The WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) Multicultural Competency and Capability Framework will support WAPHA on a journey to better meet the primary health care needs of WA’s significant multicultural communities.
With 32.2 per cent of Western Australians born overseas, it is vital to tackle the barriers these communities face when accessing health care.
The new Framework provides a set of key principles for developing cultural competency, and standards with agreed actions to guide the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of cultural competency for WAPHA staff, commissioned service providers and primary care services.
The implementation of the Framework, from 2024 to 2026, will support WAPHA’s commitment to build respectful relationships and reduce disparity.
WA Primary Health Alliance CEO, Learne Durrington said we know from research and feedback that multicultural communities can face significant barriers to accessing health care including language, discrimination, stigma or lack of trust.
“We are committed to working with community members and service providers to ensure that everyone’s primary health care needs are met in a culturally appropriate way.
“The Framework was made possible thanks to consultation with our staff, multicultural communities, agencies and service providers on how WAPHA, our commissioned service providers and primary health care services can become more culturally competent.”
Strengthening our understanding of diverse cultures and belief systems improves communication and supports us to develop sustainable and diverse workforces, improve innovation and adaptability and, importantly, meet the needs of a diverse range of consumers.
This Framework not only guides our organisation’s journey towards cultural competency, diversity, and inclusion, but also serves as a resource for our commissioned service providers.
This Multicultural Competency and Capability Framework is a companion to the WAPHA Aboriginal Cultural Competency and Capability Framework and the LGBTIQA+ Equity and Inclusion Framework.