The Albanese Labor Government is investing $3.6 million in targeted funding to enhance the health literacy, reduce risk and improve health outcomes for women who face additional challenges accessing health information.
The funding will be delivered to three organisations to expand existing health promotion activities and trial new ways to reach women and girls from groups including First Nations women, women in rural Australia, people in the LGBTIQA+ community and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Each of the funded programs address clear unmet health needs identified in the National Women's Health Strategy 2020-2030, and are funded through the Public Health and Chronic Disease Program.
The Menzies School of Health Research will receive $1.4 million to deliver hands-on health promotion to women and girls in regional, rural and very remote parts of Australia, with a focus on some of the most isolated First Nations communities through SheLAB. SheLAB is a co-designed mobile, pop-up lab which will tailor health information to respond to local and changing health priorities in each of the communities it visits.
The National Ageing Research Institute's MindCare4Women program will receive $912,000 to co-design and evaluate a dementia risk reduction program for women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. MindCare4Women will empower women to take positive action for better brain health and reduce their risk of dementia, which is the leading cause of mortality in Australian women.
LGBTIQA+ women are another group which experiences additional barriers accessing health information. ACON Health will receive $1.3 million for Word on the Sheets to support LGBTIQA+. Words on the Sheets is a resource to respond to the specific, often un- or under-addressed, sexual and reproductive health needs of LGBTIQA+ women. Grant funding will expand the existing online service and optimise it for mobile phones, delivering accessible, inclusive and relevant health and lifestyle information.
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney MP:
"Improving the health and wellbeing of Australian women and girls starts with education.
"Knowledge really is power and giving women the confidence to make informed decisions about their bodies is how we can overcome gender bias in the health system and tackle unmet need.
"These projects have vastly different approaches and aims, but together they add up to on-the-ground action for Australian women and girls."
We know our approach to improving women's health should include tailored funding for LGBTIQA+ women, culturally and linguistically diverse women, First Nations women, and women with diverse identities".
Lee Wang, Team Leader of ACON LGBTQ+ Women's Health Program
"This is a significant investment into our LGBTQ+ Women's Health Program. We're incredibly grateful to the Australian Government for prioritising communities who are often overlooked or ignored.
Our work through Word on the Sheets builds on more than three decades of peer-led health interventions, transferring this wealth of experience and knowledge into the digital landscape.
This grant will allow ACON to expand the capacity and reach of the Women's Health Programs and to realise the full potential of Word on the Sheets as a national resource for LGBTQ+ women when it comes to sexual and reproductive health."
Quotes attributable to Federal Member for Sydney, Tanya Plibersek:
"The Albanese Government is delivering strong health support, on the ground, for women in our community who may need it the most.
"I'm very pleased that ACON Health, based in my electorate, will receive $1.3 million for Word on the Sheets to respond to the sexual and reproductive health needs of LGBTQ+ women, which can so often be ignored or overlooked."
