November 2004

Moreland’s health now tracked online

Moreland City Council has launched a website containing a range of methods to judge the health of the Moreland community.

The website contains the Moreland Indicators of Health, Safety and Well-being and aims to keep the community and staff informed of the city’s social progress.

It is now one of the key mechanisms for council and the broader community to monitor population health improvement and the effectiveness of public health planning.

Fourteen key determinants of health underpin both the website and its sister document, the Moreland Municipal Public Health Plan.

Through consultation in the community and research these 14 were found to be the most critical for the Moreland community—social and economic circumstances, employment, education, housing, built and natural environment, early years, personal well-being and safety, access and availability of services, social inclusion and support, social participation, political participation, recreation, arts and leisure, transport and information.

The website contains about 60 different sets of data and graphs to show progress on the 14 areas.

Data illustrates each element in specific ways, such as data which indicates how recreation, arts and leisure are going in Moreland.

A graph shows that the number of sporting clubs has remained stable over the past four years in the city and that attendance at arts events has risen from 25 per cent to 37 per cent.

The website also has many links to other organisations where people can take action to improve their own health, safety and well-being.

The project was a collaborative one across council and involved staff from health, community services, land use planning, economic development and transport.

The website can be updated as new data or indicators are added or changed.

Council is also planning to develop the site to enable community groups to have their own indicators in the future.

This project was one of the Good Practice in Municipal Public Health Planning projects funded through the Local Government Partnerships of the Department of Human Services.

• The website address is http://www.indicators.moreland.vic.gov.au.