PHAIWA’s top injury prevention advocacy targets are:

1.    Develop and fund initiatives aimed at building the capacity of local communities to address injury and community safety issues.  Capacity should be in areas such as advocacy, developing local action plans, developing evidence-based strategies, data analysis skills, needs analysis skills and partnering with local governments.

2.    Continue to fund falls prevention programs targeting older people across the continuum of care.  The Model of Care developed through the Health Networks should receive adequate funding to ensure its implementation and evaluation.

3.    Implement a comprehensive suicide/self-harm prevention strategy for WA.  In Australia more people die from suicide than road crashes. While the Federal Government has provided significant funding to this area through the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, the State Government should devote more attention, priority and funding to this issue.

4.    Implement evidence-based and sustained violence prevention programs (community and family) that have a wider focus than just punishment afterwards. While there is a focus on community violence, family/domestic violence continues to be a serious and underfunded area for concern.

5.    Continued implementation of evidence-based road safety interventions, combined with a review of the effectiveness of current educational campaigns and other approaches to community education, engagement and advocacy.