Culturally appropriate - resources

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

• Watch this 10 minute videos where Chris Thorne (Aboriginal Community support Worker- Koolin Balit) talks about Taking care of Dying Time.
• This leaflet from Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Caring for your mob at the end of their life explains why it is important to talk about and plan for end of life care.
• Talking about dying is not easy. The Dying to talk discussion starter for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples will guide you through those discussions. You can download the discussion starter.
• The South Australian Government booklet: Advance care yarning (1.14MB pdf) is a useful resource that you can provide to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to help explain the importance of advance care planning in respecting patient choices.
• The CareSearch Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Care section brings together a range of resources on culturally safe and responsive care; the care journey; patient family and community journeys and research, evidence and practice resources.
• CareSearch: Relevant health organisations section gives you links to many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health services and organisations. This may be useful if you are looking for a national service, or those specific to states and territories. They are listed as general, palliative care, disease specific and aging services and supports.
• Often people are not sure how they can provide care for their families and communities. CareSearch: How do I provide care for my family and community? offers resources on providing care and support for carers.
• The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet has a palliative care and end of life portal.

Care leavers

• For a practical support to offer care leavers or forgotten Australians, Helping Hand has created a brochure with the Top 10 questions for forgotten Australians / Care Leavers (708kb pdf) to ask when looking for residential care. By comparing services, a more culturally safe place may be found.
• If you are caring for someone who identifies as a care leaver or forgotten Australian, you can find free counselling services by calling TEL: 1800 008 774 / 0425 204 747 or visit Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN): about support.
• When supporting care leavers, you may find it useful to provide details of services that can help with counselling, birth certificates and family restoration. The Child Migrants Trust provide various services and practical help.

Cultural and linguistically diverse people

• Clinicians involved in advance care planning (ACP) conversations and medical interpreters can watch this webinar Advance Care Planning for CALD Communities: iCanPlan Program to learn more about ACP with culturally and linguistically diverse communities affected by cancer. With a focus on care at the end of life, the webinar provides an overview of ACP including the roles of clinician and interpreters. It then outlines the various challenges and ethical dilemmas, recommendations for good practice, and resources for building skills. It is a joint presentation from Advance Care Planning Australia and the iCanCarePlan Project (NSW).
• To access support for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, visit the My Aged Care website. They have links to interpreter services, information in other languages, videos in other languages contact and details of organisations that work as Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care (PICAC).
• For tips on providing culturally appropriate support and care within the community, aged care and health industry, Diversicare: little book of Cultural tips (2.84MB pdf) gives some practical advice that will help you get started. 

Palliative care and carer resources in various languages:

• CareSearch multicultural videos
• Cancer Council Victoria: resources in other languages
• Palliative Care Victoria: Community Languages
• Palliative Care Australia: Multilingual resources
• Carer Gateway: resources in your language
• Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: Palliative care resources in various languages
• Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing: Resources.

Profiles of various cultures:

• Buddhist Council of Victoria: Buddhist Care for the Dying (422kb pdf)
• Loddon Mallee Regional Palliative Care Consortium: An outline of different cultural beliefs at the time of death (434kb pdf)
• Eastern Palliative Care: Cultural profiles to assist in providing culturally sensitive palliative care (1.16MB pdf)
• Eastern Health: Culturally significant events (308kb pdf)
• Eastern Health: Death and dying - religious and cultural considerations (73kb pdf)
• Palliative Care Victoria: Culturally and linguistically diverse resources cultural profiles
• Meaningful Ageing Australia: Muslim Aged Care: A practical guide for service providers (2.0MB pdf)
• Hindu Council of Australia: A guide for Health Care Professionals and Pastoral Care Workers (1.45MB pdf).

Homelessness

• If you need help now for someone who is experiencing homelessness, Homelessness Australia has contact details of various support services throughout Australia.
• The Homeless Palliative Care Toolkit is a set of resources designed for health professionals working with people who are homeless to use to recognise deterioration and help to get access to and plan person centred care.

Intellectual disability

• If you work with people who have an intellectual disability and would like resources that give practical advice relating to palliative care visit Talking End of Life: resources section.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex

• National Resource Center on LGBTQ+ Aging has a variety of resources across a range of LGBTI aging topics including end of life decisions.
• If you are supporting someone that is caring for a person who identifies as LGBTI the Carer Gateway: LGBTI resources section is a great place to find information and support.
• The Silver Rainbow: ageing and aged care educates service providers and policy makers how to meet the needs of LGBTI elders. Due to historical prejudice and discrimination, often LGBTI elders cannot or will not disclose their identities and remain invisible within the aged care sector and the community. The LGBTIQ+ Health Australia: Silver Rainbow section provide resources and training opportunities.
• The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: Actions to Support LGBTI Elders- a guide for consumers is available to download. This publication can be used to help those working in aged care to better understand LGBTI needs. It is also a useful resource for LGBTI elders to understand how to express their needs to aged care providers.
• Child Family Community Australia: Inclusive communication with LGBTIQ+ clients provides guidance on inclusive measures that practitioners and organisations can take.
• Community health pride - A toolkit to support LGBTIQ+ inclusive practice in Victorian community health services provides practical advice, tips, links to resources, templates and case studies for community health services to embed LGBTIQA+ inclusive practice across all levels of the organisation.

Older people

• To access free educational short animations that cover topics such as spirituality, and planning palliative and end of life care, visit the Meaningful Ageing Australia website.
• The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing offers Aged Care Signage in various languages. They can be downloaded and used in care facilities to help residents navigate around their home or service.
• Dementia Australia has a variety of resources such as videos, help sheets, translated information in community languages, resources for CALD communities and people who identify as LGBTI.
• Resources for people Caring for someone living with dementia can be found at My Aged Care. This website provides carers with information about what support is available, working with health professionals and making financial and legal decisions.

Rural and remote areas

• To provide people with more information relating services available in rural and remote areas, visit My Aged Care Support for people living in rural and remote areas.

Veterans

• If a veteran or family member that you are caring for needs immediate help, call Open Arms 24 hours: 1800 011 046. Open Arms: Veterans and families counselling offers services to veterans that are currently serving, ex- serving and families.
• An effect of serving in the military can include feeling of loss or grief due to traumatic experiences and losing the sense of belonging during times of transition. To understand more and find resources, visit GriefLink: resources and helpline.
• If you would like to access resources for clinicians relating to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) such as assessment tools and treatment manuals, visit the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies: Trauma assessment.
• The CareSearch: Veterans section provides useful resources for health professionals accessing end of life care for veterans, communication strategies and caring for the mental health of veterans.
• Veterans’ Mates is a program designed to support veterans and their families to manage their health. This service provides educational material about medicines and health services that is tailored to the veterans needs and gives feedback to treating doctors.