Queensland Women and Girls' Health Strategy
Queensland Health is developing a Queensland Women and Girls’ Health Strategy
Informed by thousands of voices, the Queensland Government has released a Consultation Draft of the Queensland Women and Girls’ Health Strategy.
The Queensland Government is committed to advancing the rights and interests of women and girls, increasing their economic participation, and working to achieve gender equality in Queensland. As a commitment under the Queensland Women's Strategy 2022-27, a new Queensland Women and Girls’ Health Strategy 2023-2032 (Strategy) will be developed.
The new Strategy will aim to address health inequity and improve accessibility to healthcare for women and girls living in Queensland.
Share your experiences and provide your views
Queensland Health thanks the Queenslanders who have already told us their unique experiences and suggestions on how to improve the health of women and girls. Extensive and further consultation is ongoing to ensure the voices of Queensland women and girls are at the heart of the Strategy.
There are two ways you can share your experiences and views: by completing a short survey or providing written feedback to womenshealthstrategy@health.qld.gov.au.
You are invited to complete this short survey.
Responses will be considered to ensure the new Strategy responds to the voices of Queensland women and girls, and to plan for a better future.
This information is being collected anonymously to inform the Strategy and Queensland Health is unable to follow up with individual respondents. If you have concerns about treatment you have received or would like to make a complaint, please contact 13HEALTH or visit the Queensland Health Compliments and Complaints webpage.
Consultation to date
Ongoing consultation and engagement are vital to deliver better health and wellbeing for Queensland women and girls, particularly for priority communities. To date, this includes engagement with key stakeholders, targeted consultation sessions with women and girls, online surveys and written submissions.
Evidence Review: Queensland Women and Girls’ Health
In early 2023, Queensland Health commissioned an evidence review of data available on the health of Queensland women and girls. This information has provided a quantitative evidence base to inform the development of the new Strategy. This research was led by Professor Gita Mishra and colleagues at the Australian Women and Girls Health Research Centre, University of Queensland.
View the evidence review.
Health Consumers Queensland: Engagement with the Strategy
In late 2022, Queensland Health partnered with Health Consumers Queensland to hear directly from Queensland women and girls. We heard from nearly 200 health consumers. Consultation included Kitchen Table Discussions, Yarning Circles and sessions with women in custody. The sessions sought to reach women of all ages, including from priority communities.
View the consumer consultation summary report.
2022 Consultation Paper
An initial consultation paper was made publicly available in late 2022. You can review the Queensland women's health strategy consultation paper in full (PDF 1991 kB), or in sections:
- Consultation paper only (PDF 1503 kB)
- Appendix 1: Advice we have heard informing a Queensland women's health strategy (PDF 250 kB)
- Appendix 2: Our approach to developing a Queensland women's health strategy (PDF 154 kB)
- Appendix 3: Existing Queensland Government strategies and actions (PDF 114 kB)
- Appendix 4: Additional data informing a Queensland women's health strategy (PDF 148 kB)
An easy to read version (PDF 939 kB) and a one-page summary (PDF 127 kB) of the consultation paper are also available.
Background
We know that Australian women experience different health outcomes than Australian men and are not achieving their full health potential. For example, while women have a higher life expectancy than men, they are likely to experience more years with disability and are likely to have multiple chronic conditions. Women also make up a higher proportion of preventable hospital admissions.
There are a wide range of factors that influence these health outcomes, and there are opportunities for change that can address the barriers and challenges that affect the health of women and girls across their life span.
The development of the new Strategy is being led by the Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Services and Minister for Women and is a signature action of the Queensland Women’s Strategy.
If you have any queries, contact the team at womenshealthstrategy@health.qld.gov.au.
