On 24 October 2024, we hosted our third Cumberland Health Care Neighbourhood Networking event at The Holroyd Centre at Merrylands. This event follows the success of previous place-based events within this region which have united health care professionals and community members to improve health outcomes in such a culturally diverse pocket.
The focus of the event was immunisation, due to lower-than-average immunisation rates within the Cumberland local government area. On the night, over 60 guests heard from two key speakers, Dr Ikram Abdi, Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, and Professor Nicolas Wood, Co-Director of National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.
Dr Abdi shared valuable tips for building vaccine confidence among refugee and migrant communities. This comes in response to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on culturally and linguistically diverse groups. She emphasised that vaccine hesitancy is just one aspect of the issue.
To effectively build confidence, it’s crucial to address various barriers, including language and communication challenges, access issues, socioeconomic factors, health literacy, and social and cultural norms. Dr Abdi recommended implementing dialogue-based interventions and fostering community engagement. Additionally, adapting information delivery to meet the specific needs of these communities is essential.
Professor Nicolas Wood focused on the importance of vaccines during pregnancy in protecting both mother and baby and reducing hospital admissions. Professor Wood focused on the importance of prevention vaccinations for influenza, pertussis, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19.
The Immunisation Advisory Centre provides a free online course for health professionals seeking to enhance their approach to immunisation when working with migrant and refugee communities.
Immunisation Bike Competition
Each year, we run the Western Sydney Immunisation Bike Competition to encourage timely childhood immunisation within our region. Since its inception in 2011, the competition has helped immunise 16,972 children.
General practices in the Western Sydney Primary Health Network area can still express their interest in joining the 2024 Immunisation Bike Competition. Participating practices will receive support and promotional material from our Primary Care Delivery team, including a poster translated in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Hindi and Urdu to better serve culturally and linguistically diverse families. To register your interest, please visit our Immunisation Bike Competition Expression of Interest Form 2024
New Cumberland Primary Care Association
As a direct result of the success of our place-based Cumberland Health Care Neighbourhood Networking events, we are delighted to support the establishment of the Cumberland Primary Care Association. If you are interested in joining, please complete the Expression of Interest form.
At the event, you will meet and greet fellow enthused Cumberland stakeholders and members from the Mt Druitt Medical Practice Association (MDMPA) to discuss what a future Cumberland based group could look like. We look forward to building a multi-disciplinary and community-based approach to better health care delivery for our community.
If you missed the event and would like to stay up-to-date with future events, please subscribe to our Training and Education newsletter.
This information is correct as of 31 October 2024.