Have your say about health in Coolamon, Narrandera and Leeton LGAs

Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) is providing locals living in the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Coolamon, Narrandera and Leeton an opportunity to share their stories about health in an effort to better support the community’s health needs.

Residents living in these communities are being asked to share their thoughts on what is important to them about health, and what improvements could be made, as part of MPHN’s Health Needs Assessment (HNA) for the Murrumbidgee region.

MPHN Acting CEO Julie Redway said the feedback received would help to inform how identified 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 the community, to help us identify any new or emerging needs for us to consider as we plan our activity for 2021 and beyond,” Ms Redway 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.” 

MPHN’s Senior Manager Population Health Planning and Data Dr Alison Koschel said previous research has highlighted a number of health issues relevant to each of these three LGA communities.

“Our Health Needs Assessment in 2018 showed people in the Coolamon LGA have a higher risk of premature deaths from external causes in both males and females. There is a higher incidence of cancer, in particular melanoma, as well. Levels of offences related to liquor are also significantly higher than the state average.” Dr Koschel said.

“For the Narrandera LGA, the Health Needs Assessment in 2018 showed premature deaths for males to be significantly higher than the state average. Deaths from cancer, in particular lung cancer, were also higher. The most prominent health risk factors in this LGA are obesity in men and women, use of narcotics and smoking during pregnancy.

“The Leeton LGA experiences higher rates of premature deaths in males and females and a higher rate of deaths from circulatory diseases. Lung and bowel cancer have a higher incidence rate for the region, and health risk factors including use of cannabis, obesity in men and women and assault were also identified in the 2018 Health Needs Assessment.

“HNA Community Feedback is a great opportunity for the people living in the communities of Coolamon, Narrandera and Leeton Local Government Areas to share their thoughts and views on how we can reduce these risk factors and improve the health of everyone in the community. And the feedback we receive is used to update the health profile for each of these LGAs,” she said.

Locals are encouraged to head to www.mphn.org.au/hna to submit their feedback anytime during the month of July.