Cultural Support Program
The Cultural Support Program works collaboratively with clinical and non-clinical services across Sydney Local Health District to support the delivery of culturally responsive care.
It adds value to community programs and provides support in reaching priority culturally and linguistically diverse populations as well as providing feedback to improve the health system.
The program comprises a pool of approximately 120 trained bilingual and bicultural Cultural Support Workers from across 25 language groups. The Cultural Support Workers are drawn from priority communities across the District. They have been recruited based on their work within their communities, language proficiency, knowledge of the Australian health system, and understanding of health beliefs and cultural practices within their communities.
Cultural Support Workers have a broad scope of practice, which includes:
- Developing and implementing community engagement initiatives
- Delivering information and health education in-language
- Reviewing and developing multilingual resources
- Supporting research
HIV Client Support Program (in language)
The HIV Client Support Program provides support to people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities who are affected by HIV.
Who is the program for?
Anyone who has a HIV diagnosis and needs in-language support.
What is covered?
Our clients are matched to a bi-lingual/bi-cultural Cultural Support Worker. The Cultural Support Worker understands the culture and language needs of their clients; the meaning of a HIV diagnosis; and how the health system works in Australia.
Our team works with the client to provide emotional support, improve health literacy and understanding of HIV. We support ongoing treatment and care, normalise and de-stigmatise living with HIV, and systems navigation.
The HIV Cultural Support Program protects individual’s privacy and confidentiality, and is available across New South Wales.
How can I sign up?
To find out more about receiving support, please call us on 02 9515 1234 or email SLHD-DiversityHub@health.nsw.gov.au
Multicultural Leaders Forum
The Multicultural Leaders Forum is an annual event where multicultural community leaders meet with Sydney Local Health District senior executives to share information, discuss priority health issues and develop strategies to improve the community’s health.
In previous years more than 60 community leaders attended the Multicultural Leaders Forum. These leaders represented both larger, established communities – including Arabic-speaking, Chinese-speaking, Greek and Italian communities – as well as new and emerging communities such as Bangladeshi, Nepalese, Mongolian and Rohingya.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we established the Canterbury Leaders Forum to specifically address COVID-19 health concerns in the Canterbury area. This forum led to pivotal strategies in the local pandemic response, including the establishment of testing and vaccination clinics at Lakemba Mosque and other community locations. The forum will continue beyond the pandemic, extending its focus to other priority health issues in the Canterbury area.
NSW HIV Roundtable 2023
The first NSW Culturally and Linguistically Diverse HIV Roundtable event was held on 10 August 2023, at Canterbury Hurlstone-Park RSL. The event brought together health professionals, multicultural community leaders and Ministry of Health staff to create a platform for share knowledge and community perspectives, with the goal of improving access to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Attendees heard from speakers from across the state, including Clinical Nurse Consultant Anik Ray from the Sydney Sexual Health Clinic, Medical Director of Sexual Health Services at South Western Sydney Local Health District Dr Chris Carmody, and Dr Rohan Bopage, Infectious Diseases and Sexual Health Physician from Western Sydney Health.
People from culturally and linguistically diverse communities were also able to share their perspectives of HIV and stories of lived experience.
The session ended with a facilitated group discussion, where attendees were able to express views and opinions about current and future health care services.