Partnering to prevent chronic disease
The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre
The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre (the Prevention Centre) is a national collaboration which is working to identify new ways to prevent chronic disease in Australia.
The Prevention Centre has built Australian capacity for systems thinking and gained international recognition for its work. It is administered by the Sax Institute.
About the Prevention Centre
The Prevention Centre was established in 2013 as an NHMRC Partnership Centre for Better Health to build an effective, efficient, and equitable system for the prevention of chronic disease.
As a national initiative, it brings together more than 500 prevention researchers, policy partners and practitioners from across Australia to co‑produce research into what works and what doesn’t to prevent chronic disease.
The Centre’s focus is to provide decision makers with evidence and tools to turn knowledge into sustained action. It has established itself as Australia’s leading expert in systems approaches and innovations in communicating the importance and value of prevention research.
What we do
The Prevention Centre works in partnership with the end-users of research – policy makers and practitioners – from project design through to implementation. It employs a range of strategies to ensure research findings are used in policy, including co-production of research, engagement, science communication and capacity development.
Taking a systems approach, this program of work is:
- Strengthening the evidence base for the prevention of chronic disease
- Creating and making readily available knowledge, either new or through syntheses of what is already known
- Building capacity to make more informed choices about prevention at policy, strategy, program and implementation levels.
Our priority areas
The Prevention Centre focuses on the leading risk factors for chronic diseases and conditions, and the many contributing drivers of those risk factors including:
- Overweight and obesity, and obesogenic environments
- Tobacco use and smoking
- Harmful alcohol consumption
- Unhealthy built environments
- Physical inactivity
- Unhealthy diet
- Food insecurity
- Low health literacy.
Learn more
Contact us or visit our website preventioncentre.org.au to access resources, news and events around the prevention of chronic disease research.
The Institute is incredibly proud to have led the way in establishing the Prevention Centre, and to continue to host and support this flourishing prevention partnership. Over the last decade, the Prevention Centre has become a prevention system treasure. We hear regular feedback from our member organisations and wider networks about how much its role is highly regarded and valued, particularly in building and supporting systems approaches to prevention and innovations in communicating the importance and value of prevention research.
Dr Martin McNamara, CEO, The Sax Institute