This abstract will be jointly presented by all authors.
With the certification by the World Health Organisation in April 2026 that Australia has eliminated trachoma as public health problem, there has never been a more important time to focus on the health of homes. This presentation is about working together for healthy homes in two regions in the Northern Territory. The presentation will discuss the progress, the challenges and opportunities that Healthy Housing Officers working at two community -controlled health services have achieved. By working together we can continue to improve the access to health hardware in homes and ensure children and families can live in healthy homes.
The presentation will provide data from the Healthy Housing Officers (HHO) audit and follow up and information about the supporting health promotion and activities. The HHOs are undertaking audits with community members to empower them to report issues to Housing to improve the home environments and health of the families. Minum Barreng: Indigenous Eye Health Unit at the University of Melbourne works in partnership with Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, the Fred Hollows Foundation and Rotary End Trachoma and with Katherine West Health Board to support these roles. Aboriginal community engagement and health promotion support the projects and partnerships provide funding and resources to support their activities.
Ensuring people living in remote communities have access to safe and functioning bathrooms and washing facilities is essential for good health and the elimination of preventable infectious diseases such as trachoma. This is because the ability to maintain facial cleanliness (critical for trachoma elimination) relies on working ‘health hardware’ such as taps, sinks and mirrors.
Aboriginal leadership such as Aboriginal Housing NT, local connections, knowledge and ways of knowing are having results in these healthy housing projects in the Northern Territory. Healthy Housing Officers are providing a key link at a local level between community members, health and housing in remote communities. Community engagement and health promotion activities are raising awareness and complementing the role of the Healthy Housing Officers.
Several tools and resources have been developed to support this process, such as a digitised bathroom checklist which is used on a tablet or smart phone device. Healthy homes workshops and practical discussion around the links between health and homes are raising awareness and interest in the topic. The HHO have built or are working on building trust with community members to be able to go into homes and undertake audits. Follow up visits check if the repairs have been made. Data from the last two years shows that multiple follow ups are frequently needed.
All these efforts needs to go hand in hand with increased advocacy for planned maintenance programs as the data from Healthabitat (NT Healthy Homes program) shows that around 79% of the issues are a result of routine wear and tear. Very little of these are reported in the current system. Working together with remote communities and involving them in the reporting and follow up is key to improving health and well-being.