Capitalising on the potential of the primary care setting to facilitate healthy eating in the Australian population

National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Team: Prof Lauren Ball

Funding Body: NHMRC Investigators Grants - Emerging Leadership 2

Years: 2020-2024

Diet is the most prevalent modifiable risk factor for chronic disease and nearly all Australians receive care at least once a year from general practitioners (GPs), practice nurses (PNs) or allied health professionals in primary care. Yet, nutrition discussions occur in less than 7% of consultations and only 37% of people with a poor diet remember ever discussing nutrition with a primary carer.

This program of research aims to  capitalise on the primary care setting to improve the support provided to Australians to eat well. It seeks to enhance our understanding of how to provide effective nutrition care to patients, and increase Australians’ access to nutrition support in primary care, directly help the primary care workforce in nutrition, inform future policy decisions about remunerating health professionals and ultimately facilitate healthy eating and improved health for Australians.

Project members

Professor Lauren Ball

HDR Director
Professor in Community Health and Wellbeing
School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences
Professor in Community Health and Wellbeing
School of Public Health
Affiliate Professor of Mater Research Institute-UQ
Mater Research Institute-UQ