3 minute read
Education Update
What has the Hepatitis SA Education team been up to?
This year it’s been great to get back to some sort of normality and deliver some face-to-face education sessions again. We were lucky last year in being able to continue our education using such platforms as Zoom and Teams, however it’s not quite the same as being in the same room with the audience, which creates a lot more personal engagement and interaction. In saying this, we have certainly learnt some lessons from the online approach and been able to broaden our reach to connect with organisations that we have been unable to in the past, particularly those in remote areas of the state. The most exciting aspect of the lifted restrictions and return to ‘regular programming’ has been the opportunity to resume rural visits around SA, including prisons (a significant component of our community-based work), and we were able to set up a regional screening clinic. We have also been busy visiting a number of Adelaide based services to deliver our workforce and community training.
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Prison visits
In the last several months we have been able to visit Mount Gambier Prison, the Adelaide Women’s Prison with the successful ‘Keeping Safe’ program and Cadell Prison in the Riverland. We also resumed our regular visits to the Adelaide Youth Training Centre in early 2021. All of these education sessions have been well received after the long hiatus.
Adelaide Women’s Prison
Mount Gambier screening clinic
One of the major highlights of the year to date was a viral hepatitis screening clinic in Mount Gambier with a local migrant service. This was carried out in collaboration with the wonderful viral hepatitis nurses from Flinders Medical Centre, Jeff and Rosalie, and Anelia at the Mount Gambier Migrant Resource Centre. Following our proven format of ‘bringing the clinic to the community’, the project activities were held onsite at the Migrant Resource Centre, and included an education session, a testing clinic, and a follow up clinic for participants to receive their results. This project was extremely successful in identifying local community members affected by viral hepatitis who had fallen through the gaps, and ensuring they are linked into appropriate care going forward. It was a huge amount of work to coordinate this project – kudos to our education superstar Shannon, who took the lead on this activity and ensured the project ran smoothly from start to end. Well done!
Metro Adelaide
Alongside our rural and prisons work, we have been busy across the city too – a few highlights include DCS Community Corrections Centres, AOD workers from Life Without Barriers, Flinders and Adelaide University students, PEACE Multicultural Services and Aboriginal Health Council of SA. Some of our community education sessions have included: SA Health community rehabilitation centres, the Woolshed, Tauondi College Open Day and Flexible Learning Options students at various sites. A screening clinic in Adelaide with the Burmese Community (via the Australian Refugee Association) was also facilitated in early 2021.
What’s next for the education team?
We aren’t showing any signs of slowing down soon! In the coming weeks, we also have trips planned to Port Augusta for sessions within the prison and other local organisations. We are in discussions with Port Lincoln Prison and Adelaide Pre Release centre to finalise some education visits soon. In late June, members of the education team will be visiting Ceduna with the CNP Peer Projects Coordinator to host a ‘Hepatitis and Harm Reduction’ workforce forum, as well as run a session at the Yadu Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service. The forum is proving popular with a range of local services working across the health, government and nongovernment sectors. We also have a number of other educational visits planned during our time in Ceduna. As always, we keep our ears to the ground and are on the lookout for potential partnerships, grants and opportunities to run new and exciting projects with our priority populations. The team has enjoyed getting out and about, and is looking forward to what the next 6 months of 2021 will bring! v
