Research + Innovation Volume 08. September 2016
Inside this issue:
1. UP IN SMOKE
2. VICTIMS SUPPORT GOES REGIONAL
3. CARERS FIND SUPPORT
4. #THIS CAMPAIGN IS QUEER SUCCESS
In this issue: 3 Non-smoker gains 3 Up in smoke 4 Aphasia project 4 Victims support goes regional 5 Carers find support
Welcome
6 #ThisCampaign IsQueer
Our commitment to health care isn’t restricted to providing services. We pride ourselves on being an active participant and contributor to undertaking research and evaluation.
7 The results are in: GLBTIQ Inclusive Practice Staff Survey 7 Aged care forum success 8 Healthy ageing Merri Health @MerriHealth
Research and Innovation is Merri Health’s biannual publication that highlights some of our recent and current achievements in the areas of research and evaluation. By conducting ongoing reviews of our programs and services, we ensure that they are based on best practice, are evidence-based and aligned to the population health needs of our community.
Research and Innovation highlights current research and provides the opportunity to identify new opportunities for collaboration, share our learnings and contribute to evidence base for population health and wellbeing. In this edition you will find information on our expansion to the Hume region with our Victims Assistance Program, results of our recent GLBTIQ
© All applicable copyrights reserved for Merri Health. No part of this publication may be replicated in any manner or medium, without the permission of Merri Health, except as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).
2. | Research & Innovation September 2016
Inclusive Practice Staff Survey, Aphasia project, and more. We’d also like to take this opportunity to congratulate our Puberty and Human Relations Program team who were recently recognised for their outstanding work by being shortlisted as a Victorian Disability Awards finalist. This newsletter is aimed at current and potential partners, stakeholders, funding bodies and key players in the community, health and primary care field, such as the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Health and Ageing, academic institutions, Medicare Local, Primary Care Partnerships and other community health organisations.
Non-smoker gains There’s two things that we know about smoking: it’s bad for your health and it’s expensive! But do you know exactly how much better off your health and hip-pocket could be if you quit? After one day of not smoking you’ve got an extra $21 in your pocket. You could treat yourself to lunch or buy a couple of your favourite magazines. Nicotine is cleared from your body. Your heart rate slows to a normal rate and your blood pressure is more stable. Your finger tips are warmer. After one week of not smoking you’ve got
an extra $147 in your pocket. You’ve saved enough for a facial, a dinner out, a gig or to buy a few books. The small hair-like structures that clean your lungs, called cilia, are starting to work better. You have higher blood levels of protective antioxidants, like vitamin C and your sense of smell and taste may improve. After one month of not smoking you’ve saved $640. You’ve saved enough for a weekend away, to cover your monthly petrol costs or treat yourself to some new clothes. Your lungs are working more efficiently. Exercising is easier and your immune system is starting to recover. After three to six months of not smoking you’ve saved over $1,900. This is enough for a new computer or a plasma TV. After six
months, you’ve got over $3,800 to spend. You could take your family for a holiday. You’re likely to cough and wheeze less, and cough up less phlegm. Your body is better at healing cuts and wounds. After one year of not smoking you’ve saved almost $7,700. This is enough for an aroundthe-world plane ticket or a lump sum off your mortgage. After 10 years your risk of lung cancer is less than half that of a continuing smoker. You’ve also saved almost $77,000. After 15 years your risk of coronary heart disease and stroke is nearly the same as a lifetime non-smoker. You’ve also saved $115,000.
50% of males and females
smoke in the Arabic–speaking community
10 cigarettes per day doubles your risk of dying
Are you thinking of quitting smoking? Call us on 9388 9933 to chat. We’ll help you through it all.
Up in smoke Earlier this year, we set up smoking cessation sessions in a bid to tackle the high smoking rates in Moreland. The sessions are run at two Merri Health sites based in Brunswick and Coburg, and provide one-on-one sessions with the client’s unique needs in mind. “Our approach is a little different – we know how hard it is to stop smoking and try to make it as easy as possible for the person. It doesn’t matter if we’ve seen you for the first time or the eighth time, every single time we see you, you move one step closer to quitting once and for all,” said Christine Buckley, smoking cessation facilitator at Merri Health. Knowing that smokers are not a homogenous group, Christine tailors the treatment to fit the client.
Local Indigenous man, Garry Charles, knows first-hand the benefits of community support, as he has successfully quit smoking for over three months. “I want all my Aboriginal brothers and sisters who smoke to know that there is help and it works,” Garry said. “Talking to someone at Merri Health has been the best way to help me stop smoking. After many years of trying to quit I’m now a non smoker.” Merri Health will be holding an information stall at Barkly Square in Brunswick on Wednesday, 16 November, to coincide with World COPD Day (Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease), for anyone who has any questions about the program.
Research & Innovation September 2016 | 3.
Aphasia project
Aiming to help people with aphasia, Merri Health along with La Trobe University brought together people living with chronic aphasia. Aphasia is as a communication disorder that happens when there is damage to parts of the brain that are responsible for language and speech. Most often, the cause of the brain injury is a stroke. Aphasia does not affect intelligence but causes problems with speaking, listening, reading and writing. The project ran from February to June of this year and involved participants coming along to weekly and fortnightly sessions to: >> Reflect on their lives before their stroke, how it is now and looking into the future. >> Complete a personal portfolio looking at their strengths and areas of need for support and what they would like to work towards, like commitments, activities or conversations. >> Take part in activities linked to the Enable Me website. >> Learn about the role of the National Stroke Foundation.
Victims support goes regional Based on the strong track record of the Victims Assistance Program service delivery and commitment to supporting victims of crime, Merri Health has successfully tendered to deliver the service in the Hume region. Merri Health has been providing the Victims Assistance Program to the metropolitan region of Melbourne since 1999. Now, the program will extend to over 12 municipalities in the Hume Region. As of 1 July, 2016, the geographical coverage spans from the City of Yarra to the Rural City of Wodonga and from the Shire of Mitchell to the Shire of Towong. In the 2014-2015 financial year, Merri Health supported 1,434 clients and delivered 8,690 Victims Assistance Program service hours across the northern metropolitan region. With this additional funding, Merri Health can support 1,130 new victims of crime against the person in the Hume region and 1,580 in the northern metropolitan region each year,
and also continue to support their existing clients. Team leader of Victims Assistance Program, Vivianne Woska said the service had seen an increase in demand in the recent January to March quarter and the team is ready to provide this much needed support to rural areas. “We have a strong team and practices that will allow us to provide the right support across the Hume region,” said Ms Woska. Merri Health was awarded the Victims Assistance Program contract for 2016 – 2018 by the Department of Justice and Regulation and will work closely with the Department in its service development.
>> Engage socially with other people with aphasia and peer support. The research will be analysed over the coming months and submitted for publication later this year.
4. | MerriNews September 2016
“It provides us the opportunity to build synergies between metro and rural approaches to victim’s assistance.” - Vivianne Woska, team leader of the Victims Assistance Program
Carers find support We know that carers are more likely to put their own health needs aside. Merri Health has taken a holistic approach to ensure that they aren’t neglected.
The role of a carer can be rewarding and fulfilling, however it can also lead to many challenges and hardships. Studies have shown that carers are more likely to ignore their personal health needs and are more likely to suffer from chronic health issues. Carers experience some of the lowest wellbeing in Australia, through financial hardship, feelings of isolation, poor emotional health and high levels of stress and fatigue. In July this year, CarerLinks North introduced a Carer Health and Wellbeing Coaching service, which aims to enhance the capacity of carers to prioritise their physical health and wellbeing needs, and improve their resilience and ability to self manage healthy decisions and behaviour. Each carer receives 10 personal coaching sessions to promote health literacy, behaviour change and self management for improved health and wellbeing outcomes. CarerLinks North recognises the need to respond to the needs of all carers, and through the carer support program, offers a combination of services to holistically support the carer within their caring role. CarerLinks North promote client-centred care, choice and capacity building. As a new service, evaluation is still in its early stages. Data collection forms an essential role in this service, assisting our team to evaluate the efficacy of the service model and deliver improved health and quality of life outcomes. Evaluation provides insight into the broader health and wellbeing needs for carers within the community, helping us plan for future services.
38% feel that caring has negatively impacted on their physical and emotional wellbeing
10% have been diagnosed with a
stress related illness due to their caring role The wellbeing of carers decreases as the number of hours spent caring increases Contact CarerLinks North: Phone: 1800 052 222 Email: carerlinksnorth@merrihealth.org.au
Referral to this service commenced on 1 July 2016.
Research & Innovation September 2016  | 5.
#ThisCampaignIsQueer: A national campaign to help isolated same–sex attracted and gender diverse young people launched in May this year.
Devised by Moreland’s queer youth theatre YGLAM, #ThisCampaignIsQueer is the first social media campaign of its kind as young people take full control of channels; developing content and managing activity across seven social media accounts and website. The social media campaign launched on the eve of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia to show young people that they are not alone. It was attended by more than 100 people including local council, Victoria Police, the shOUT Youth Chorus, and celebrity Tom Ballard, who helped launch the campaign with his live testimonial.
IN TWO MONTHS WE HAVE: 82,546 IMPRESSIONS ON FACEBOOK 5,355 IMPRESSIONS ON TWITTER 1210 INTERACTIONS ON INSTAGRAM
From May this year, the campaign has engaged Australian celebrities Faustina Agolley known as Fuzzy, and Jordan Raskopoulos from the Axis of Awesome, who both filmed a testimonial for queer young people enforcing that there is always support available. YGLAM have established themselves on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Vine and Snapchat, where they have connected with young people across Australia. Since launching the campaign, they have had coverage across social media and traditional media including a feature article and interview with a YGLAMMER in the Moreland Leader.
What’s the reach? Facebook #ThisCamapignIsQueer has had over 82,546 impressions on our Facebook page, with posts organically reaching 3,575 people. The celebrity videos reached more than 59,000 people and the page has maintained a steady growth in ‘page likes’ over the past two months. We receive an average of 5 new page likes per week, and post engagement have an average of 172 post clicks and 50 reactions, comments and shares. Twitter #ThisCampaignIsQueer’s Twitter has had 5,355 impressions, 560 profile visits and is currently sitting on 141 followers. They have engaged with other media outlets through re–tweets and mentions and have received mentions from other large accounts. #ThisCamapignIsQueer’s top Tweet has received over 302 impressions, 30 likes and 10 re–tweets. Instagram The Instagram account is on a steady rise, with 25 new followers in the past week alone. #ThisCamapignIsQueer’s top post has received 42 likes and had 1210 interactions in the past month alone.
6. | Research & Innovation September 2016
Aged Care forum success
“Given that I am relatively new to Merri ... I have been impressed with the commitment of the organisation to assist the LGBTIQ community where possible” - Member of Merri Health staff, 2016
The results are in: 2016 GLBTIQ Inclusive Practice Staff Survey Merri Health staff participated in a GLBTIQ Inclusive Practice Survey earlier this year. The results reflect the continued improvement and commitment the organisation has to being an inclusive service provider. The Rainbow Tick is not something we take lightly at Merri Health. We are committed to improving our practices so that we can provide safe and inclusive services for gay, lesbian, bisexual, intersex, transgender and queer (GLBTIQ) clients. The 2016 GLBTIQ Inclusive Practice Staff Survey was completed by 106 staff members and found that an overwhelming 89% thought it was important for Merri Health to be GLBTIQ inclusive, and 96% felt that the work environment is inclusive for GLBTIQ employees. These results are an improvement to last year’s results, with staff commenting on the cohort’s acceptance of diversity. 67% of staff that completed the survey stated that they would like to further
Earlier this year, Merri Health joined Moreland City Council and North West Aged Care Assessment Service to hold the Aged Care is Changing – What you need to know community forum. The forum was held on 15 August, and was considered very positive and informative by attendees. The purpose was to provide community members the opportunity to hear about the recent changes to aged care and to ask questions. Fifty five participants attended the forum to hear about My Aged Care, find out about the changes introduced to the aged care assessment processes, the aged care services available and to meet relevant staff.
develop their skills in working effectively with GLBTIQ clients. This is a slightly higher result to 54% in 2015, proving that staff value our commitment and seek out opportunities to better the service that they provide.
Key questions were asked around elder rights, supports available to carers and family members, when is it the right time for a person to go into care, and registering with My Aged Care.
Overall, staff were knowledgeable of the needs, barriers and issues affecting the GLBTIQ community. Some of these issues included staff not understanding the correct language and terms and worried that they will offend GLBTIQ participants; other clients being homophobic; and clash with some cultural and religious beliefs.
Feedback from 53% of the participants indicated that the majority did learn something new about aged care and the changes, and were pleased with the opportunity to ask questions.
These responses have been collated and presented to the GLBTIQ Working Group to use as a tool to make improvements within our organisation moving forward.
MerriNews September 2016 | 7.
Healthy ageing “Typically residents in public housing reach a crisis point before accessing medical services. A proactive and preventative approach is vital for this population.” - Merri Health, 2014
In early 2016, Merri Health came together with the Inner North West Primary Care Partnership to develop an assertive outreach model and referral pathways for older people living in public housing. Our aim was to help older persons aged 50+ living in public housing to access community health services. In Victoria there are almost 63,000 households accommodated in public housing with approximately 46% of residents over the age of 55 (Department of Health and Human Services, 2016).
We went out to talk with the locals living in public housing to find out more about them, what they knew about services and how they would like to receive information.
We also found that the most commonly requested appointments at outreach events were dental, optometry and occupational therapy.
In response, we developed materials to keep them connected and remind them that there are services available, and made information postcards for partners that work with people living in public housing.
A key benefit was streamlining access to services. More work will go into sustainability planning and the development of referral pathways.
The project was successful with a threefold increase in the number of public housing residents accessing services at Merri Health during the project period.
This project was funded by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Brunswick
Brunswick West PAG
Fawkner
Thornbury
Chifley Drive, Preston
11 Glenlyon Road Brunswick VIC 3056
382–386 Moreland Road Brunswick West VIC 3055
79 Jukes Road Fawkner VIC 3060
298 Victoria Road Thornbury VIC 3073
Level 2, 110 Chifley Drive Preston VIC 3072
t: 03 9387 6711
t: 03 9386 3575
t: 03 9357 2444
t: 03 9484 5314
t: 03 9495 2500
Coburg
Harding Street, Coburg
Glenroy
Victoria Street, Coburg
Interchange North West
93 Bell Street Coburg VIC 3058
1st Floor, 368 Sydney Road Coburg VIC 3058
5D Cromwell Street Glenroy VIC 3046
21 Victoria Street Coburg VIC 3058
Shop 9E Anderson Street Pascoe Vale VIC 3044
t: 03 9350 4000
t: 03 8319 7400
t: 03 9304 9200
t: 03 9355 9900
t: 03 9350 4600
Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is provided by Merri Community Health Services and is for general information purposes only. While information is current at the time of publication, subsequent changes to events may occur. MCHS ventures to provide current and accurate information and we make no representations or warranties, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, or availability, with respect to this publication. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore at your own risk. In no event will MCHS and its employees be responsible or liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or significant loss or damage, or any type loss or damage whatsoever, suffered by any person as the result of reliance on information contained in this publication.