Aboriginal Health Workshops
Every Child Every Chance
Comprehensive health assessment for children and young people in out-of-home care
Overview
GPV and the Children, Youth and Families Division of the Department of Human Services are collaborating to establish a new system for assessing the health of all children coming into out-of-home care in Victoria. One of the main goals of the new system is to ensure that each child has a health assessment by a general practitioner within the first 30 days of entering out-of-home care.
DHS provided funding for a 12 month project from 1 August 2007 to begin building strong linkages between the general practice and child protection sectors.
Research Study on Factors that influence GP readiness and willingness to provide health assessments
A research study has been undertaken by Susan Webster from GPV, supervised by Dr Meredith Temple-Smith from the Department of General Practice at University of Melbourne. The study has identified a complex range of factors that influence GP readiness to provide comprehensive health assessments to this vulnerable group of children and young people.
A preliminary report of the study findings 'Factors that influence GP readiness and willingness to provide comprehensive health assessment for children and young people entering out-of-home care in Victoria' can be viewed on our Resource Page.
For further information about the study, contact Susan Webster email s.webster@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au
General Practice Professional Development
GPV has developed a one-day continuing medical education workshop for general practitioners about these health assessments. The workshop has been accredited by the RACGP as an Active Learning Module which provides GPs with 40 Category 1 QA & CPD points. A field trial of the workshop was held in March 2008 to ensure that the content and design would meet the needs of general practice.
The long-term objectives of this educational initiative are to facilitate improved knowledge in general practice of:
- the health needs of children in out-of-home care including the effects of trauma
- the key elements of health assessment for this group
- techniques and resources for assessment
- linkages with the child protection sector.
For further information about the professional development workshop, contact Sonya Tremellen, Team Leader, General Practice Education. Email s.tremellen@gpv.org.au
Pilot project
From October 2008, GPs in the DHS Eastern Metropolitan region areas are being invited to take part in a pilot project to test the comprehensive health assessment system. This is being co-ordinated through Knox Division of General Practice and Eastern Ranges GP Association. The pilot will enable interested GPs to participate in professional development with their practice nurses, to receive support from division staff with the implementation of IT-based tools and to provide important feedback to evaluators.
For further information about the pilot project, contact Sonya Tremellen, Team Leader, General Practice Education, Email s.tremellen@gpv.org.au
For further information contact:
- Every Child Every Chance – Comprehensive health assessment for children and young people in out-of-home care project please contact Sonya Tremellen, Team Leader, General Practice Education, Ph: 03 9341 5205 | Fax: 03 9341 5299 | Email: s.tremellen@gpv.org.au