Pink Sari Project fever spreads across NSW€¦ · Welcome to the Spring edition of Polyglot. MHCS and the Multicultural Health Services are very pleased with the success of Multicultural

NSW MHCS Building 41 Gladesville Hospital, Punt Road, Gladesville Locked Mail Bag No. 5003 Gladesville NSW 2111Tel. (02) 9816 0347 Fax: (02) 9816 0302www.mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au • www.facebook.com/mhcsnsw

better health through better communication Spring 2014 Edition

Director’s Message

Welcome to the Spring edition of Polyglot.

MHCS and the Multicultural Health Services are very pleased with the success of Multicultural Health Week encouraging workers to be more active, eat healthy and be smoke free at work and home. We want to thank our key partners for their valuable support this year.

The Multilingual Stakeholders Forum Series No.3 held at Cumberland Hospital, was very well attended. Read about the recommendations in this edition as well as the upcoming forum to be held in December.

One of our key projects is the Pink Sari Project we are running with the NSW Refugee Health Service funded by Cancer Institute NSW. This campaign has taken a life of its own where Indian and Sri Lankan community leaders have pledged to work with us to ensure the increase of breast screening rates amongst women in their communities.

Learn more as you read through our newsletter. In the many years I have been working in health, it never ceases to amaze me how health workers and community organisations passionately work together to inspire communities and drive change for a healthier multicultural society.

Thank you all for continuously supporting our vision.

Best regards,

Peter TodaroDirector, NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service

The Pink Sari Project, a community initiative by the NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service (MHCS) to help increase breast screening rates amongst Indian and Sri Lankan women in NSW – is taking Sydney by storm.

In partnership with NSW Refugee Health Service and funded by Cancer Institute NSW, MHCS is working with community leaders, health professionals and workers from the targeted communities to promote the key messages of the campaign.

Women from Indian and Sri Lankan backgrounds have one of the lowest screening rates for breast cancer in NSW. To address this issue, the communities have embraced the project and are running programs to help save the lives of their wives, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, sisters and aunties.

We have received an overwhelming number of pledges from people committing to raise awareness about breast screening with their families and friends. Find out more by visiting www.pinksariproject.orgExperience the pink fever and register your support for the Pink Sari Project. Join the conversation www.facebook.com/thepinksariproject

Pink Sari Project fever spreads across NSW

Peter pledging MHCS’ support for the Pink Sari Project

Over 80 members of the Saheli women’s group and friends marched in pink saris at the Parramasala parade on 17th October to raise awareness about breast screening

Multicultural Health Week’s happy and healthy workers

This year’s Multicultural Health Week (MHW) had workers across NSW moving to the tune of messages promoting being active, eating healthy and being smoke free at work to enable them to spend more quality time with their families.

The theme of “Healthy Workers” was selected after a consultative discussion with Multicultural Health Service Directors and their teams together with the Ministry of Health. The activities of the week included the production of an information booklet “Practical Tips to Get healthy at Work”, the production of banners and posters that were widely distributed and the production of a video promoting “Be Active, Eat healthy and Be Smoke Free” in Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese and English.

Our partners this year were Get Healthy at Work, Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service, Multilingual Quitlines, Arab Council Australia, Chinese Australian Services Society, Vietnamese Community in Australia NSW Chapter and Vietnamese-Australian Welfare Association, NSW Inc.

The launch of Multicultural Health Week was held at the Blacktown Workers Club on the 1st September with over 120 guests attending. NSW Minister for Health and Minister for Medical Research Jillian Skinner presented the key message and launched the event.

Learn how you can help raise breast screening rates among Indian and Sri Lankan women on Sunday 16th November at Ermington Community Centre, 1.30 – 3.30 pm.

The Pink Sari Project presents an impressive line-up of health experts as they present myths and facts about breast cancer and everything you need to know about breast screening.

Free breast screen community information session by health experts

Indian and Sri Lankan groups pledge their support at the Pink Sari Project’s Community Leaders Forum

held 13th September at Thornleigh

Over 500 photos were taken at the Pink Sari Project booth at the Deepavali festival on 19th October at Parramatta. On the day, bilingual workers (Hindi, Punjabi, Sinhalese

and Tamil speakers) also conducted surveys on views of community members about breast screening

Health Minister Jillian Skinner launches MHW 2014

Healthy workers singing in harmony with songs for the soul

MHCS and Multicultural Health Services’ smiling team members

For more information, contact Project Officer, Caroline Chen on 02 9816 303 or email [email protected]

Competencies in Multicultural Healthcare e-learning package launched in Hunter New England

The Multicultural Health Service in Hunter New England has recently launched an exciting new e-learning package of Competencies in Multicultural Healthcare.

The package is currently available on DVD and features a general multicultural health competency learning model along with modules focussing on multicultural health and aged care, mental health and obstetrics, and gynaecology.

This eLearning tool is designed for health professionals who desire to improve their skills in the provision of patient centered care to clients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD).

If you want to know more, or to obtain a copy of the DVD, contact Therese Morris on 02 4921 4497 or email [email protected]

Multicultural Health staff at Nepean Blue Mountains LHD participating in Zumba lesson

Sydney LHD volunteers promoting Healthy Workers and Multilingual Quitline

Staff from Central Coast LHD promoting the “Healthy workers” message at the

health expo during the Week

Multicultural Health Week 2014 Activities by Multicultural Health Services

Hepatitis B. It’s Family Business

The Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service has developed a hepatitis B resource: ‘Hepatitis B. It’s family business’, addressing the specific information needs of priority CALD communities, where mother to child transmission is the most common mode of hepatitis B acquisition. Available in Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian, Khmer, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and English, the resource addresses the consequences of chronic infection, transmission, testing, treatment and prevention.

Hepatitis B is a virus that can cause liver damage and liver cancer. However, there are effective treatments that can prevent liver cancer.

An estimated 218 000 people are living with chronic hepatitis B in Australia. About half of those people don’t know they have it and the majority were born in countries where hepatitis B is very common.

For free copies of the booklet, download the order form at www.mhahs.org.au/images/pdf/hbv_orderform.pdf or call the MHAHS on 02 9515 1234.

The resource is also available online as fact sheets at www.mhahs.org.au

What’s new on the MHCS Website

If you have stories, ideas and images promoting health issues to multicultural communities, and would like to share them on Polyglot or on our Facebook page, please contact our Media Manager Jesusa Helaratne on 02 9816 0306 or email [email protected]

NEW PUBLICATIONS LANGUAGES

Products to help you quit smoking Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, English, Korean, Vietnamese

Information for Health Professionals: Betel Quid English

Who Benefits if I quit smoking? Poster Burmese, English

Breastfeeding Welcome Here Sticker in 10 languages Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, English, Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Punjabi, Tamil, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese Emergency Department “Acute Low Back Pain” Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, English, Greek, Patient Factsheets Korean, Vietnamese

Emergency Department “Ankle Sprain” Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, English, Greek, Patient Factsheets Korean, Vietnamese

Emergency Department “Anterior Shoulder Dislocation” Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, English, Greek, Patient Factsheets Korean, Vietnamese

Emergency Department “Asthma Action Plan” Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, English, Patient Factsheets Greek, Korean, Vietnamese

For more information, contact MHCS Systems Manager, Rajan Manickarajah on 02 9816 0309 or email [email protected]

Multilingual Health Information Stakeholders Forum (MHISF)

Over 60 health workers and representatives from community organisations came together on 14th August for the 3rd Multilingual Health Information Stakeholders Forum (MHISF) at Cumberland Hospital.

The highly experienced group of participants shared their perspectives in running projects and voiced their recommendations for more effective coordination of multicultural health campaigns. Discussion at the forum also centred on the development, implementation and evaluation of multilingual health resources and how to avoid duplication.

3rd Forum: Coordinating Multicultural Health Campaigns 4th Forum: The Health Translations Debate

Visit the link below to view summary of the forum:www.mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au/media-centre/stakeholders-forum

On 3 December 2014, join the final stakeholders forum for the year to discuss and debate the hot issues surrounding the use of human versus machine translations. Keynote addresses on the latest national and international research and trends will be given via videoconference with Associate Professor Anne Turner from the University of Washington, and Helen Slayter from the University of Macquarie.

A panel of other experts from local health districts that run translation units and translation services have also been invited to present their perspective. An important event not to be missed in 2014.

Contact Senior Project Officer Nidia Raya Martinez for more information on 02 9816 0348 or email [email protected]