Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing 
and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity 
Itís a basic human right, essential for a long and happy life
and something we all strive for
At VicHealth, we understand this
Since 1987, weíve worked in partnership with organisations, communities and individuals 
to make health a central part of our daily lives
Our focus is to create good health by tackling the conditions that lead to chronic disease
and making positive changes to the world around us
We call all this ëHealth Promotioní
In the last three decades, health promotion has developed into a hugely important area of work across the globe 
And for good reasonÖ
Chronic conditions  such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and  some cancers 
as well as anxiety, and depression 
all present huge challenges to the health system as theyíre expensive to treat
and burden families and communities through pain and suffering 
loss of income or productivity
Stemming from a complicated mix of risk factors, including lifestyle and behaviours
chronic diseases cause half of the deaths here in Australia
costing our economy $267 billion a year 
But the good news is that many of these risk factors can be modified 
and death and disability from poor health can be prevented
Encouraging lifestyle change is one way Health Promotion works to modify risk. 
But when we look deeper, we see that itís about more than just encouraging lifestyle change 
There are also more complex, underlying elements that contribute to illness
These are known as the ësocial determinants of healthí
and they include your income, your cultural background, your gender
whether or not you work, where you work, the type of house you live in, your level of education
and even the strength of your social support.
For example
If youíre unemployed, youíre more likely to live in poor housing
have limited social support, and thus, are more likely to experience stress, anxiety, depression
and youíre more likely to smoke
Similarly, if youíre from a culturally-diverse background
you may experience racism which can also lead to stress, anxiety and depression
Health promotion works to address issues like these by supporting strong social networks
advocating for respectful relationships
encouraging attitude change
developing healthy, safe and supportive communities
ensuring research informs efforts and supports good public policy
and working to reduce health inequalities
In other words, health promotion equals multiple wins
For example
By developing healthy environments, we work to encourage people to be more active
A 5% cut in physical inactivity across the population 
can save 1,000 lives 
and has the potential to result in $48 million in health costs annually
Or supporting a person who is likely to experience racism
through strong social networks in the community
we work to prevent risky behaviours such as tobacco use
and if we can reduce tobacco smoking by just 4%, we can save 3000 lives each year
See, it really can make a difference.
At VicHealth, we aim to reduce the significant costs of treating chronic disease
enhance economic productivity, bridge the health gap between certain population groups
create healthier places for people to live, inform government policy, and most importantly
improve the quality of peopleís lives.
If youíd like to know more about health promotion and what we do, visit vichealth.vic.gov.au
