Aboriginal Carer Support Project 2009/10

Prepared by:Viki Brummell, Network Manager, ACARS Clinical NetworkCandice Dahlstrom, Aboriginal Health Co-ordinator Mehi & Peel ClustersMarch 2011

I would like to acknowledege the work of Kevin Robinson, Project Officer for this work and pay my respect to the Elders in the Kamillaroi and Aniwan countries who supported Kevin.

I would also like to thank the Aboriginal Carers and staff who participated in the project.

Acknowledgments

Hunter New England Local Health NetworksHunter New England Local Health Networks

This projectfocussed on the:1. Mehi ClusterAboriginal population 4,6422. McIntyre ClusterAboriginal Population 9393. Peel ClusterAboriginal population 5,1334.Tablelands ClusterAboriginal Population 3,213

NSW Carers Action Plan 2007-2012

Priorities for Action:1. Carers are recognised, respected and valued2. Hidden carers are identified and supported3. Services for carers and the people they care

for are improved4. Carers are partners in care5. Carers are supported to combine caring and

work

HNE Carer Action Plan 2008 -2012

Priorities for action linked to this project:1. Clearly identify hidden Aboriginal Carers2. Identify existing, or develop culturally

appropriate information, education programs and resource materials

3. Promotion of Carers NSW Carers Card

Our assumptions

Limited access by Aboriginal communities to Carer Support type services due to:

1. the promotion and provision of services often not culturally appropriate

2. services do not meet the expressed needs of Aboriginal Carers

3. services either not available or full

Purpose of the project

1. To provide Aboriginal Carer Support information to the Aboriginal communities of the Mehi, McIntyre, Peel and Tablelands Clusters – Carers and service providers

2. To consult with the Aboriginal Communities and Aboriginal Service Providers to find out about the needs and issues of Aboriginal Carers

What we did

1. Employed a part time Project Officer for 6 months2. Elders consulted3. Steering Committee established4. Two questionnaires developed: (i) Carers Survey (ii) Aboriginal Staff Survey5. Liaison with Aboriginal workers to gain their support

to get permission to talk with Aboriginal Carers

Survey questions

Carer Survey1. Do you think of, or consider yourself as a carer?2. Are you aware of the services available to support the

responsibility of being a carer?3. Are you aware of the Carer Support services available

to support your health?4. As a carer, have you, or do you use any of these Carer

Support Services? If yes – which ones? If no- why not?5. Suggestions for the improvement of information and

support services

Survey questions

Service Providers Survey1. Do you think that Aboriginal Carers think of, or consider

themselves as carers?2. Do you think that Aboriginal Carers are aware of the services

available to them in their responsibility of being a carer?3. Do you think that Aboriginal Carers are aware of the Carer

Support Services available to support their health?4. Do you think Aboriginal Carers have, or do use, any of these

carer Support Services? If Yes – which ones? If no – why not?

5. Suggestions for the improvement of information and support services

What we found out

Carer Survey results: 47 interviews1. 77% consider themselves as Carers, 23 % do not - “family are just looking after their own”

2. 56% are aware of services available to support their responsibility of being a carer, 35 % are not aware and 9% are unsure - lack of service provider information

What we found out

Carer Survey cont.

3. 38% are aware of Carer Support Services available to support their health, 50% are not aware and 12 % are unsure

- lack of service provider information4. 40% use Carer Support Services, 54% do not and 6%

do sometimes - transport, not aware of services, services not available

or fullThe most common response was that services are not

promoted or provided in a culturally appropriate way.

What we found out

Service Provider Survey results: 54 interviews1. 37% of service providers consider that Aboriginal

Carers think of themselves as carers, 51% do not and 12 % were unsure

- “family are just looking after their own”2. 20% of service providers think that Aboriginal

Carers are aware of the services available to support the responsibility of being a carer, 67% think they are unaware and 12% were unsure

- not enough information, promotion of information

What we found out

Service Provider survey results cont.3. 15% of service providers think that Aboriginal Carers

are aware of Carer Support Services available to support their health, 69% think they are unaware and 16% were unsure

- “get out and inform the community approach” more advertising/stronger promotion of services improved liaison between service providers

What we found out

Service provider survey results cont.4. 35% of service providers think that Aboriginal Carers use

Carer Support Services, 39% think they don’t and 26% think they do sometimes

- lack of services in smaller communities - lack of transport - “just looking after their own” - not aware of services - not confident to reach out to services - not culturally appropriate so do not meet the needs of carers

Where to from here?

Some of the recommendations from the project:1. All Aboriginal Health Education Officers and

Liaison Officers be familiar with the Carer NSW Aboriginal Carer Kits and have supplies available + add local information

2. Service providers commit to working together, be less intrusive and build trust

3. More culturally appropriate Respite Services be made available to communities

Where to from here? cont

4. HNE Local Health Network Services be promoted using artwork provided by Kevin Robinson for all Carer related services

- awaiting final approval from Elders and Aboriginal communities across the project clusters and other HNE Clusters.

Artwork and Story

Story of Artwork painted by Kevin Robinson2010

The black dots represent Aboriginal Carers, the red ring represents the physical and mental pain suffered by being a Carer, the yellow ring represents the comfort that is received

by supporting Carers.

The white line represents the Government Support Procedures for Aboriginal Carers and the black lines represent the

Aboriginal Guidance of these procedures

Artwork

Emergency Card – I have a Carer

Emergency Card – I am a Carer

Contact details

For more information regarding this project please feel free to contact:

Viki BrummellNetwork Manager, ACARS Clinical Network

Tel: 02 67390131Email: viki.brummell@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au

Thank you