Healthy Loddon Campaspe is a State Government-funded initiative aimed at improving health outcomes in the Loddon Campaspe region – the heart of Victoria.
Healthy Loddon Campaspe (previously known as Healthy Heart of Victoria) was developed in response to the region showing higher than Victorian average rates of obesity, chronic disease and high-risk health behaviours.
Healthy Loddon Campaspe (HLC) projects are designed to focus on those parts of the community that are the least supported to help encourage healthy eating and get more people, more active, more often.
There are six local Councils involved in the initiative – Campaspe Shire, Central Goldfields Shire, City of Greater Bendigo, Loddon Shire, Macedon Ranges Shire and Mount Alexander Shire.
Background
In 2016, the community told the Loddon Campaspe Regional Partnership that it was concerned about health statistics and outcomes in the region. They also believed that health is everyone’s business, not just health services and professionals.
To address these concerns, a series of design workshops were undertaken involving over 100 stakeholders from local government, health services, primary care partnerships, universities and state government departments to develop the Healthy Heart of Victoria implementation framework.
Subsequently, in 2018 the Healthy Heart of Victoria (now known as Healthy Loddon Campaspe) initiative was funded $5M from the Victorian State Government.
Our region
The Loddon Campaspe region is made up of six local Councils – Campaspe Shire, Central Goldfields Shire, City of Greater Bendigo, Loddon Shire, Macedon Ranges Shire and Mount Alexander Shire.
Each Council has a dedicated place-based HLC Health Broker whose role is to make health everyone’s business – developing relationships between Council, local organisations and community groups to help build knowledge and influence decision making with respect to health and wellbeing.
Check out all the projects delivered by HLC in each local Council area:
City of Greater Bendigo
Loddon Shire
Macedon Ranges Shire
Mount Alexander Shire
The main components of Healthy Loddon Campaspe
HLC incorporates a light-touch, participatory governance structure which provides opportunity for a range of expertise and place-based knowledge to guide and support our work. The three levels of governance ensure broad achievement of our objectives, whilst allowing for locally driven decision making and delivery of activities.
A mix of place-based and regional specialists working to influence and impact local and regional systems, particularly involving:
- Partnerships - establishing, developing and strengthening partnerships, networks and collaborations across the region.
- Policy work - influencing policy, plans, strategies and practice with a health-priority lens.
- Capacity building - providing opportunities for learning and helping organisations adopt more of a health-priority lens in their work.
- Communication - building awareness of HLC through communications, marketing and engagement.
- Evaluation - monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of HLC's work.
Activation projects focus on creating healthy spaces, places and practices that support an increase in physical activity and healthy eating, particularly among target populations.
Place-based activation projects are designed based on community-level data and local stakeholder and community engagement. Projects are outcomes focused and aim to advance equity, create opportunities for scale-up and keep sustainability front of mind.
Activation may include:
- Systems change,
- Policy development or change.
- Small scale enabling infrastructure.
- Knowledge and skills development.
- Community mobilisation and action.
- Capacity building.
- Strengthening best practice.
- Broadening partnerships and networks.
- Improving access to resources.
- Prioritisation of target groups, geographic areas and settings based on equity.
- Continuing actions that have demonstrated positive impacts in previous HLC funding rounds.
Check out the details on the latest round of HLC projects HERE.
Place-based data collection will help inform planning, projects, funding opportunities and to undertake and collaborate on research.
Active Living Census
The Active Living Census (ALC), conducted in 2019, is a region-wide survey that gathers information about Loddon Campaspe residents' health and wellbeing including:
- Participation in organised sports and informal physical activity.
- Consumption of fruit, vegetables, water, alcohol, and sugary drinks.
- Smoking and gambling.
- Overweight and obesity.
- Barriers to healthy eating and active lifestyles.