There is an increased recognition within the NSW government, and internationally, that health precincts and health infrastructure are not just a cluster of facilities and services, and need to be developed and managed so that they can better support the health and wellbeing of the communities, patients and staff that utilise them. This requires a greater awareness of not only how health facilities, services, and offerings can be improved, but also:

• how their public spaces can be improved,
• how they can be better linked to their service region, and
• how they can be developed so that they better respond to their broader socioeconomic, cultural and environmental context.

We are developing diverse tools to improve the development and management of health precincts and health infrastructure so that they can better support the health and wellbeing of the communities, patients and staff that utilise them.

The determinants of health—which may be social, economic, environmental, and cultural among others—impact some groups in the population more than others. This means that some groups are inequitably burdened with the likelihood of experiencing illness, disease and injury over the life course. We work to influence policy and practice that can help level the playing field, to help ensure sections of the population are not disadvantaged by their individual circumstances that contribute to unhealthy lifestyles and negative health outcomes.

As we transition to a net-zero future, there is a need to encourage and implement sustainable practices. This includes within the healthcare sector, where adjustments to current practices may not only contribute to this net zero transition but also improve the efficiencies of how care and support is provided. This includes longer-term views and foresight into how we—as individuals and as systems—can be better prepared for and adapt to emergencies such as climate change or a pandemic, as well as mitigate the challenges ahead.

With support from HUE, the Institute of Sustainable Futures has developed a paper for Health Infrastructure NSW to facilitate discussions on NSW health precincts.

HUE has started research into health precincts in South West Sydney Local Health District, with the focus on: Does hospital/healthcare infrastructure, directly or indirectly, impact on the health of patients, staff, their social networks and the wider community?

This report describes a rapid review exercise on the place-based intervention approaches to improving the health and wellbeing outcomes of residents in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). The aim of this exercise is to inform the Cancer Institute NSW on their future policy and program developments in cancer prevention and screening. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following research questions:
1. What place-based interventions for health promotion and risk prevention and screening currently exist in NSW?
2. How effective have these interventions been in achieving their stated objectives?

This project (funded by the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute as part of its 2022 seed grant program) investigates how traditional walaays (ceremonial camps) and Augmented Reality technology may assist older, urban-living Aboriginal people to reconnect with Country, and contribute to cultural healing.

Partnersing with UNSW Sydney's Centre for Health Equity Training, Research and Evaluation, this project (commissioned by the Western Sydney Health Alliance) reviews the development of healthy planning principles in Australia and internationally, assesses how land use planning instruments at the NSW State and local government levels align with and operationalise 12 healthy planning principles, and proposes a set of indicators that will assist the Alliance to benchmark and monitor health equity outcomes in the Western Parkland City.

It finds that, while Australian healthy planning guidelines lead in considering healthy equity and outcomes, these are not necessarily translated to land use planning instruments and guidance. Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) were more likely to have considered healthy planning principles and issues of equity than State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs). There are also notable gaps in data that limit the ongoing monitoring of health equity outcomes across different population groups.

Government agencies and alliance groups should advocate for greater integration of healthy planning principles and equity in these land use planning instruments, including in conjnction with other social and community planning programs.

This collaborative project involves researchers at the University of Technology Sydney, Western Sydney University, UNSW Sydney and Arup Australia. Funded by the Greater Cities Commission, it will investigate how city planning can help improve the senses of belonging, home and safety of our Lesbian, Gay, Busexual, Trans and Gender Diverse, Queer, Intersex, Asexual and other sexual minority (LGBTQIA+) communities living in the Six Cities Region.

This project (funded by the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute as part of its 2023 seed grant program) will identify the care and support needs of older people at the intersection of age, ethnicity and sexuality, to uncover how their needs
are currently supported by formal services and informal networks. We will do this through a mixed-method approach, by analysing and mapping data from the NSW
Gay Asian Men Survey Series and the GEN Aged Care Data, and gaining insights into the through in-depth
interviews with non-heterosexual men of Asian backgrounds living in Australia as well as stakeholders. The
outcomes will inform government and industries on how they may develop strategies to better support diverse, ageing populations.

A copy of the Project Information Statement can be downloaded here.