Embedding online cultural awareness training to improve health service delivery to Aboriginal clients

1. Embedding online cultural awareness training to improve health service delivery to Aboriginal clients North Metro Area Health Services (RTO) & WA Health Aboriginal Health Improvement Unit

2. What is the problem? • Need to ‘close the gap’ in health outcomes between Aboriginal people and other Australians by • Improving cultural security of health workplaces,to retain more Aboriginal employees and • Enhancing health workers’ cultural competence behaviours, to improve patient outcomes through • Educator support for, and staff access to, e-learning materials in cultural awareness

3. What are the benefits? • Enhanced health worker behaviours to improve patient outcomes • Improved workplace cultural security to retain Aboriginal employees • Increased access to cultural awareness training via online e-learning material • Increased educators confidence in the use of blended learning to support e-learners

4. The Barriers • No framework and limited learning materials: • Lack of agreement over framework and the tools required for staff to develop cultural competence • Regional differences in Aboriginal culture, requires a range of topics to be addressed in a number of different ways • Access to training: • 9,000 WA Country Health Service employees are based at 131 rural and remote health service units serving mostly Aboriginal people • 16,000 North Metro Health Services employees have specialised clinical skills but limited access to cultural awareness training • WA Health includes 10,000 staff in other Area Health Services • Educator confidence in e-learning: • Limited personal experience in the use of e-earning • Minimal experience in supporting learners to use e-learning in blended classroom environments

5. How do you intend to solve it? • Develop a framework for cultural competence development • Including guidelines, policy & a modular approach to development • Develop a communication and marketing strategy • To engage learners • Engage Aboriginal employees as education designers • In the design and development of culturally appropriate learning materials, reflecting regional differences • Design, develop and deliver e-learning materials • Regionally appropriate, suite of resources • Address the national unit of competence HLTAHW201A • ‘Work with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients’

6. What e-learning solutions do you intend to use? This project will; • Increase access to cultural awareness training via e-learning • E-training for confident computer learners • Virtual classroom for Aboriginal employees & educators to ‘brainstorm’ • Distance education for isolated learners to use stand-alone CD ROM • Increase educators confidence to support e-learners • Blended learning to support learners in using the technology • Web-in-class when delivering e-learning to new staff eg at orientation • Utilise software which allows • Multiple narrative, specific for each Aboriginal region • Animation, text and online questionnaires

7. How will you embed E-learningin your organisation? • It is expected that the materials will be endorsed for deployment to staff at all WACHS regions and metropolitan health service sites • Software allows for the addition of new pages and changes to the narrative voice-over • Engage educators in future e-learning projects

8. How will you ensure your project is sustainable? • Project objectives align with the strategic initiative ‘WA Health Reconciliation Action Plan 2008-13’ • Develop a cultural competence framework, policy and guidelines to integrate e-learning as ongoing practice • Mandate cultural competence e-learning into orientation programs • Maintain cultural e-learning intranet site • Support ongoing collaboration within WA Health