The healthcare system is great at providing an effective service to the vast majority of Australians. But what if you are not part of this vast majority? What is it like to be a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse patient: unwell, confused, stressed and in an environment that is designed for the majority?
It is well documented that people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds face barriers to accessing and engaging with healthcare services. These barriers increase costs for healthcare providers and increases the risk of adverse outcomes for diverse patients such as preventable illness and mortality. 

In collaboration with Austin Health, this project aims to develop awareness and action tools for healthcare staff to make their workplace more culturally responsive to diverse populations. The project identifies barriers that Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people face in accessing healthcare and explores the links between access, equity, quality and safety to deliver better health outcomes.

Being responsive to cultural diversity in healthcare asks us to understand, acknowledge and respect cultural differences in experiences, rather than treating everyone the same. With the diversity of our population in Victoria continuing to increase, it has never been so important for healthcare services to be accessible and responsive to the community.