To the Editor: The recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow are a timely reminder of the 2018 Games planned for the City of Gold Coast. In 2013, the Queensland Government, in collaboration with Gold Coast City Council, produced a legacy plan to identify actions to be taken across government and to invite community input and engagement with the Games, including creating a health legacy.1 However, in the document supporting this plan, only two explicit health actions stand out: an accessible and inclusive active living and healthy eating program, and a local health and knowledge precinct to help generate economic development.2
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- 1. Queensland Government Department of Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games. Embracing our Games legacy. 2013. http://www.dtesb.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/117606/gccg-legacy-strategy.pdf (accessed Oct 2014).
- 2. Queensland Government Department of Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games. Embracing our games legacy: action plan 2014. http://www.dtesb.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/117605/gccg-legacy-action-plan.pdf (accessed Oct 2014).
- 3. Blyth CC, Foo H, van Hal SJ, et al. Influenza outbreaks during World Youth Day 2008 mass gathering. Emerg Infect Dis 2010; 16: 809-815.
- 4. Brockmann S, Piechotowski I, Bock-Hensley O, et al. Outbreak of leptospirosis among triathlon participants in Germany, 2006. BMC Infect Dis 2010; 10: 91.
- 5. McCartney G, Thomas S, Thomson H, et al. The health and socioeconomic impacts of major multi-sport events: systematic review (1978-2008). BMJ 2010; 340: c2369.
- 6. Weed M, Coren E, Fiore J, et al. Developing a physical activity legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games: a policy-led systematic review. Perspect Public Health 2012; 132: 75-80.
- 7. Small W, Krusi A, Wood E, et al. Street-level policing in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Canada, during the 2010 winter Olympics. Int J Drug Pol 2012; 23: 128-133.
The impact assessment was funded by the Gold Coast City Council but was undertaken independently. The views expressed are mine, and this letter is based on, but independent of, the impact assessment. Alison Ziller provided valuable feedback on early drafts.
I was subcontracted to undertake the health component of the impact assessment. I am permitted to publish the findings and use them for teaching and training purposes. In the past, I have worked with Queensland Health's tropical population health services to build their capacity to undertake health impact assessments as part of intersectoral planning processes.