agency
    • Mr Justin Mohamed, Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, Commission for Children and Young People
    • Dr Matthew O'Meara, NSW Chief Paediatrician, Health and Social Policy Branch, Maternity, Child, Youth and Paediatrics, NSW Health
    • Mr Nick Pascual, Director Child and Family Health Section, Early Years and Engagement Branch, Indigenous Health Division, Department of Health
    • Dr Brett Shannon, Occupational Registrar Non-executive deputy chair, LIME Medicolegal and Phoenix Occupational Medicine Brisbane Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service
    • Ms Lyndall Soper, Deputy – Monitoring and Reform, National Mental Health Commission
    • Ms Vicki Sweeney, Acting Director Policy and Governance Section, Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs Branch, Population Health & Sport Division, Department of Health
    • Ms Marissa Veld, Head, Injuries and System Surveillance Unit, Health Systems Group, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
    • Ms Ashley Walsh, Director Children’s Policy, Children Policy Branch, Department of Social Services
  4. An outline of the Strategy was developed August and the Expert Advisory Group provided feedback on that outline in September 2019.
  5. Stakeholder consultations August - October 2019 to provide input into the framing and priorities of the Strategy.
  6. Draft Strategy developed and feedback received from the EAG, November 2019.
  7. Draft Strategy to be released for broad public and government feedback via the Australian Government Department of Health Consultation Hub.

How to get in touch

If you have any questions about the Strategy, you can email InjuryStrategy@georgeinstitute.org.au

Additional Reading

Round Table Consultation Report – March 2019

National Injury Prevention Strategy – Literature Review

waglett

Food and Water for Life

The George Institute has been working with Yuwaya Ngarra-li, a community-led partnership between the Dharriwaa Elders Group and UNSW Sydney, and NSW government to find a solution to high sodium levels in the bore water in Walgett, NSW, Australia.

In April 2019, a Food Forum was held in Walgett, hosted by the Yuwaya Ngarra-li partnership. The forum was attended by over 50 people from all aspects of the Walgett community.

Dr Jacqui Webster of The George Institute presented at the Forum on the sodium levels in the water and effective community interventions to improve the food environments worldwide; and has been providing ongoing expert comment on the health risks of the bore water in Walgett.

Recent NSW government commitment of funding to remove salt from the emergency bore water in Bourke and Walgett is welcome.  

More about the Food Forum here.

Recent media coverage here.

science-of-salt-weekly

Reducing population salt intake to save lives

As a WHO Collaborating Centre on Salt we are supporting governments on salt reduction, for example most recently, in Malaysia we evaluated their strategy to meet salt targets by 2025 and supported them to secure a $200k LINKS grant from Resolve to Save Lives to reduce salt in street foods. In Vanuatu we have contributed to a multi-sectoral government strategy to improve food policy and have been asked to support with their next non-communicable disease risk factor survey.  

More about this work here

Women’s health Australia

The overarching principle of our Women’s Health Program in Australia is to promote a life-course approach that addresses the burden of NCDI. This approach recognises health and wellbeing from birth to death as interconnected periods, in which early health-related markers can be indicators for health outcomes later in life.