About
Sustainable Farm Families™ an initiative of Western District Health Service (WDHS), Victoria was developed in 2003 to bring better health, wellbeing and safety to people on the land. In 2010 the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Workplace Health and Safety (JAG) funded Western District Health Service to pilot the program in Queensland with an emphasis on:
- Obesity
- Smoking
- Alcohol consumption; and
- Sun exposure.
The purpose of this project was to pilot and evaluate the implementation of the Sustainable Farm Families™ (SFF) program within four rural communities in rural/remote Queensland, using an existing program methodology and evaluation framework. The four locations in Queensland were:
- Bollon (delivered in partnership with Frontier Services)
- Greenvale (delivered in partnership with Frontier Services)
- Georgetown (delivered in partnership with Frontier Services)
- Wondai (delivered in partnership with Centacare).
The SFF programs were well received as a means by which farm families could address health, wellbeing and safety issues with the aim of improving farming family health. With a strong cross sector collaborative approach and evidence based focus the program has made significant differences in the way farming families view their health, wellbeing and safety and importantly its relationship to their farming business.
A final report has been submitted to the funding agency.