About the Hobart Women's Health Centre

Philosophy of the Centre

The services provided by the Centre are based on an understanding of health within a social context, as endorsed by governments throughout Australia.

This view recognises that:

health is determined by a broad range of social, environmental, economic and biological factors
differences in health status and health objectives are linked to gender, age, socio-economic status, ethnicity, disability, location and environment, racism, sex-role stereotyping, gender inequality and discrimination, ageism, sexuality and sexual preference
As well as with high quality illness treatment services, it is necessary to address health promotion, disease prevention, equity of access to appropriate and affordable services and strengthening the primary health care system.
information, consultation, advocacy and community development are important elements of the health process.

An important aspect of the Centre’s role is to apply a feminist analysis in the identification of gaps existing in other, available health services and then to address these.

Principles of Practice for the Centre

In line with it's philosophy, the Centre provides services for women,
by women and in line with the following principles:

Women will be involved in, and have control of, decisions about their bodies.
Women will have access to a wide range of information, and be assisted to fully comprehend this information, to enable them to make informed choices.
Women have a right to dignity and respect.
Women will be guaranteed confidentiality.
Women will be offered affordable and accessible health care.
Women will be offered a safe and supportive environment.
The Centre will adopt a holistic approach to women's health.
The Centre will focus on primary interventions as well as a preventative approach to women's health.
The Centre will actively promote strategies to maintain and improve women's health.

How the Centre is Organised

The Hobart Women's Health Centre is run on a day-to-day basis by a dedicated team of community health workers. These workers provide individual support, information and referral to women on general health issues. They also have areas of specialisation which have been developed to address gaps identified in existing health services. These include Older Women's Health, Emotional Health, issues of Sexuality & Gender, a women-centred GP Service and Information & Resources. Workers develop the Centre's programs, run workshops and conduct forums that offer clients opportunities to gain new skills and facilitate a broader understanding of women's health issues. Such activities emphasis a preventative perspective rather than the usual curative approach to health care. In addition, workers advocate and lobby for and on behalf of women for improvements to appropriate and accessible health services and policies.

The team includes a Coordinator, who is responsible for the management of Centre operations, ensuring it promotes an effective and appropriate primary health care service for women in Tasmania . The Coordinator also ensures the Centre continues in its commitment to feminist philosophies of health promotion and its adherence to principles of a democratic work environment. She provides the pivotal communication link between staff and the Board of Management.

The Board of Management is responsible for the overall financial and strategic management of the Centre. Board members are involved in staff recruitment, advise on programming, assist in policy development and operate as final decision makers in this regard. The Board is made up of a diverse range of community women, reflecting and representing the wider community. They are ultimately accountable to other community women in Tasmania and to the Centre's funding bodies - the Commonwealth Public Health Outcomes Funding Agreement and the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services.

Although the Centre has a Board of Management, its origins as a collective are reflected in its ongoing use of consensus decision-making processes in all areas.