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Strategic direction
Sustainable development
Monash University Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report
Monash Progress Report 2020
Monash Progress Report 2020 – Goal 3

Monash Progress Report 2020 – Goal 3

Monash University Progress Report 2020 on the Sustainable Development Goals

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Research

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Monash University Accident Research Centre View

The Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) is Australia's largest and most respected accident and injury prevention research organisation. Victorian road safety is just one example of MUARC's research at work.

In 1989, there were 776 people killed on Victorian roads. Today, through Government action based on MUARC research, Victorian roads are amongst the safest in the world, with fewer than 250 deaths per year.

Revitalising Informal Settlement and Their Environments (RISE) Program View

The Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE) program, utilising water sensitive technology innovation to transform quality of life across urban informal settlements in Indonesia and Fiji, continued to advance throughout 2020.

A program-wide reset was undertaken in the midst of the pandemic to safeguard the scientific and technical progress to-date and set up the program for successful delivery of the research and intervention in the context of COVID-19. Local teams were further bolstered to accelerate their capacity to lead and drive research and co-design on the ground.

By December 2020 community co-design activities had been completed for the first six settlements in Suva.

Victorian Heart Institute View

Launched in November 2020, the Victorian Heart Institute (VHI) is a new health and medical research organisation, which will be based at the Victorian Heart Hospital (VHH) when it opens in 2022.

The VHH is a specialist public heart hospital, principally funded by the Victorian Government and operated by Monash Health with Monash University. The co-location of the VHI’s research and teaching, together with the clinical practice of the 200-bed hospital, will take full advantage of the ‘living lab’ and create evidence-based solutions for patients at the hospital and beyond.

World Mosquito Program View

The World Mosquito Program (WMP) is Monash University’s groundbreaking research program utilising wolbachia bacteria to prevent mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.

In 2020 the Program opened its third regional hub in Panama City, providing a vital channel into Latin America, and successfully launched its first mosquito release in Colombo, Sri Lanka in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services. Other regional hubs are in Oceania and Asia.

The Program is aiming to expand from 12 countries to 25 countries by 2023, protecting more than 100 million people worldwide.

Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health View

Launched in 2019, the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health is one of Australia’s largest Institutes for brain and mental health.

Through three key themes – Developing Well, Living Well and Ageing Well – the Institute is responding to common community challenges to develop resilient brains, promote brain healthy lifestyles, and maximise cognitive capabilities.

2020 Publications Performance View

Mean Field Weighted Citation Impact of Monash Outputs: 2.19

Number of Monash Research Outputs: 2648

Education

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Gukwonderuk – Indigenous Health View

The Gukwonderuk – Indigenous Health unit delivers a range of programs supporting a human rights approach to health equity for Indigenous people, providing quality education in Indigenous health equity, and developing more Indigenous people to become healthcare providers, educators, researchers and leaders.

Unit statistics and highlights View

In 2020, 153 units directly related to SDG3 were offered across Monash University, with a total enrolment of 10,817 students. In total 862 units were offered by the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The units highlighted below are a small sample of the units at Monash relating to good health and well-being:

EDF3073 Health, sustainability and wellbeing
EPM5023 Foundations of international health
PBH1104 Global health: Opportunities and challenges

Engagement

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Institute for Safety Compensation and Recovery Research View

The Institute for Safety Compensation and Recovery Research (ISCRR), launched in 2019, is a joint initiative of WorkSafe Victoria and Monash University. ISCRR aims to develop, conduct and translate research that has an impact and leads to positive change in practice or policy.

It works across five broad areas: safe and healthy workplaces, evidence-informed claims management, primary health care, smart independent living environments and improving trauma care.

Lancet COVID-19 Commission View

Monash is contributing to the Lancet COVID-19 Commission – a group of eminent global scholars, public health professionals, economists, and policymakers convened in 2020 by the world’s most prestigious global medical journal.

The Commission is dedicated to speeding up equitable and lasting solutions as part of the global response to the pandemic. Among Monash’s contributions, Monash hosted a roundtable discussion on strategies to manage the impacts of COVID with leaders from the Australian Department of Health, State and Territory Chief Health Officers, and key health experts from leading medical research institutes.

Survey of COVID-19 Responses to Understand Behaviour (SCRUB) View

BehaviourWorks Australia is a leading behaviour change research enterprise within the Monash Sustainable Development Institute. It brings leading behaviour change researchers and practitioners together to find behavioural solutions to social, environmental and organisational problems, with a strong focus on improving health and wellbeing.

In 2020, BehaviourWorks set up the Survey of COVID-19 Responses to Understand Behaviour (SCRUB) to measure Australians’ behaviours and attitudes during the pandemic. Findings from each survey wave attracted national media attention, and were disseminated throughout the Victorian Government, to support evidence-informed policy responses.

Operations

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Counselling and mental health programs View

The Monash University Counselling Service operates under a seven-tiered mental health strategy which aims to provide a strong community focus through programs and services which promote mental health; build resilience and wellbeing; enable early identification and intervention for those who are struggling; enable easy access to triage, brief counselling and referral as well as rapid responses to those in need of emergency mental health management.

Monash offers a range of activities to educate students and staff about common mental health issues, and how to support others.

Health and wellbeing strategy View

From March 2020, the Monash Health and Wellbeing Program pivoted to supporting staff wellbeing while working from home – predominantly through online engagement platforms, including Workplace. A suite of physical, mental, general, nutritional and occupational health activities were delivered online to Monash staff. Professor Kim Cornish, the new Chair of the Monash Wellbeing Subcommittee led the development of the Monash Health and Wellbeing Strategy launched this year.

Thrive@Home View

Thrive@Home is the first longitudinal study of its kind to be conducted within an Australian university. It's provided unique insights into the experiences of students navigating through their studies under various COVID-19 restrictions. In 2020 we launched Thrive@Home surveys at five different time points throughout the year and results from the 2020 surveys are informing Monash University’s post-COVID recovery in 2021 and beyond.

Monash Sport View

Monash Sport programs, services, events, facilities and activities attracted more than 200,000 visits in 2020, which was significantly lower than previous years (1.1 million in 2019) due to the impacts of COVID-19 and associated disruptions. See our 2019 and 2020 achievements.

Smoke-free policy View

Monash supports a healthy smoke-free environment with smoking no longer permitted on any Monash Victorian campus, including University buildings, grounds and vehicles. This rule applies to all students, staff, contractors and visitors at Monash.