Cross-Cultural Healthy Lifestyle Education Partnership (CHEP)
“Optimizing the impacts of the CALD Chronic Disease Prevention and Self-Management Project and Health Links”
Overview:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) notes that certain culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) population in Australia has higher prevalence of particular chronic diseases compared with the Australia-born population. In an effort to help promote health and prevent chronic diseases from CALD communities, Ethnic Community Council of Queensland (ECCQ) in partnership with South Brisbane Division of General Practice, Queensland Health’s Healthy Lifestyle Management Team and Transcultural Mental Health Centre has launched a project named “CROSS-CULTURAL HEALTHY LIFESTYLE EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP” (CHEP). The project is funded by Queensland Health for a three year periods from 2008 to 2011. It is expected to firstly target populous communities of Vietnamese, Samoan and Sudanese who live in the Brisbane Southside area.
Objectives:
The overall aim of this project is to improve chronic disease self management amongst targeted CALD community members. Specific objectives of this project are:
- Enhanced knowledge of targeted CALD community members on nutrition and physical activities to prevent and monitor their chronic conditions.
- Improved capacity of Multicultural Community Health Workers (MCHW) and GPs, physiotherapists, dietitians, nutritionists, practice nurses and general practice staff in working together to deliver culturally-tailored chronic disease prevention and self-management education package to targeted CALD communities.
- Strengthened community and professional capacity to sustain processes employed in the developed model.
Strategies:
The project employ the following key strategies:
- Development of a collaborative partnership between key stakeholders (Community health, GP practices, GP Division, Queensland Health Transcultural Mental Health Centre, The Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland and Multicultural Community Organizations) interested in the prevention and management of chronic conditions in the targeted CALD communities.
- Identification of barriers that prevents or inhibits members from targeted CALD communities in accessing GPs.
- Identification of challenges facing GPs in dealing with targeted CALD communities with or at risk of developing a chronic condition.
- Development, testing and delivery of a model linking Multicultural Community Health Workers (MCHW) with GPs, physiotherapists, dietitians, nutritionists, practice nurses and general practice staff in supporting targeted CALD community members with or at risk of developing a chronic condition.
Projects under this Program:
To download the referral forms in the language you prefer please click here.
For further information regarding the program, please contact:
Hong Do, Chronic Disease Program Officer
HIV CALD social group
