Effective health promotion and chronic disease prevention needs to be grounded in an understanding of how gender inequality and intersecting forms of disadvantage influence health, wellbeing, participation and access.
Across the Loddon Mallee, the health promotion and prevention workforce is committed to embedding equity, but many practitioners identified a need for practical support to apply intersectional approaches in their work.
The Embedding Equity project was developed by Women’s Health Loddon Mallee to address this need and support regional partners to apply gender transformative approaches to chronic disease prevention.
Through a partnership and co-design approach, WHLM worked closely with practitioners and leaders across the region to better understand workforce needs and develop a program tailored to local priorities.
The Co-Design Process
The engagement phase included an online workforce survey completed by 26 health promotion and prevention practitioners, a co-design workshop with seven regional practitioners, and six leadership consultations involving nine contributors from four community health services, the Loddon Mallee Public Health Unit and La Trobe University.
Insights gathered through this process directly informed the development of a gender transformative health promotion training program and companion practice guide.
Pilot Program
WHLM delivered the pilot training program online in May 2026, engaging 24 participants from across the region.
The training was designed to support practitioners working across chronic disease prevention initiatives, including healthy eating, active living and tobacco cessation. The session helped participants apply a gendered and intersectional approach to their work, using practical tools and reflection to strengthen planning, delivery, evaluation and prevention practice.
To support practitioners with different levels of knowledge and experience, WHLM designed the training to be practical, accessible and adaptable. Through case studies, reflective discussion and practical tools, participants explored ways to apply equity principles in their own settings. A companion practice guide provided ongoing support, helping practitioners embed equity considerations across all stages of the health promotion cycle.
The pilot was highly valued, with 100% of participants rating the training as very or extremely relevant, and most reporting greater confidence to apply gendered and intersectional approaches in their day-to-day health promotion practice
“It gave me more confidence to start conversations about gender and intersectionality with my team and to embed these questions into planning.”
Opportunities for Embedding Equity More Broadly
While the pilot training focused on chronic disease prevention, the principles and approaches developed through the Embedding Equity project have broad application across health, wellbeing and community services. Gender inequality and intersecting forms of disadvantage influence experiences and outcomes across a wider range of areas, including mental health, family violence prevention, sexual and reproductive health, disaster planning, preparedness and response, as well as healthcare access, community participation and service design.
There is significant opportunity to extend the application of gender-transformative and intersectional approaches beyond preventative initiatives and into organisational policy, program planning, workforce development, service delivery, and evaluation. By building the capacity of practitioners and organisations to consider equity in all aspects of their work, the project can contribute to more inclusive, responsive and effective systems that better meet the needs of diverse communities.
Get in touch with us at Women’s Health Loddon Mallee to learn more about how we can support you and your team to embed gender equity in health promotion and practice.
