Multicultural health

Three in 20 people living in Tasmania were born overseas, and 14% speak a language other than English at home.

With a rich mix of people from different backgrounds and cultures, it is important to consider how we can provide culturally responsive health care to multicultural Tasmanians.

Actions like running staff training in cultural awareness, using interpreters, and reviewing practices’ booking and check-in processes can have a big impact.

Improving health care for multicultural Tasmanians

Primary Health Tasmania, with funding from the Australian Government, is supporting primary healthcare providers to provide culturally appropriate, inclusive and accessible care to multicultural Tasmanians.

Our work in this area includes:

  • providing online resources for health professionals and practice staff (see below)
  • delivering targeted training on cultural awareness and working with interpreters
  • developing local case studies to share ideas and promote positive change.

Case study: Southside Family Medical

Southside Family Medical is a general practice in South Burnie.

The practice has made several changes in response to seeing an increase in multicultural Tasmanian patients. This includes:

  • updating the online booking form to include country of birth and preferred language
  • creating a fact sheet outlining why questions about language and country of birth are asked
  • training staff on addressing questions relating to country of birth and preferred language
  • ensuring all team members have a Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) code and are aware of how to access the service
  • investigating cultural competence training for staff.

Click here to read this case study in full, and click here to read a case study featuring Mowbray Medical.

Interpreting services

To ensure high-quality care for all patients regardless of their English language abilities, it’s important that staff working in primary healthcare practices know how to engage and work with interpreters.

Free interpreting services are available to some service providers.

More detailed information is available in our Guide to working with interpreters and on our interpreting services web page.

Resources for practices

Primary Health Tasmania has developed the following range of resources to help practices ensure their services are as accessible and inclusive as possible.

  • Culture Counts fact sheet – guiding practices on how to respectfully gather information about their patients’ culture.
  • Culture Counts poster – a resource for practices to use in public areas, explaining to patients what information might be requested and why.
  • ‘Multicultural health ready’ checklist – a quick-reference guide to help general practices meet the RACGP’s Standards for general practices in relation to use of interpreter services and culturally appropriate care.
  • Guide to working with interpreters – with information including why it’s important to consider engaging an interpreter, how to engage with the national Translating and Interpreting Service, and tips for working with interpreters.
  • Culture Counts case studies – Southside Family Medical and Mowbray Medical share the changes they have made to better support their patients from different cultural backgrounds.

Our Snapshot of Priority Populations in Tasmania resource gives an overview of health data and information for priority population groups, including multicultural communities.