The Melbourne Doughnut
Explore how well Melbourne is tracking as a place that supports people and planet to thrive.
Health
Health represents the integration of physical, mental, spiritual and social wellbeing. In Melbourne, our health is influenced by social and physical environmental factors. We have a comparatively strong public health system, but the focus is still predominantly on treating poor health rather than promoting wellbeing, and health equity varies considerably across the city.
Principles for Health in a regenerative Melbourne
Health in a regenerative Melbourne must be:
- Enabled through physical and social environments, recognising the contextual factors and social determinants that influence personal wellbeing
- Holistic, integrating a range of approaches to physical, mental and emotional wellness
- Designed to effectively and equitably respond to complex personal, societal and ecological conditions
What we want
Wellness
Melbourne’s built, natural and social environments support residents to live physically and mentally healthy lives
What we're measuring
Proportion of people reporting that they have two or more chronic diseases
- 2030 Target
- Under 15%
- Now
- 19.3%
Proportion of people reporting very high levels of psychological distress
- 2030 Target
- Under 5%
- Now
- 8.4%
Proportion of people self-reporting that their health is poor
- 2030 Target
- Under 1%
- Now
- 5.4%
Care
Everyone in Melbourne can access high-quality integrated health services throughout their lives
What we're measuring
Proportion of people who at least once delayed or did not see a GP when needed due to cost
- 2030 Target
- 0%
- Now
- 3.1%
Proportion of people waiting longer than they felt acceptable for a GP appointment
- 2030 Target
- Under 10%
- Now
- 21.6%
Placing Health in the system
Local to global connections
Melburnians’ health is primarily driven by local environmental and social factors, but these, as well as the nature of the health system, are defined by cultural norms at a national level and influenced by global trends and technologies in the health sector.
Learn more
How was this dimension developed?
The Health dimension of the Greater Melbourne City Portrait, including the conceptual framing and data selection, has been developed in collaboration with sector experts from academia, government and industry. A detailed description of the City Portrait methodology is outlined in the About section of the website.
Where can I access the data?
Data for Health, along with the other Social Founation dimensions are available in the Social Foundations Dataset.
For Ecological Celing dimensions, see the Ecological Ceiling Dataset.
Where can I find more information on Health in a regenerative Melbourne?
The City Portrait is informed by extensive research and resources on Doughnut Economics and related frameworks, as well as sector-specific research associated with each dimension. More detailed research that has informed the Health dimension is available to explore via Altiorem's library.
How can I get involved?
To get involved with ongoing development of the City Portrait or learn more about Regen Melbourne, email alison@regen.melbourne