Australasia Background
Design & Health Australasia 2012 is an international symposium and exhibition dedicated to exploring global perspectives on enhancing health, wellbeing and quality of life by design.
The health status of people living in Australasia is one of the highest in the world, with rising life expectancies, and falling mortality and morbidity rates. But, at the same time, the region faces similar challenges to the rest of the developed world, characterised by the pressure of rising costs, an ageing population and a rise in the level of lifestyle diseases, most notably diabetes and obesity.
In addition, Australasia faces the challenge of addressing the inequities in health outcomes of its poorer socio-economic groups, in particular its indigenous population and those living in more remote and rural areas.
In recognition that a healthy population is the foundation for social development and economic growth, health reform in Australasia is undergoing a policy shift that is recognising the need to redesign its health systems to embrace health promotion and embed a preventative approach based on better education, evidence and research.
Global societies today are characterised by the importance of knowledge and information for economic growth. The human ability to process, develop, apply and formalise knowledge is a valuable asset to organisations of all types.
The development of employee knowledge is the critical corporate product in the new information era. A well-designed physical environment must therefore be built around the health of employees in order to optimise human capital and potential.
A psychosocially supportive work environment provides a rapid and scaleable return on this investment to improve health and wellbeing, which is the foundation of a productive society. Carefully designing the workplace to support employees is an investment that pays back commercially by driving changes in organisational culture.
The concept of “supportive environments for health” was coined during the World Health Conference in Ottawa 1986. A “settings based” health promotion project focuses on the the arena in which supportive health activities takes place. This theoretical approach is a shift in emphasis from individual health problems and risk factors to an examination of the nature of systems and potential wellness factors within organisations.
During the 66th meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations this year, the global socio-economic challenge of non-communicable disease was discussed for the first time. The IADH believes strongly that the built environment has a significant impact on health and is committed to bringing this understanding to the design and health professions in an effort to reduce the prevalance of these lifestyle diseases. The level of design quality in the built environment is also critical to the sustainable development of our neighbourhoods, towns and cities.
A ‘salutogenic approach’ to infrastructure development, embedded at the core of a preventative health strategy, changes the focus to a more holistic understanding of healthy environments.
We invite you to register for the 3rd International Symposium on Design & Health Australasia 2012, from 28-29 March, to explore global perspectives on the planning, procurement, design and operation of infrastructure that supports the development of healthy environments and communities across Australasia.
Objectives to:
- Evaluate different international models of care, and the latest health theories / perspectives
- Reflect on the socio-economic factors impacting on the design of public and health infrastructure including demographic change, medical technology, patient choice and cost
- Report on case studies of healthy buildings that are delivering real and measurable benefits
- Recommend initiatives to improve the design quality of the health infrastructure
- Explore how to create a sustainable infrastructure that meets social, environmental & economic goals
- Identify what constitutes “fitness for purpose” in healthcare design?
- Engage clinical people involved in the design process
- Prioritise the evidence we can use in design decision making
- Increase awareness of the research base available
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