Improving Health Outcomes: Communication Strategies for CALD Families

This report examines effective communication strategies for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) families within the context of child and family health. It identifies key issues faced by CALD families, including language barriers and differing cultural understandings of healthcare, and discusses the importance of the strength-based model of care. The report highlights the need for culturally competent communication strategies, language and cultural liaisons, and health promotion education tailored to the specific needs of CALD communities. Recommendations emphasize empowering CALD individuals, integrating nonverbal communication, and addressing health literacy to improve healthcare outcomes. The report concludes that focusing on culturally competent communication in care planning and health promotion is essential for ensuring the best health outcomes for CALD children and families and can be accessed on Desklib along with other solved assignments.

Running head: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR CALD FAMILIES
Effective communication strategies for CALD families
Name of the student:
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EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR CALD FAMILIES
Table of Contents
Introduction: 2
Findings and discussion: 2
Issues faced with CALD families: 2
Strengths based care for CALD families: 4
Recommendations: 6
Conclusion: 7
References: 9

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EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR CALD FAMILIES
Introduction:
Communication can be defined as a potent tool for all the everyday life activities, as human
lives are interdependent on societal connections tremendously; the communication is an
unavoidable necessity for human society. However, when there are challenges within the concept
of communication there can be various personal and professional issues. From the respect of
health and social care, communication is a key attribute that forms the basic foundation of the
care facilities and services provided (Priest, Baxter & Hayes, 2012). However, there are certain
issues with communication that can lead to many challenges and obstacles in the path of
delivering adequate care and support to the needy. On a more elaborative note, it has to be
mentioned in this context that the most vital contributor of the communicational issues in the
health and social care context is the cultural diversity or differences. It must not escape notice
that the culture plays a very important role in the basic characteristics of a human being and his
personality attributes (Caperchione et al., 2011). This assignment will attempt to explore
different issues in child and family health and development with respect to CALD families and
the best practice strategies to overcome it.
Findings and discussion:
Issues faced with CALD families:
The culturally and linguistically diverse communities or CALD refers to a vast variety of
cultural backgrounds, comprising of either indigenous or immigrants, that have a linguistic
restrictions along with traditional norms that pose challenges in the process of interaction with
the mainstream society, even in case of the care and support scenario. The very first issue aced

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when caring for a culturally diverse population includes the language barrier, which is by far the
most impactful communication challenge in case of CALD families. According to the
Boughtwood et al. (2011), that a vast majority of the care mishaps and compliance issues stem
from the low to nil working knowledge or understanding about English. It has been supported by
the Nichols, Horner and Fyfe (2015), despite English being the most common operational
language and the most effective and abundantly used second language, there are a vast variety of
ethnic communities that do not have working command over the language. The most promising
contributors in this case have been reported to be the use of complex language and jargons in the
care scenario that restricts the CALD families and individuals. According to Hebbani and Colic-
Peisker (2012), the CALD families often are discriminated and stigmatized fir their lesser
understanding and working knowledge in English even in the care scenario. Hence, the CALD
families have been reported to seek out care only in desperate and unavoidable cases which often
provokes preventable severities and contribute to lesser health outcomes for the CALD
communities when compared to their mainstream counterparts in the society.
Another very common issue in case of the CALD families is the differential social and
cultural backgrounds and understanding or health and social care. It has to be mentioned that the
traditional concept of health care and support often differs widely from the regular concept of
health and social care. That is the reason the miscommunication is further deteriorated between a
CALD individual and a regular care provider belonging to th mainstream society. When
accompanied by the added burden of lack of English proficiency this often leads to worse
communication outcomes in case of the CALD families and can even lead to worse outcomes for
the person or family in the need of care (Caperchione et al., 2011).

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EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR CALD FAMILIES
Another potent issue that has been discovered that is associated with the different CALD
families has to be the lack of experience that the service providers have in terms of cross cultural
communicational strategies. According to Komaric, Bedford & van Driel (2012), there are more
than 300 different linguistic backgrounds are present in the Australian demographic and more
than 100 religious believes being practiced. And this tremendous diversity often imposes a
serious challenge for the care providing individuals to understand the cultural sensitiveness of
the issues faced by the individuals and be able to address it effectively.
Strengths based care for CALD families:
Strengths based model of care can be defined as the collaborative practice process that relies
to the strengths and assets of the person receiving care to achieve the care outcomes effectively.
It has to be mentioned in this context that the quality of care in this case along depends heavily
on the quality of the relationship between the service provider and the consumer. This
collaborative practice helps to draw from the equality of power dimension in the care
relationship. According to Communities.qld.gov.au (2018), the strengths based model provides
the care receiving individuals with the opportunity to be co-producers of the service they are
being provided. It has to be understood that for culturally and linguistically diverse communities
as well a care model or framework based on strengths of assets of the community or family will
be extremely beneficial for the culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
It has to be mentioned in this context that the most potent of the issues in case of the CALSD
families, the lack of culturally competent communication strategies and the lack oif a respectful
and equal standing in the care scenario is the foundation based on which the most of the issues
have stemmed. Hence any care plan or framework specialized on the culturally and linguistically
diverse will have to take into consideration the individual skills, knowledge and potential of

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these individuals and develop them further to facilitate better interaction and in turn better care
delivery. According to the Nichols, Horner and Fyfe (2015), the strength based model for the
benefit of CALD families that integrate interaction and communication strategies based on the
strengths and knowledge of the families and their culture has been reported to be an effective
outcome for the CALD families.
Another important aspect that is needed to be taken into consideration is the lack pf health
literacy and mainstream societal health promotional behaviours as well. Often the health
promotional campaigning directed at the mainstream societies can mot reach the socially
disadvantages groups like the CALD families. It has to be mentioned in this context that many o
the communicable and non-communicable diseases often stem from lack of preventative and
promotional health behaviours, which could have enhanced the immunity of the CALD children
and families (Hebbani & Colic-Peisker, 2012). The common health promotional behaviours such
as regular immunization, infection control, hand washing, exercise regimen, dietary changes,
regular checkups, maintaining personal hygiene scientifically often evades these socially and
economically backward classes. And the health promotion campaigns are often unmindful of the
communication barriers of CALD individuals, and they become victim to preventable or
avoidable health calamities (Gray et al., 2011).
The linguistic barrier acts a challenge in this case as well. As the basic language of the health
promotional campaigning is based on the English, a vast majority of the CALD children and
families cannot understand the content at all. The health promotional that provide alternative
options for the CALD children and families in a language that they are comfortable with can
enhance the health literacy effectively. On contrary, O'mara (2012) has argued the best method
for health promotion for most promising results must focus on nonverbal cues of the promotional

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EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR CALD FAMILIES
campaigning includes video presentations and seminar workshops. These promotional
interventions have been reported to yield better outcomes when involving CALD children and
families as well.
Recommendations:
It has to be understood that for any service program to be effective and be able to cater to
each and every need of the target group, it is crucially to be able to interact with them. The most
important reason behind the reduced health outcomes and life expectancy in the CALD families
when compared to the mainstream society is the lack of integrative and strengths based
communication framework. Hence the recommendations for better health outcomes for the
CALD communities will need to emphasize on strength based communicational competence.
 As per aifs.gov.au. (2018), language and cultural liaison is the most important
intervention for the culturally and linguistically diverse communities. It has to be
understood the language barrier not only contributes to the lack of one to one
interaction but also facilitates stress and withdrawal among the CALD families
and leads them to refrain from sharing their preferences and grievances from the
care provider. The cultural liaison will act like a necessary mediation which will
help the both the care provider and receiver understand each other effectively and
will provide the socially backward CALD communities be comfortable and
valued in the care setting.
 Another very important aspect that is needed to be addressed in the context of
caring for CALD communities is the need for engaging in a strength-based
intervention, as argued by Caperchione et al. (2011), it will empower these

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individuals and provide a respected and equal standing in the care scenario. The
care professionals will need to develop more detailed understanding of the
cultural norms in order o understand the concerns of the CALD children and
families and be able to reach them better, in turn empowering them in the care
relationship (Hebbani & Colic-Peisker, 2012).
 The concept of cross cultural communication strategies is incomplete without the
integration on nonverbal communication. According to aifs.gov.au. (2018), the
linguistic restriction and lack of cultural safety often leads to inevitable
noncompliance and conflict among the CALD children and family when
receiving care. The nonverbal communication competencies like body language,
contact and approach can help in better management of these communicational
issues.
 Lastly, the lack of health literacy and health promotional education is one of the
greatest reasons for the reduced health outcome for the CALD communities.
Culturally competent health promotion taking the language preferences of these
communities into account can be a helpful intervention to improve care outcomes
for CALD children and families as well (Nichols, Horner & Fyfe, 2015).
Conclusion:
For culturally diverse population, the language barrier traditional norms play a very critical
restrictive influence on smooth communication or interaction between the care provider and the
particular individual or family in need for care or support. Although the health and social care
sector has advanced drastically in the past decade and now there are many communication
interventions that aid in easing the process of communication in case of the CALD or Culturally

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and linguistically diverse communities. And hence there is need for focussing on culturally
competent communication in both care planning and health promotion to ensure best health
outcomes for CALD children and families.

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References:
Boughtwood, D., Shanley, C., Adams, J., Santalucia, Y., Kyriazopoulos, H., Pond, D., &
Rowland, J. (2011). Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families dealing with
dementia: an examination of the experiences and perceptions of multicultural community
link workers. Journal of cross-cultural gerontology, 26(4), 365-377. Doi:
10.1007/s10823-011-9155-9
Caperchione, C. M., Kolt, G. S., Tennent, R., & Mummery, W. K. (2011). Physical activity
behaviours of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) women living in Australia: a
qualitative study of socio-cultural influences. BMC public health, 11(1), 26. DOI:
10.1249/01.MSS.0000385512.76897.ce
Community Services - Principles of engagement. (2018). Community.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 9
March 2018, from http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/kts/engaging/principles
Gray, B., Stanley, J., Stubbe, M., & Hilder, J. (2011). Communication difficulties with limited
English proficiency patients: clinician perceptions of clinical risk and patterns of use of
interpreters. The New Zealand Medical Journal (Online), 124(1342). Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/openview/f01e8efd4cbbdf4504070cc2357bc1a2/1?pq-
origsite=gscholar&cbl=1056335
Hebbani, A., & Colic-Peisker, V. (2012). Communicating one's way to employment: a case study
of African settlers in Brisbane, Australia. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 33(5), 529-
547. Doi: 10.1080/07256868.2012.701609

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EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR CALD FAMILIES
Komaric, N., Bedford, S., & van Driel, M. L. (2012). Two sides of the coin: patient and provider
perceptions of health care delivery to patients from culturally and linguistically diverse
backgrounds. BMC health services research, 12(1), 322. Doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-12-322
Nichols, P., Horner, B., & Fyfe, K. (2015). Understanding and improving communication
processes in an increasingly multicultural aged care workforce. Journal of aging
studies, 32, 23-31. Doi: 10.1016/j.jaging.2014.12.003
O'mara, B. (2012). Social media, digital video and health promotion in a culturally and
linguistically diverse Australia. Health Promotion International, 28(3), 466-476 Doi:
10.1093/heapro/das014.
Priest, N., Baxter, J., & Hayes, L. (2012). Social and emotional outcomes of Australian children
from Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Australian and
New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 36(2), 183-190. Doi: 10.1111/j.1753-
6405.2011.00803
Recommendations for enhancing service accessibility and delivery for CALD families in
Australia. (2018). Child Family Community Australia. Retrieved 9 March 2018, from
https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/enhancing-family-and-relationship-service-
accessibility-and/recommendations-enhancing
Reports, policy papers and other resources. (2018). Child Family Community Australia.
Retrieved 9 March 2018, from https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/working-culturally-
and-linguistically-diverse-cald-adolescents/reports-policy-papers
Working with people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
(2018). Communities.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 9 March 2018, from

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https://www.communities.qld.gov.au/resources/childsafety/practice-manual/prac-paper-
working-cald.pdf