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You are now viewing the project titled Quality Use of Medicine amongst older Vietnamese and Italian women: A Health Literacy Pilot Project
TITLE:	Quality Use of Medicine amongst older Vietnamese and Italian women: A Health Literacy Pilot Project
PROJECT COORDINATOR:	Cathy O'Callaghan
PROJECT PARTNERSHIPS:	Immigrant Women's Health Service Inc. Fairfield Health Forum
PROJECT SUMMARY:	The quality use of medicine amongst older Vietnamese and Italian women is the first pilot project of the Health Literacy Project. The overall aim of the Health Literacy Project is to increase NESB immigrant women’s access to information, skills and resources so that they are able to make more effective use of health services, and enhance their capacity to make choices that will promote their health. Aim of the Pilot Project The Quality Use of Medicine project aims to enhance the safe and appropriate use of medicines among older Vietnamese and Italian women by using sustainable and replicable health literacy methods to bring changes at different levels of the health care system. The Reference Group overseeing the project decided to focus on Vietnamese and Italian older women in the Fairfield local government area so as to make comparison between two large (and different) established migrant communities.
TARGET GROUP:	Vietnamese and Italian women in South West Sydney (over 55 years old)
HEALTH ISSUE:	Informed choice
GOALS: Health Outcome	Objectives of the Pilot Project  To identify issues and barriers with respect to quality use of medicine among the older Vietnamese and Italian women through a needs assessment.  To develop a framework for understanding quality use of medicine that is relevant to these communities.  To enhance and facilitate quality use of medicine at different levels within the health care system and the community.
STRATEGIES: Process Activities	 Review the literature  Consult with service providers (doctors, pharmacists, aged care workers, herbalists), community groups and consumers  Interview older Vietnamese and Italian women about the problems and the issues they encounter when using medicines  Establish a working party for the development of community development/education campaign in the Vietnamese and Italian communities  Evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign in both communities  Advocate change in the health care system to ensure the safe and appropriate use of medicine amongst Vietnamese and Italian communities  Compare Italian and Vietnamese projects  Develop models of health literacy for the Vietnamese and Italian communities that can be applied to other communities.
TIME FRAME: (Start)	January 1998
TIME FRAME: (Finish)	2003
FUNDING:	1998 - 2000 Western Sydney Area Assistance Scheme (WSAAS) 2000-2003 NSW Health Department
The areas of the Health Continuum that the project addresses are:
Building health public policy Creating supportive environments for health Reorienting health services Developing health literacy Improving health services for women Training health care providers Increasing participation of women in decision making in health Research and data collection
EVALUATION:	Process and outcome evaluation to be conducted of the community education campaigns in the Vietnamese and Italian communities
RESOURCES:	* Health Literacy Direction paper (1998) * Quality use of medicine among older Vietnamse and Italian women: A Health Literacy Pilot Project. Project Working Document (1998) * Quality use of medicine amongst older Vietnamese women: Results of interviews and focus groups conducted with older Vietnamese women about their use of medicine (2000)

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