Mercy Health has been honoured at the 2022 Victorian Public Healthcare Awards for an innovative project that demonstrated how partnering with consumers can vastly improve health outcomes and experiences.
In the category Safer Care Victoria partnering in healthcare, Mercy Health Multicultural Services and Mercy Hospital for Women’s Dietetics team have been commended for producing culturally adapted patient information for women with gestational diabetes.
Previously, resources for gestational diabetes have been based on western diets.
Health Services Chief Executive Professor Jason Payne says the project is an example of our teams pushing the boundaries to find better ways to care for some of the most vulnerable patient groups.
“We are incredibly proud of our Multicultural Services and Dietetics teams for their initiative and compassion in generating such a forward-thinking project,” Jason says.
Mercy Health interviewed patients to learn about their food and culture with the aim of developing more culturally appropriate and relevant patient information sheets.
Our teams worked with patients with limited English proficiency to co-design culturally adapted, bilingual materials about healthy eating for women with gestational diabetes.
The project was evaluated by a University of Melbourne researcher who described the results as incredibly positive.
The researcher said patients reported reduced anxiety, changes to meal portions and choices and ripple effects on friends and family.
Multicultural Services Manager Natalija Nesvadba says the award helps validate the work the Mercy Health teams have undertaken.
“Migrant and refugee patients can often be difficult to engage in mainstream services. However, this project demonstrated that patients with limited English are willing and able to engage if there are appropriate structures and supports in place,” Natalija says.
Senior Dietitian Nelly Moshonas says being diagnosed with gestational diabetes can generate feelings of fear and uncertainty. “This was compounded when, in the past, migrant and refugee women often struggled to understand and implement healthy eating guidelines based on traditional western concepts and diets,” Nelly says.
“We are immensely proud of our dietitians and interpreters who have partnered with patients and worked tirelessly to develop these resources that are not only clinically appropriate but culturally relevant.
“For our team to be able to provide information that is meaningful and familiar to our migrant and refugee communities is our greatest achievement.”
Mercy Health thanks the patients who partnered with their teams, as well as HealthWest Partnership, the Centre for Culture Ethnicity and Health (CEH), and Assoc Prof Lucio Naccarella from the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Health Policy.
Last reviewed October 13, 2022.
