June 2002

Women’s health plan for eastern suburbs

Improving women’s emotional and mental health and wellbeing will be a key priority in the planning of women’s health services in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

Launching the Eastern Regional Women’s Health Strategy, Health Minister John Thwaites said research indicated that improving women's positive mental and emotional health would also have an impact on their physical health.

‘Factors such as stress, anxiety, depression and social isolation are associated with cardiovascular and immune system problems and may also affect the recovery process.

‘This strategy aims to identify women at risk of depression, develop strategies to alleviate the geographical and social isolation faced by women and improve access to health services for all women in the region.’

Mr Thwaites said the strategy examined the health needs of the some 456,731 women living in the seven local government areas of Boroondara, Knox, Manningham, Maroondah, Monash, Whitehorse and Yarra Ranges.

‘The strategy identifies a number of factors which may be having a negative impact on the emotional and mental health of women in the region.

‘These include stress involved in combining work and family responsibilities, social isolation, behaviours such as smoking, lack of exercise, gambling and eating disorders and postnatal depression—particularly among isolated new mothers.

‘This strategy will form the basis for health services to share knowledge on issues affecting the emotional and mental health of women, to share and address best-practice strategies and to plan for responsive service models for and with women in the eastern suburbs.’

Mr Thwaites said the Government had provided funding of $4.4 million in the State Budget for a range of new initiatives to improve women’s health including:

• Improving post natal care with emphasis on high-risk communities;

• Improving and promoting the detection of effective primary care services for women at risk of antenatal and post natal depression;

• Establishing a consumer-run Breast Cancer Resource Centre;

• Extending best practice models providing intensive in-home support for mothers with a mental illness;

• Building partnerships between mental health, sexual assault and domestic violence services;

• The provision of training to primary mental health and early intervention teams focussing on effective counselling approaches for women.