About the Victorian General Practice Prevention Alliance (VGPPA)
The Alliance is comprised of non-government organisations committed to support general practice in the primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of chronic disease.
The VGPPA works to increase the capacity of general practice, through divisions of general practice, to undertake best practice, evidence-based prevention activities. The priority of the VGPPA is to build practice level capacity through the implementation of sustainable systems and processes.
The VGPPA was officially created on Thursday 28 February 2008 with the signing of an Agreement by participating organisations’ CEOs. A Memorandum of Understanding has been published to explain the VGPPA to stakeholders.
The members of the Victorian General Practice Prevention Alliance are:
Cancer Council Victoria’s General Practice Program works to improve health outcomes by enhancing the delivery of evidence-based cancer control initiatives through Victorian general practice.
Diabetes Australia – Vic’s (DA–Vic) purpose is to minimise the impact of diabetes in the community, to help all people affected by diabetes, and to contribute to the search for a cure. The DA–Vic General Practice Program aims to optimise the delivery of evidence-based diabetes initiatives throughout Victorian general practice.
General Practice Victoria (GPV) represents 29 Divisions of General Practice in Victoria. GPV supports Divisions in their endeavours to ensure a skilled, viable and effective general practice workforce, to improve the health and well-being of the people of Victoria. In its work with Victorian Divisions, GPV has a focus on prevention and early intervention and encouraging better management of chronic disease.
The Heart Foundation saves lives and improves health through funding world-class cardiovascular research, guidelines for health professionals, informing the public and assisting people with cardiovascular disease.
The National Stroke Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that works with the public, Government, health professionals, patients, carers and stroke survivors to reduce the impact of stroke on the Australian community. Its challenge is to save 110,000 Australians from death and disability due to stroke over 10 years.
Please note: each VGPPA member organisation has resources and programs specifically designed for general practice on their individual websites.
The Victorian General Practice Prevention Alliance advocates that:
1. The general practice team is fundamental in preventing, managing risk factors and screening for cancer, heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
2. By focusing preventative activities on smoking, nutrition, alcohol, physical activity and obesity, general practice may reduce the incidence of major causes of death and disease burden.
3. Significant reduction in risk factors for chronic disease can be achieved by implementing a practice wide, systematic approach to risk screening, targeted case finding, self management and referral to lifestyle modification programs.
4. General practice provides a unique and important access point for preventative health, with about 88% of the Australian population visiting a GP at least once a year.
5. The divisions of general practice network is ideally placed to assist general practice to facilitate positive change.
Useful links and resources
• Prevention in General Practice Awards 2009
• QUIT
• Assessing Absolute Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) risk
• Life! Taking Action on Diabetes
• Guidelines for Preventive Activities in General Practice - The Red Book
• RACGP Putting Prevention Into Practice - The Green Book
• Screening and prevention of chronic disease in general practice (PDF)
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. 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. The seven NHPAs account for about 73.3% of the burden of illness and injury in Australia.
About 88% of the Australian population visit a general practice at least once in any year. There is therefore substantial opportunity for GPs to observe and influence the lifestyle risk behaviours of their patients. Many GPs already undertake risk factor management with their patients. There are also a number of initiatives within general practices, Divisions of General Practice, State/Territory and Commonwealth Governments and peak non-government organisations aimed at reducing disease related to these four behavioural risk factors. The alliance aims to build upon this work within Victoria and strengthen the support provided to general practice.
Greg Johnson (DA-Vic), David Hill (CCV), Bill Newton (GPV), Kathy Bell (NHFV) and Chris Price (NSF) signing the VGPPA MoU.
Contact:
For further information about the Victorian General Practice Prevention Alliance, please contact the secretariats
Cancer Council Victoria on (03) 9635 5421, or General Practice Victoria on (03) 9341 5261.