Two innovative and community-driven programs are tackling the vast distances and limited services that shape health and daily life in regional New South Wales.
HealthWISE, a not-for-profit organisation serving North West NSW and Southern Queensland pioneered the Students As LifeStyle Activists (SALSA) and the Nutrition Education and Skills Training (NEST) Regional programs, both previously only available in metropolitan areas.
“Health outcomes are strongly influenced by social factors like housing, education, employment, and access to nutritious food,” HealthWISE manager of impact Sarah Dean explained. She said the programs are making a meaningful impact in rural communities by equipping everyday people with the knowledge and skills to enhance their own wellbeing.
Empowering Youth for a Healthier Future
Transforming health education in high schools across the New England North West region, SALSA equips Year 10 students with leadership and communication skills, enabling them to mentor younger students on the importance of physical activity and healthy eating.
“Kids are usually in the passenger seat when it comes to health advice,” HealthWISE executive manager of strategy Sally Urquhart said.
“SALSA has momentum of its own because it’s peer-led. The program takes the teenager out of the passenger seat and into the driver’s seat because they’re the ones sharing the message with their peers.”
In 2023-2024, SALSA reached five regional high schools in Glen Innes, Tamworth, Gunnedah and Narrabri, with 163 year 9/10 students trained as peer leaders. These senior students then reached over 600 year 7/8 students, inspiring them to set personal health goals.
Through engaging, interactive lessons delivered by University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health students, the teenagers were encouraged to become change-makers in their schools and communities.
“I’m excited to pass this down to the year sevens because it teaches them how they can move forward and live a healthy lifestyle and also have a lot of fun while doing it,” Farrer Memorial Agricultural High student Liam Griffiths said.
The impact extended beyond the classroom, leading to a school breakfast program at Oxley High, which provided over 6,300 nutritious meals in its first year.
One previously metropolitan based university student, Sophie Cann, discovered her love for rural health while volunteering as a SALSA educator, and has since joined HealthWISE as a graduate dietitian.
“I enjoyed learning about this program, and I know how much it taught me. Being able to teach that to other students has further enhanced my knowledge,” she said.
Nutrition Education for Stronger Communities
Providing hands-on education to improve food literacy, cooking skills, and overall wellbeing, since January 2024, the NEST Regional program has reached a diverse range of country people, many who face food insecurity and come from low socio-economic backgrounds.
“Food insecurity often leads to less nutritious diets,” HealthWISE health and wellbeing officer Emma Knights said.
“NEST can help by improving confidence and self-efficacy to budget for, buy and make affordable nutritious meals, that are both tasty and easy to prepare.”
The six-week workshops focus on preparing low cost, zero-waste, healthy meals while fostering social connection and emotional wellbeing.
“I loved seeing participants who were previously unknown to each other working together as a team in the kitchen and sharing stories about their lives,” Emma said.
Since January 2024, HealthWISE has delivered six NEST programs. Over half of participants surveyed said they had increased their vegetable intake, while 70.6% reduced discretionary food consumption and 76.5% said their cooking confidence had improved.
“By partnering together with schools, universities, and local organisations, HealthWISE is creating sustainable change, proving that small, community-driven interventions can have a lasting impact on the health and resilience of rural communities,” Sarah said.
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