Health literacy for living well

What was the project about?

We explored the issues of health literacy experienced by women of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) background at both a health service and individual level. 

Who did we partner with?

Funding for this project was provided by the Victoria Women’s Trust through the Johnstone Gumption Sub-Fund. This sub-fund has been established to support women as active citizens in all aspect of community life.

What did we hope to achieve?

For the women of ATSI background:

• Improved understanding of how to access healthcare services
• Greater knowledge about key health indicators that need medical attention
• More confidence in finding credible health information and acting upon it
• The capacity to share their skills with family and their community

For the health sector:

• New learnings about communication and information sharing with consumers
• Simple, effective training informed by the experiences of health consumers
• Resources to support better partnering with consumers of ATSI background

How did we go about it?

We worked with women from small community groups within Victoria to learn more about their health information and communication needs and preferences.

We drew upon their knowledge and lived experience to develop new resources and training programs for health workers and consumers.

For more information

Contact Health Issues Centre