South Western Sydney PHN (SWSPHN) supports primary care health professionals to identify and address priority health needs of people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and refugee backgrounds and improve health outcomes.
Four priority areas
Improve access and quality of care
Ensure people can get the care they need, in the way they need it, when they need it.
Build health literacy
Empower individuals to have the information they need to make health choices.
Enhance system responsiveness
Ensure service providers and health professionals are supported to deliver culturally safe care.
Understand health needs
Ensure we have a comprehensive understanding of health needs, service needs and population group needs.
Projects and activities
Here are the ways SWSPHN addresses the four priority areas to improve the health outcomes of people from non-English speaking and culturally diverse backgrounds who live in South Western Sydney.
Improve access and quality of care
Ensure people can get the care they need, in the way they need it, when they need it.
Mental health services
SWSPHN commissions mental health services with a focus on supporting culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Care navigation
Healthcare service navigation is available for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, refugees and people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness across South Western Sydney.
Care navigation for older people
SWSPHN delivers healthy ageing education and care navigation services for culturally and linguistically diverse older people and their carers.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander support
SWSPHN commissions Tharawal and Gandangara to deliver a Social and Emotional Wellbeing program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the region.
Build health literacy
Empower individuals to have the information they need to make health choices.
SWSPHN also translate resources where relevant within our health portfolios and are in the process of developing a health literacy framework, which will include recommendations for primary care providers to ensure they provide a culturally safe and appropriate service to non-English speakers and for people of various cultural backgrounds.
Enhance system responsiveness
Ensure service providers and health professionals are supported to deliver culturally safe care.
- Staff cultural competency – All SWSPHN staff complete cultural competency training.
- Culturally safe commissioned services – SWSPHN commissioned service providers are required to have the cultural competency to provide culturally safe services to culturally and linguistically diverse and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
- Training for health professionals – SWSPHN regularly offers culturally relevant training to service providers and practice staff through CPD events.
Understand health needs
Ensure we have a comprehensive understanding of health needs, service needs and population group needs.
Needs assessments
SWSPHN reviews the health and service needs of communities across South Western Sydney every three years. The needs assessment includes literature review, data collection and analysis, surveys, consultations and focus groups to identify emerging needs.
CALD and refugee co-design
This project evaluates the health and service needs of CALD and refugee communities.
SWSPHN also partners with universities to conduct research related to CALD and refugee population groups.
Community involvement
SWSPHN participates in community working groups, including:
- Fairfield Health Alliance, Partnerships
- Refugee Women’s Health Group
- NSW Multicultural Working Group
Participation provides feedback, insights and input from community members.
More information
Learn more about how SWSPHN is working to improve health equity and respond to the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse and refugee communities in South Western Sydney.
Enhancing health equity