General practitioner and host of ABC TV’s Ask the Doctor, Dr Caroline West, facilitated Healthy North Coast’s recent Back to Health conference, discussing how we can improve our approaches to preventive health care on the North Coast.
Dr West recognises that despite evidence of how to prevent chronic disease in primary health care, there remain gaps in preventive care in practise, and inequities in access to preventive care by disadvantaged population groups.
At the Back to Health conference, she outlined primary care’s important role in preventing illness and in the early detection of specific diseases, while encouraging the promotion and maintenance of good health.
Dr West discussed the 5As (ask, assess, advise/agree, assist and arrange), which provide a framework for analysing the steps involved in preventive care and in defining the optimal roles of providers and services at the practice level.
She spoke about applying the 5As to the lifestyle risk factors of SNAP (smoking, nutrition, alcohol and physical activity).
In this video, we talk to Dr West about her experience at the conference and her takeaways regarding the things North Coast clinicians can do to promote better health outcomes through preventive health.
To access resources from the Back to Health conference, click on the individual sessions in the program to download available presentations.
The Back to Health conference was held 21 – 23 October 2022 and welcomed 100 North Coast clinicians. Thank you to all who attended.
