The Commonwealth Government has today launched a new preventative health program to encourage doctors to advise patients on how to change their lifestyles to improve their health.

The Lifescripts Resource Kit launched today is designed to shift the emphasis in primary health care from management of disease and illness, toward disease prevention and health promotion. It provides a way to help GPs integrate lifestyle changes into their advice to patients, using the accepted format of a written 'prescription'.

However, rather than write a prescription for pills, doctors will be encouraged to discuss ways to make healthier, long term lifestyle changes, and write prescriptions for regular exercise and eating healthier foods.

Lifescripts targets five lifestyle risk factors that are very common in Australia - smoking, poor nutrition, risky alcohol use, physical inactivity and being overweight. Together, these comprise the largest group of preventable risk factors for death and disease in Australia.

A person who has more than one of these risk factors has a much higher likelihood of developing chronic illness such as diabetes, stroke, mental illness, or heart disease.

Among patients visiting a general practice in 2002-03 more than half were overweight, more than a quarter drank 'at risk' levels, 17 per cent were daily smokers and two-thirds were not active enough.

There is strong evidence that positive lifestyle changes can significantly improve a patient's health. Just 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week promotes good health and reduce the risk of chronic illness. Good advice from a doctor can help a person to change an unhealthy lifestyle.

The Lifescripts Resource Kit will be distributed by Divisions of General Practice and includes a manual for practices, consumer and GP resources and a CD-Rom to teach doctors how to motivate their patients. The Resource Kit and the Lifestyle Prescription initiative are part of the Focus on Prevention Package introduced in the 2003-04 Budget.

Further information on the initiative and copies of the Lifescripts Resource Kit

Lifescripts - Advice for Healthy Living

Chronic diseases are estimated to be responsible for around 80 per cent of the total burden of disease, mental health problems and injuries in Australia.

Lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, poor diet, and being overweight, are estimated to be responsible for at least 50 per cent of the preventable morbidity (illness) associated with the top 10 chronic diseases affecting people in Australia.

GPs are ideally placed to advise patients on lifestyle issues. Six out of seven Australians visit their GP at least once a year, with a typical person making five visits a year. Patients expect their GPs to play a key and supportive role in lifestyle changes.

Most patients who visit GPs demonstrate at least one lifestyle factor which increases their risk of developing a preventable chronic disorder.

Although these lifestyle factors are often entrenched, doctors can help. Research has proven that brief, repeated advice from doctors, requiring only a minute or so of doctor time, can help change patient attitudes towards smoking, hazardous drinking, poor physical activity, poor eating habits and weight management.

The Lifescripts Resource Kit and support materials have been developed by a consortium of six agencies led by Kinect Australia (formerly VICFIT). They are based on current best practice and do not require any changes to a practice's existing systems.

Practices can choose how to implement Lifescripts. GPs or practice nurses may raise lifestyle issues spontaneously with a patient as the opportunity arises, or choose a more structured approach, offering a lifestyle consultation to all patients in the practice.

The Kit has been designed to assist doctors or nurses to raise issues with patients in a non confrontational, non-judgemental and supportive manner, to improve the chance of achieving sustained changes that improve the patient's health over the longer term.

The Lifescripts Resource Kit will be promoted to GPs through their Divisions of General Practice. Training to support the initiative and the Lifescripts Resource Kit will be available to interested general practices and Aboriginal Medical Services from September 2005 through participating Divisions of General Practice.