Priority Work Areas

The CHPCP member agencies have identified Chronic Disease Prevention & Management as a priority work area for the PCP with a focus on Diabetes.

The specific focus of partnership work for the PCP and member agencies will be - 
 - The year 1 focus will be on chronic care implementation in service groups.
- The year 2 focus will be to roll out the model for diabetes and further development of the model for other chronic disease.


Chronic Disease Prevention & Management

Chronic disease is an illness, such as heart disease, asthma, or diabetes, which is ongoing or recurring but is not caused by infection and is not passed on by contact. It is often not curable and needs to be managed over many years, and has significant impacts upon daily life.

Chronic disease has a profound effect on the physical, emotional and mental wellbeing of individuals, often making it difficult to carry on with daily routines and relationships. Chronic disease, if not well managed will lead to complications. For example, diabetes can lead to amputations or kidney failure if not well managed.

However consumers with chronic disease can be assisted in managing their with the help of the following:

§          with the assistance of a health care team; 
§           the development of the consumers ability to self manage their ongoing health;
§           and minimisation of lifestyle risks such as smoking, poor diet and lack of physical activity.

Chronic, non-communicable diseases place a significant burden on individuals, communities and health services. Yet many chronic diseases are highly preventable. In Victoria , approximately 70% of the total burden of disease is attributable to six groups: cardiovascular disease, cancers, injuries, mental health conditions, diabetes and asthma. Risk factors including lifestyle factors (such as tobacco smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, diet, unsafe sex and intimate partner violence) and physiological states (such as obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol) are responsible for a sizeable proportion of the burden of disease in Victoria (DHS, Chronic Disease Management Program Guidelines for Primary Care Partnerships and Community Health Services, 2006).