Building an integrated primary health care service for people arriving in Australia as refugees presents a series of challenges. Barriers to access to clinical care include language and cultural differences as well as poor health literacy and health system literacy. Health system issues that impact upon the delivery of care include lack of knowledge about this sector. Administrative, nursing and medical personnel can find it difficult to access the information they require to streamline the care they deliver and identifying the best business model to deliver this care can be complex.
Recently, national and international research has provided evidence to inform the delivery of refugee health care. This supports the implementation of a coordinated primary health care framework for the delivery of quality health care to individuals and families from refugee backgrounds. With the political and policy landscape constantly changing, a flexible and robust partnership approach is required.
This presentation will explore the experience in Brisbane of key partners including: Medicare Locals, settlement support services, mental health providers, Hospital and Health Services, primary care professionals and refugee communities in the development and implementation of an innovative primary health refugee model. It will specifically report on the initial evaluation of this model of care. An evaluation plan with key indicators was jointly agreed by all stakeholders and both qualitative and quantitative data collected. The report will focus on the barriers and enablers to implementing a refugee focused practice model within a generalist primary health care service. The crucial role of partnerships and the change management approach underpinning the implementation of the model will also be discussed. The findings will have implications for the sustainability and transferability of this model of care and further research.