Background
Inadequate nutrition among Australian children aged 4–12 years is a persistent public health issue, with only 4.6% meeting recommended vegetable intake and 36% not meeting fruit intake guidelines.
Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) services, attended by nearly 40% of primary school-aged children, provide a valuable opportunity to promote healthier food habits in structured environments. However, there is a lack of comprehensive evidence on effective OSHC interventions.

Objectives/Aims
This systematic review evaluated the impact of interventions aimed at improving healthy eating among children in OSHC environments, comparing them to standard care, for improving healthy eating among children.

Methods
A systematic review was conducted following a registered PROSPERO protocol CRD42020185441. Outcomes included children’s dietary intake, food provision, healthy eating behaviours, staff practices, service policies, or health outcomes. Eligible studies included randomised controlled trials, quasi-experimental, and pre-post studies conducted in formal OSHC settings. Five databases were searched, and study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessments were conducted independently by two reviewers using standardised tools.

Results (anticipated or preliminary, if not complete)
A total of 33 studies, each evaluating a distinct intervention, involving over 14,000 children and 300 services, were included in this review. Six studies reported statistically significant increases in children's fruit and vegetable intake. Four studies demonstrated significant improvements in fruit and vegetable provision, and two studies showed improved OSHC service adherence to healthy eating policies. Interventions employed diverse and multi-faceted strategies, including direct nutrition education, family and community engagement, and policy-level changes.

Conclusions/Implications
This review highlights effective strategies to improve children's dietary habits and food environments in OSHC settings. It emphasises the need for varied approaches and for developing targeted public health initiatives to enhance children's fruit and vegetable consumption within OSHC settings in Australia.

The public health movement is constantly struggling against the commercial entities who are using their power and influence to override or subvert public health promoting measures that the PHAA and other civil society groups are working with government to implement.
In this constant struggle the wins are scare and the losses and backsliding constant. How can we change this to ensure the public’s health is promoted and protected?
This presentation argues that the public health movement must become more active in the political process, move beyond traditional roles as critical friend and friendly advisor to actively promote measures that will ensure good governance. Only by having parliaments and MPs actively working for good governance can we start to win the health goals we are kicking for.
This does not mean becoming partisan. This means devoting resources to integrity measures, to improving parliamentary processes, and working for and supporting other organisations in the struggle to make our political system operate more democratically.
Beside presenting evidence for why good governance leads to better social outcomes, I will outline practical actions that PHAA and other public health entities can take.

Background and aims: Skin cancer continues to be a major health issue in NSW and is the most common cancer affecting young Australians. In 2021, an estimated 4,941 NSW residents were diagnosed with melanoma, this is projected to increase to 5,733 in 2025. Over 95% of skin cancers are caused by overexposure to UV radiation from the sun.

Sustained efforts in skin cancer prevention are required across multiple settings with a range of engaged stakeholders. The third statewide Strategy builds on previous successes and aims to reduce the incidence of skin cancer in NSW by embedding skin cancer prevention across sectors, improving access to quality shade and increasing the adoption of sun/UV protection behaviours.

Method: A collaborative cross-sector and community approach was adopted in the development of the Strategy. Development was informed by reviewing relevant literature and datasets, applying the learnings from the previous Strategy evaluation and extensive consultations and workshops with stakeholders. Additionally, two rounds of public consultation were conducted.

Results: The NSW Skin Cancer Prevention Strategy 2023-2030 calls for concerted efforts to prevent skin cancer where people work, live and play in NSW. The Strategy outlines goals and actions across sectors and communities that are evidence-based, focus on co-benefits of sun/UV protection, improve access to quality shade across the built environment and continue to highlight the importance of sun protection behaviours. The Strategy also identified new focus areas including Aboriginal people, early detection, and rural and remote communities.

Aim: Due to ongoing colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live with a higher burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than non-Indigenous Australians. Shared decision-making is essential to person-centred care. However, there has been a lack of tools supporting clinician communication and shared decision-making for CVD prevention in this “at-risk” group. We developed the Heart Health Yarning Tool, an online shared decision-making resource co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, to be implemented alongside the new Australian guidelines for primary CVD risk assessment and management.

Method: This was a three-phase project, consisting of a stakeholder consultation and co-design (Phase 1), mapping (Phase 2), and content development and testing (Phase 3).

Results: Phase 1 involved stakeholder consultation and co-design, including yarning workshops (n=21), individual yarning sessions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers/Practitioners (n=8), consumers (n=17), and general practitioners (n=5). Phase 2 mapped qualitative data into an existing culturally adapted shared decision-making model, ‘Finding Your Way,’ to tailor it to the CVD context. Phase 3 developed and tested tool content using evidence-based formats. This phase included user testing with consumers and health professionals (n=10), and presentation of the tool to key advisory groups.

Conclusion: The tool (https://heartyarningtool.com/) supports health professionals in shared decision-making about heart health with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It can be used in primary care consultations or as a training tool. Future research will assess whether the tool improves cultural and shared decision-making competencies and cardiovascular outcomes in this population.

The study upheld Indigenous governance and ethics by embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership, community guidance, and culturally appropriate methodologies. Governance was ensured through the Thiitu Tharrmay Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group, which provided oversight on research design, recruitment, and data collection to align with Indigenous priorities. Ethical integrity was maintained through approval from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), ensuring adherence to principles of self-determination, reciprocity, and respect. The research team included Indigenous leaders (JP, DF, MD) who guided all stages of the project, ensuring cultural safety and community accountability. A yarning approach, a culturally recognized method of conversation and knowledge sharing, was used to engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants meaningfully. Indigenous researchers led yarning sessions and co-design workshops, ensuring that data collection and interpretation reflected community voices. By centering Indigenous governance structures, prioritizing cultural protocols, and ensuring Indigenous leadership in decision-making, the study reinforced ethical research practices that support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination in health research and policy development.

Background and aims:
The National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP) will begin in July 2025. The program is a risk-based program, with eligibility focusing on current or previous smoking history. A key part of the program is to offer a brief intervention for smoking cessation at key points along the pathway. The NLCSP provides an opportunity for a smoking cessation with participants, aiming to link participants in with evidence based smoking cessation supports and services, improving health outcomes for participants.

Methods:
The Cancer Institute NSW runs the NSW Quitline (Quitline) service, a phone information and counselling for nicotine dependency. To prepare for the implementation of the NLCSP Quitline is developing new standard operating procedures and providing training for the counselling staff on how to identify if a Quitline client may be eligible for NLCS, provide counselling to NLCSP participants, and identify at what program stage participants are when referred to Quitline for smoking cessation counselling. The Quitline medical record is also being reviewed and amended to enable identification of clients who are referred to the service while on the screening pathway, and those Quitline counsellors identify may be eligible for the program.

Results:
There is a significant opportunity for Quitline to provide high quality counselling to participants of the NLCSP, given the focus of the program being on people who have long-term and high levels of tobacco dependence. The work of Quitline in preparing for the program and its experience in the very early stage of the NLCSP will be presented.

Background: Addressing health inequities requires structural actions beyond individual-level interventions. Health systems play a crucial role in addressing health equity, yet a deeper understanding of strategies that reorient health systems is needed.
Approach: This study explores health equity framework implementation within an Australian health authority. The framework aims to provide guidance for staff capacity building, ensuring equitable integration into the organisation. Through senior executive interviews, the study identifies approaches for embedding actions to ensure equity, and the enablers and barriers in translating into practice.
Results: Most staff were familiar with health equity and understood that the equitable access to health care (and equitable health outcomes) requires differential levels of support from the health system (and social systems). Respondents identified systematic drivers including routine integration of actions by the health system (as an organisation) and by its staff to increase health equity. Strategically important were senior managers as champions, and the inclusion of patients and community members in policy decisions, resource distribution, and the co-design and delivery of integrated clinical services. Operationally, staff identified leadership support, the development of close working relationships with colleagues, patients and community members as essential to positive action to achieve health equity. Staff identified barriers to the health system’s strengthening of actions to increase health equity - budget constraints, competing priorities, performance metrics, and clinical models. The strategies suggested included government policies that mandate equity reporting, and supporting staff to develop interpersonal cross-cultural, cross-professional skills to strengthen health equity.
Implications: Leadership and community engagement are vital for the implementation of equity-focused policies. But this is not enough, and our research reveals that equity action needs to go beyond relying on individual staff without systematic support. Equity frameworks can provide a structured approach to embed equity, integrating it into the organisation’s culture, operations, and practices.

Background: Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in Australia, creating significant pressure on healthcare systems. Variations in access to care, clinical practices, and challenges in translating research into actionable outcomes hinder progress. To address these issues, the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) initiated a National Lung Cancer Roundtable series, designed to unite stakeholders and forge a coordinated, strategic path forward for lung cancer prevention, treatment, and survivorship.
Methods: The Roundtable series brought together clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and patient advocates through structured discussions. Roundtable one focused on identifying critical gaps and opportunities across the lung cancer landscape, with frameworks such as the Hexagon Exploration Tool guiding the process. For Roundtable two, subgroups were created to develop actionable strategies in priority areas, with subsequent discussions refining a roadmap for national efforts. Roundtable three sought to address collaborative strategies to further advance the agreed priorities.
Results: Four priority areas emerged from these efforts: (1) establishing a standardised approach to managing lung nodules to streamline follow-ups for CT-detected pulmonary nodules; (2) enhancing tissue banking and translational research for biomarker discovery and tailored treatments; (3) creating a national quality of care framework to standardise lung cancer practices; and (4) improving survivorship programs to address patient needs post-treatment. The integration of registries and population-level data was highlighted as crucial for understanding patient outcomes and informing decisions. The third Roundtable gained consensus towards forming a unified national lung cancer coalition.
Conclusion: The Roundtable series laid the foundations towards multidisciplinary, patient-centred, and partnered advocacy efforts, together with open channels of communication with key government agencies. Sustained collaboration among stakeholders remains key to driving progress and improving outcomes for Australians living with or beyond lung cancer.

Background: Integrating equity into decision-making processes and systems is essential for reducing health inequities, yet research and health systems often operate in silos, limiting translation of equity research into practice. The Health Equity Research Development Unit (HERDU), established in 2014 as an innovative partnership between UNSW Sydney and Sydney Local Health District, demonstrates how collaborative partnerships can systematically embed equity considerations into public health practice and systems.
Methods: HERDU's approach is grounded in 'equity infrastructure'—the formal and informal networks and practices that support health equity. Our work spans four key areas: collaboration across sectors, high-quality participatory research, capacity development, and health service re-orientation. We focus on transforming systems and structures that create health inequities whilst understanding how marginalised communities navigate these systems. The partnership has evolved through two distinct phases over ten years.
Results: Phase One (2014-2020) focused on demonstrating the health sector's role in identifying and addressing inequities through targeted projects. Phase Two (2020-present) shifted towards mainstreaming equity within SLHD and targeting structural determinants. Three examples demonstrate our integrated approach: the Can Get Health in Canterbury programme transitioned from community engagement to community-led models, supporting Rohingya community to address self-identified health priorities; the COVID-19 Equity-Focused Health Impact Assessment co-developed actionable recommendations to address pandemic health equity impacts; and our district-wide equity policy embeds equity into all health service planning and delivery.
Conclusions: This embedded partnership model demonstrates how sustained university-health system collaboration can achieve structural transformation beyond individual projects. Our evolution from project-based interventions to mainstreaming equity shows the value of long-term partnerships that address upstream determinants whilst building equity capacity and power. The approach offers a replicable model for other jurisdictions seeking to systematically integrate equity into public health practice.

Multicultural Health Week (MHW) is an annual health communication initiative led by the NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service (MHCS). With over a quarter of NSW residents born overseas and speaking a language other than English at home, effective, culturally informed health communication is essential for improving health literacy, increasing service access, and reducing health inequities.

Established as a strategic platform to engage CALD communities, MHW brings together local health districts, multicultural health services, community organisations and government partners to deliver targeted health promotion campaigns. Campaigns are co-designed with communities to ensure messaging is culturally relevant, linguistically accessible, and responsive to current health priorities. Each year, MHW focuses on a specific theme, topics have included chronic disease prevention cancer screening, mental health and health literacy.

The 2024 theme: Celebrate Culture through food with multicultural family lunchboxes promoted healthy eating and prevention of chronic disease. MHCS partnered with chef Adam Liaw as a Multicultural Health Ambassador to create resources to inspire families and communities to develop healthy lunchboxes using culturally diverse recipes and practical tips.

A critical success factor for MHW 2024 was the effective use of social media. QR codes promoted events and multilingual resources in 40 languages to create significant engagement. The increase in website traffic (from 16,571 to 247,298 views) and nearly 1,000,000 combined social media reach, highlighted the success of the digital strategy.

By leveraging multilingual resources, community media, in-language health sessions, and trusted cultural networks, MHW enhances the reach and impact of public health messaging. Inclusive health communication that centres community voices, recognises the diversity of health beliefs and practices, and champions equity, strengthens the capacity of the health system to deliver culturally responsive care in partnership with multicultural communities.

MHW remains a critical vehicle for addressing systemic barriers and fostering a more inclusive, responsive healthcare system.

Background and aims: Tobacco is the greatest preventable cause of cancer. The Cancer Institute NSW is the lead agency responsible for delivering anti-tobacco social marketing campaigns in NSW. The desired outcome for the anti-tobacco campaign is to: increase quitting intentions and quit attempts among people who smoke; increase awareness and use of the available smoking cessation support services and to increase successful quit attempts.

Method: The Beat the Cravings creative was launched in 2021/22 to provide information on how to quit and the ‘16 Cancers’ creative was introduced in April 2023 to motivate people who smoke to quit. Campaign evaluation was conducted using a cross-sectional continuous tracking survey of people in NSW who smoke or had recently quit aged 18 years and over, with 40 people interviewed each week for 50 weeks of the year. Cost benefit analysis (CBA) of the campaign was also undertaken.

Results: Campaign recognition of either creative across 2021/22-2023/24 was high while in market (61% 2021/22; 68% in 2022/23; 69% in 2023/24). Approximately one-quarter of people who smoke indicated that they intended to quit within the next 30 days as a result of seeing the campaign. These data support a CBA to quantify economic benefits. It was predicated that over 3,280 life years would be saved as a result of the campaign and that for every $1 dollar invested in the campaign, $24.40 was returned to the NSW economy.

Background
A large proportion of older Australians drink at risky levels, with adults over 50 drinking more regularly than any other age group. Due to physiological differences and co-morbidities, harm related to this drinking is higher among older people.
Australia’s ageing population is anticipated to increase demand on the country’s healthcare system. Preventive action is needed to protect the wellbeing and health of the ageing population and reduce service demand.
Allied health professionals are well placed to identify and support older adults at risk of harm from AoD.
Methods
In 2024/25 Injury Matters, supported by funding from Healthway, implemented the AoD Older Adults Pilot Project. A key component of this project was the provision of training for 75 Western Australian Allied Health Professionals in February 2025. The in-person workshops centred on increasing the knowledge, skills and confidence of participants to identify, screen and respond to older adults at risk of harm from AoD use via the evidence-based Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Test (ASSIST) Lite screening tool and related brief interventions.
Results
Pre and post survey responses indicated that respondents (n=42) reported an increased;
• awareness of the harms related to alcohol and other drug use among older adults (93%, n=39),
• skill set in applying ASSIST-Lite with older adults (90%, n=38),
• understanding of the importance of referring older adults to appropriate support services (100%, n=42), and
• confidence to refer older adult clients to appropriate services when needed (88%, n=37).
Additionally, 91% of respondents reported intention to implement concepts from the workshops (n=59) and 95% were satisfied with the workshops (n=62).
Conclusions
Increasing the capacity of the allied health workforce to identify and support older adults at risk of harm from AoD increases their perceived skills and confidence to intervene and is a potentially cost-effective public health strategy.

Dementia is one of Australia’s most significant public health, social and economic challenges. There are 433,300 Australians living with dementia, a figure projected to almost double in the next 30 years. Dementia causes significant disability, and is the leading cause of death for Australian women and the second leading cause of death overall. It is likely that dementia will soon be the leading cause of death, surpassing heart disease. Despite this, dementia is largely absent from public and preventive health strategies.
While age and genetics are non-modifiable risk factors for dementia, there are fourteen modifiable risk factors accounting for 45% of dementia incidence globally. In Australia, 43% of dementia burden is attributable to six factors. Research has found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities experience dementia rates 3-5 times higher than the general population and must be a priority population for preventive approaches.
While there is significant evidence that midlife dementia risk reduction interventions are important, social, psychological and health experiences from early childhood and in young adulthood also impact on dementia risk.
Dementia risk is not evenly distributed across the population with certain groups at a higher risk due to a greater prevalence of modifiable risk factors, driven by social determinants of health including poverty, lower access to education, poor housing, chronic stress and racism.
Secondary prevention must also promote brain health among people living with dementia, to reduce symptoms and improve health outcomes including dementia-related disability.
This presentation will explore opportunities for public health advocacy to centre dementia as a critical preventive health issue in Australia. It will discuss why a focus on health equity and the social determinants of health for priority groups across the life course is essential, including targeted strategies for First Nations communities.