Have your say on health in Junee and Coolamon

Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) is providing Junee and Coolamon locals an opportunity to share their stories about health in an effort to better support the community’s health needs.

MPHN is asking members of the community to share their thoughts on what is important to them about health, and what improvements could be made, as part of its HNA Live campaign.

MPHN CEO Melissa Neal said the feedback received would help to inform how health needs are met in the region.

“Each year we look at the various sources of information available to us about the health of our region including data and feedback from community, to help us identify any new or emerging needs for us to consider as we plan our activity for 2020 and beyond,” Ms Neal said.

“We already know what data is telling us about the health needs of the Murrumbidgee and it’s important for us to know and understand from locals what people are actually experiencing.”

“HNA Live is a great opportunity for locals to share their thoughts and views on how we can reduce health risk factors and improve the health of the community, and I encourage people living in Junee and Coolamon to submit their feedback,” she said.

MPHN Senior Manager Population Health and Data Dr Alison Koschel, said previous research has highlighted a number of health issues relevant to the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Junee and Coolamon.

“In 2019 our Health Needs Assessment showed higher rates of males having at least one risk factor for chronic disease in Junee and Coolamon LGAs,” Dr Koschel said. 

“The incidence of melanoma was higher in both LGAs and in Junee there was higher incidence of lung, breast, prostate and bowel cancer.

“In Junee there was a higher rate of premature deaths in females and higher rates of deaths due to respiratory disease including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This may be associated with the higher rates of females who smoke in Junee, in particular during pregnancy,” she said.

Locals are encouraged to head to http://www.mphn.org.au/hna-live to submit their feedback anytime during March.