Towards an Effective Collaboration Between South Western Sydney Local Health District and Local Councils: Insights from the Qualitative Study

Abstract Background Urban planning is of fundamental use in promoting a healthy urban environment, prompting increased collaboration between public health and local government planning authorities. A major challenge to the success of this co-operation, however, is the difficulty of ensuring that the views of the health sector are, ultimately, reflected in planning policy. To facilitate this, a qualitative study was designed by Population Health, South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) in 2016. Objective The aim of the study was to understand and help improving the effectiveness of collaboration between local governments and public health sector. Methods Qualitative data was collected from 14 in-depth interviews with staff representing five local councils: Bankstown, Camden, Liverpool, Campbelltown, and Fairfield. The data was thematically analysed using inductive and deductive reasoning by applying NVivo software. Results While councils recognise the potential value of consultation (and partnership) with SWSLHD, the fact is that the status quo is one of limited communication and the absence of any clearly defined process for collaboration. Councils perceive knowledge gaps in relation to basic issues such as who provides what services to whom and how to access services from health experts related to evidence based local government level data. Implications: The study demonstrated that a shift in provision of public health evidence that has local applicability in a timely manner on issues of mutual concern, and proactive and ongoing consultations between SWSLHD and councils would enable effective engagement, coordinated and sustained actions. As the concerns raised in this study about the need for practical information on effective interventions and impact of social determinants of health echo the findings from studies that were conducted in other local government settings of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales, the study findings may be applied to other councils beyond the SWSLHD.