Healthy Families Ōtautahi (HFŌ) is thrilled to announce the completion of its strategic roadmap, a significant milestone in the initiative’s mission to prevent chronic disease.

This roadmap will act as a guiding star, steering HFŌ’s efforts and partnerships towards pinpointing key leverage points for greater impact.

“Our vision is clear: bringing community leadership together in a united effort for better health in the places we live, learn, work, and play,” HFŌ Manager Geni Ah Tong says.

Read more:

• HFŌ year in review
• Healthy Families 10 years of impact
• Kaimahi appointed to RST Network

“With this horizon in sight, we aim to enhance equity and health outcomes for Māori and reduce inequities for groups at increased risk of preventable chronic disease.

“Our goal is for communities to thrive in environments that promote health, enabling healthy food and physical activity choices, being smokefree, drinking alcohol in moderation and increasing mental health, resilience, and wellbeing.”

As outlined in the strategic roadmap, HFŌ’s focus from now until 2026 will be on:

• Increasing physical activity
• Reducing alcohol-related harm
• Improving access to and consumption of healthy kai and wai
• Growing the use of matauranga Māori, kaupapa Māori and regenerative practices as preventive solutions
• Reducing the negative impacts of smoking
• Improving mental health and wellbeing.

“Nationally, the Healthy Families NZ approach is underpinned by principles connecting all our localities through a common approach: creating a prevention movement. To be truly transformative, we continually reflect and challenge our role as social innovators, seeking new perspectives on how the world is or could be,” Ah Tong says.

The Systemic Theory of Change (STOC) is one of the frameworks HFŌ uses to guide kaimahi mindsets for social innovation, planning, monitoring and evaluating complex interventions.

“Our STOCs have been instrumental as a reflective practice tool, guiding our decision-making and enhancing our practice capabilities. It has helped us capture emerging trends and patterns within the systems we aim to influence and shift,” says Ah Tong.

“Additionally, the STOC sessions have greatly enhanced our team's ability to collaborate on initiatives and have fostered new connections with partners we had not previously engaged with. In evidence, we are currently working together to support communities and Community and Public Health Te Mana Ora with the Christchurch City Council’s Local Alcohol Policy.”

Stay tuned as HFŌ continues its journey to create healthy change in the places we live, learn, work and play. For the full strategic roadmap, click here.

Article added: Tuesday 21 January 2025