Health promotion teams and leaders frequently face difficult questions: Will this initiative lead to good outcomes? Should we pursue it? 

Until now, there has been limited guidance to support teams and leaders in making these important decisions with confidence.

Health promotion often operates without clear benchmarks or standardised processes to guide decision-making and improvement. Without consistent guidance, it is challenging for leaders to decide which initiatives to pursue, and the quality of health promotion initiatives varies, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities for meaningful impact.

That’s why we developed Q-STEP—to provide a structured, evidence-informed system that aligns health promotion teams and supports decision-making and improvement. By introducing clear standards and processes for planning, implementing, evaluating and improving initiatives, Q-STEP creates a shared understanding of what quality health promotion looks like.

Q-STEP ensures that resources are directed toward initiatives with the best chance of success, leading to increased efficiency and greater community impacts. Learn more about the benefits of Q-STEP here.

Grounded in the latest evidence and best practices, Q-STEP applies systems thinking and settings-based approaches. Q-STEP aligns with national and international health promotion core competencies and professional standards.

Quality Standards set the benchmark for best practice in health promotion to ensure that initiatives deliver outcomes for communities.

Tools support the practical application of standards across each phase of the Enhancement cycle.

Enhancement cycle includes three phases and fosters a culture of continuous improvement. Tools and Processes are embedded at each phase of:

• Planning

• Implementation & evaluation

• Review

Processes provide step-by-step guidance, outlining clear roles and responsibilities at each phase of the Enhancement cycle to support decision-making, transparency, and consistency.

Q-STEP was developed in partnership with DPV Health. A two-time recipient of the prestigious Victorian Premier’s Primary Healthcare Service of the Year Award, DPV Health is committed to continuous improvement, guided by a robust clinical governance framework that underpins the planning, delivery, evaluation and improvement of its clinical services.

Recognising the need for quality assurance across their health promotion initiatives, DPV Health partnered with us to create Q-STEP.

The development of Q-STEP was informed by a rigorous process, which included:

• An extensive review of the national and international literature,

• A detailed analysis of local, state, national and international health promotion policies, and

•  An interactive feedback, consultation and testing process

DPV Health is implementing Q-STEP, and early feedback from staff and management is positive, with reported efficiencies and enhanced planning and delivery of projects. Read more in our testimonials.

Q-STEP has been developed using a rigorous process and we are committed to refining it for maximum impact. We invite you to partner with us on this journey to shape and elevate quality health promotion.