Background
Due to the concerns over the perceived taste of the tap water at the local health service, cordial was regularly added to improve the taste for patients, staff and visitors.
Aim
To present a case study focusing on a crucial partnership created between the local health service (Portland District Health, PDH), the local water corporation (Wannon Water) and the Global Obesity Centre (GLOBE), Deakin University, to tackle the issue of improving water access and perceived water taste in a regional Victorian town.
Methods
Wannon Water attended a leader’s workshop with GLOBE to explore and model the relationship between Portland drinking water and consumption of sugary drinks. The taste of Portland drinking water had been identified as a key influence on water and sugary drink consumption. Concurrently, the community was implementing a whole-of-community systems approach to tackle childhood obesity in the community.
Results
Wannon Water is investing a significant amount of money to install a newly upgraded reverse osmosis plant and two public drinking fountains at PDH in August 2018 to improve the perceived taste of water for everyone who drinks tap water at the health service. GLOBE are working with Wannon Water and PDH to evaluate this “Great Tasting Water” initiative. This project will examine water and sugary drink consumption by staff members; and sales data of beverages from the on-site café, and cordial. This data will be collected pre- and 6 months post- installation of the new water filtration system.
Conclusion
Through a realisation of a common agenda and common goal of improving health of the community; the creation and maintenance of a strong partnership between key leading organisations in the community was created to improve health behaviours such as consumption of water; and reduce consumption of sugary drinks.