Victorian Refugee Health Network E-bulletin September 2010
The Victorian Refugee Health Network brings together health, settlement and community services to be more accessible and responsive to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers.
The E-bulletin provides a regular forum to share news and information to support practitioners and services in providing health care to people of a refugee background.
News and Events
1. "What about us?" Challenging the mental health maze for diverse communities. Hosted by ADEC (Advocacy, Disability, Ethnicity,Community) this forum will be held during World Mental Health Week on October 13, from 9.30am - 1.30pm at Bell City Event Centre, 215 Bell Street, Preston. Click here for a flyer.
2. Survey: research project on homelessness among CALD people with mental illness. The Victorian Transcultural Psychiatry Unit (VTPU) has partnered with Multicultural Mental Health Australia (MMHA) to conduct research on the extent of homelessness among people from CALD backgrounds with mental illnesses. Service providers can participate in this important project by completing the survey (15-20 mins) which closes October 1.
Homelessness organisations click: www.surveymonkey.com/s/PRVHNCW
Mental health organisations click: www.surveymonkey.com/s/YXWZDRV
Multicultural and ethno-specific organisations click: www.surveymonkey.com/s/PN2XKDX
3. Red Cross International Tracing Service: information for clients who have arrived through an Immigration Detention Centre. Newly arrived clients who have been detained at the Christmas Island or another Immigration Detention Centre may have been visited by the Red Cross International Tracing team. As Red Cross is not informed where people are settled once they leave Immigration Detention, it is important that clients contact Red Cross to update their contact details and to check if there is positive news about their family's location. Click here for further information.
Resources
4. Christmas Island Health Information - updated (August 2, 2010): provides information on health screening, assessments and services currently provided on Christmas Island to assist healthcare practitioners on the mainland in their care of refugees. Please click here for a copy or contact Louise Crowe, Victorian Refugee Health Network, (Ph) 03 9389 8909 or crowel@foundationhouse.org.au
5. Pre Departure Medical Screening (PDMS) updated information: the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) have produced information on the two types of PDMS (Full and Short) which are conducted within 72 hours of clients departure to Australia. The information details what screening, treatment and reporting (health manifest or not) is provided in each type. Please click here. Certain countries/regions have been declared full and short PDMS regions For this information please click here.
6. Medicare Health Assessments for Refugees and Other Humanitarian Entrants: the Fact Sheet and Question and Answer Sheet for the new MBS items covering refugee health assessment have been updated and are now available on the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) website at Medicare Health Assessments Resource Kits
Click on Health assessment for refugees and other humanitarian entrants or
Health assessment for refugees and other humanitarian entrants: Questions and Answers.
To access the refugee health assessment template produced by General Practice Victoria (GPV) and endorsed by the RACGP, click here.
7. Pap Screen Victoria fact sheets in community languages are now available. Resources include posters about prevention of cervical cancer through regular PAP testing and pamphlets and information sheets in 34 languages. For an order form click here.
8. Translated Contraceptive Fact Sheets have been developed by Family Planning NSW in French, Kirundi, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Khmer, Burmese, Vietnamese, Assyrian, Korean, Turkish, Serbian, Thai, Dinka, Swahili and Laos. To view see: http://www.fpnsw.org.au/topic_factsheets.html
Professional Development
9. Refugee assessment and healthcare in General Practice training organised by Westgate General Practice Network, HealthWest Partnership and Foundation House. GPs and Practice Nurses are invited to attend this Active Learning Module facilitated over 2 nights by Dr Karen Linton & Foundation House. It will be held on on Tuesday 19 & Tuesday 26 October from 6.30pm - 9.30pm (Light refreshments from 6-6.30pm). Venue: Westage GP Network, 107 Elm Park Drive, Hoppers Crossing. Click here for information and a registration form.
10. Foundation House's professional development training calendar - course for counsellors. This two-day course provides counsellors with additional skills for working with refugee survivors of torture and trauma. The next course will be held on Thursday 18 and Thursday 25 November from 9.30am - 4.30pm at Foundation House, 6 Gardiner Street, Brunswick. Click here for a flyer.
To register phone Georgia (03) 9389 8914 or visit www.foundationhouse.org.au
Research/Reports
11. Kokanovic, R., May, C., Dowrick, C., Furler, J., Newton, D. & Gunn, J. (2010). Negotiations of distress between East Timorese and Vietnamese refugees and their family doctors in Melbourne. Sociology of Health and Illness, 32(4): 511-527.
12. Fox, S. & Willis, M. (2010). Dental restorations for Dinka and Nuer refugees: A confluence of culture and healing. Transcultural Psychiatry, 47(3): 452-472.
13. Young, M., McCall, B. & Heel, K. (2010). The impact of pre-departure screening and treatment on notifications of malaria in refugees in south-east Queensland. Communicable Diseases Intelligence, 34(1): 37-40. Article available in full.
Subscriptions and contributions to the Victorian Refugee Health Network E-bulletin are welcome. If you would like to subscribe or send news or information relevant to refugee health please go to the Contact Us page on the Refugee Health Network website: www.refugeehealthnetwork.org.au or email: ebulletin@refugeehealthnetwork.org.au
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