Paediatric Integrated Cancer Service Annual Report 2010-11

Culturally and linguisticallydiverse background(CALDB) familiesAs part of the PICS Supportive Care Grantand following recommendations fromthe PICS project completed in January2009 titled ‘Strengthening services forchildren with cancer and their familiesfrom culturally and linguistically diversebackgrounds (CALDB)’, the PICS hasundertaken significant work to improveresources for families from CALDB includingpicture resources, information in languagesother than English and a calendar of keycultural dates. In addition, the PICS hasreinforced its commitment to staff trainingthrough the development of a culturalworkshop for medical, nursing and alliedhealth staff.Picture resourcesIn March 2011, the PICS launched pictureresource folders within the CCCs at bothRCH and Monash Children’s. These pictureresource folders have been created, basedon those developed by Eastern Health toassist nursing staff, doctors and allied healthstaff to communicate with patients/familiesand friends that do not speak or understandEnglish, or have learning, hearing or speechimpairments. When a family recognisedas having limited English is admitted tothe ward, these folders will be kept withinthe patient’s room (or near their bed inshared wards) and can be used for all kindsof interactions with staff members thatengage with the family. The folders will betrialled for six months with the intentionthat if successful, the two hospitals maychoose to develop more folders for otherwards. Following this trial the PICS will alsoreview the applicability for regional centresand Peter Mac.Information in languagesother than EnglishThe PICS is currently in the process oftranslating key information for familiesinto the seven most common languagesof CCC families: Arabic, Cambodian, Dari,Khmer, Turkish, Vietnamese and Cantonese/Mandarin. Information being translatedincludes ‘What is cancer?’, ‘Side effects ofchemotherapy’, ‘When to call the hospital’,‘Blood counts’ and ‘The Beaded JourneyProgram’. In addition, the PICS has sourcedinformation in other languages fromexternal sites, with links to approvedinformation, all of which are available tohealth service staff and consumers fromthe PICS website.CALDB calendarTogether with the RCH, the PICS developeda calendar of events that promotes andreflects cultural and linguistic diversity, aswell as acknowledging key celebrations.This calendar is available on the RCH and SHintranet for staff. In addition to the calendar,key dates are also acknowledged andexplained in the CCC staff bulletin, which iscirculated across sites weekly.CALDB training for medical,nursing and allied health staffTogether with the Junior Medical StaffTraining and Support Unit of the RCH,the PICS has developed a workshop titled‘Communicating with CALDB families in theChildren’s Cancer Centre’. The aims of theworkshop are to:● Introduce the concept of interculturalcommunication and culturalcompetence● Explain the need for critical reflection in‘cultural competence’● Compare different ethnic groups’ culturalcharacteristics and how this relates toperceptions around health experiencein the CCC● Facilitate reflection on personalexperiences where interculturalcommunication was problematic● Help devise and/or highlight strategiesfor working within difficultcommunication scenarios● Clarify the role of and facilitatecollaboration with interpreters.This workshop was piloted in May 2011with representation from medical, nursingand allied health staff from the RCH.28 staff members attended the workshop,with feedback supporting the intentionto implement this workshop as part of thecore professional development curriculum.This workshop will be conducted for healthprofessionals working within paediatriconcology across the RCH, SH and Peter Macin 2011-12.Paediatric Integrated Cancer Service (PICS) Annual Report 2010-2011 19