Health education for migrant communities
At MCWH we believe that every person has the right to clear, accurate and relevant information about their health. That's why over 45 years ago we developed our free Health Education Program to share health information directly with migrant women, non-binary and gender diverse people in their preferred language
To find out more or make a booking please contact programs@mcwh.com.au.
Why health education?
We want everyone living in Australia from migrant and refugee backgrounds to have equal opportunities to:
- make informed health decisions
- know about and access health services available in Australia
- understand, maintain and improve health and well-being
Everyone can make positive changes to support migrant and refugee women's health. Visit other pages on our website to see what else MCWH is doing to achieve equity in health.
Booking a health education session is simple:
1. Choose a place to meet
Our free education sessions are for migrant people of all ages. Whether you are a part of a parents' group, seniors’ group, school group, workplace, organisation, faith group, sporting group or social club, we want to talk to you about women's health!
Our educators can meet your group online or travel anywhere in Victoria to deliver health education sessions at your workplace or wherever your group meets.
To find out more please contact a staff member in our Program Engagement Department at programs@mcwh.com.au.
2. Choose your language
Languages available
Arabic العربية
Assyrian
Burmese မြန်မာစကား
Cantonese 廣東話
Chaldean
Croatian hrvatski
Dari دری
English
Farsi فارسی
Greek Ελληνικά
Hindi हिंदी
Italian italiano
Kurdish Kurdî
Karen (S’gaw Karen) ကညီကျိ
Lotuko (Otuho)
Ma’di Ma'diti
Mandarin 普通话
Marathi मराठी
Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پن٘جابی
Sudanese-Arabic سوداني
Tamil தமிழ்
Tigre ትግረ
Tigrigna ትግርኛ
Vietnamese Tiếng Việt
What if more than one language is spoken in a group?
For large groups or workplaces where more than one main language is spoken, two or more educators can deliver sessions in more than one language (depending on number of participants).
If you don't see the language you want in our current list, please contact us.
What if I can't see my language on the list?
If you don't see the language you want in our current list, please contact us.
If we do not have an educator who speaks your language, we can provide you written and visual resources in your language. We will work with you and your group to try to make sure you can still access health information you want.
3. Pick your health topic(s)
Cancer Screening
- Breast screening/cancer
- Cervical screening/cancer
- Bowel health & screening
- Ovarian cancer
COVID-19
- COVID-19 updates
- Boosters and vaccinations
Sexual & reproductive health
- HPV & immunisation
- Menstruation & endometriosis
- Menopause & HRT
- Menopause & osteoporosis
- Pelvic floor & incontinence
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Fertility & IVF
- Contraception
- Unplanned pregnancy
- Sexual health & STIs
- Vaginal health & hygiene
Mental Health
- Let’s Talk Mental Health
- Managing mental health
- Carer’s mental health
- Navigating the mental health system
Gender Equality
- Healthy relationships
- Family violence
- Elder abuse
Women’s safety and wellbeing
1 in 3 women in Australia (34.2%) has experienced physical and/or sexual violence perpetrated by a man since the age of 15 (Our Watch). Women of all ages and backgrounds can experience violence. Violence has many negative effects on women's health and well-being. Research tells us that migrant and refugee women are less likely to know their rights and how to get the right support.
It is important that everyone understands what violence is, how we can prevent it and where we can get support for someone we know. This module covers many issues in a non-judgemental way:
- Sexual assault and harassment
- Healthy relationships
- Gender equality and preventing violence against women
- Gender-based violence
- Family violence
- Reproductive coercion
- Support services and how to help someone you know
About our educators
We employ and train a workforce of health educators across the state and country. Our Victorian team collectively speaks over and understands the challenges of migrating and settling in Australia. We strongly believe that every woman, non-binary and gender diverse person should have equal opportunities to access health information and learn about the services available to them. You can learn more about our health educators on the staff page.
Our health educators receive ongoing professional development training provided by health experts in Victoria and Australia. Unlike interpreters, whose role is to convey the words of others from one language to another, health educators can immediately and directly explain, clarify and answer questions that women may have about health topics.
Although some health educators are also trained medical professionals, health educators do not provide health advice. Health educators will provide you with clear information in your language, and resources written in your language, so you can make informed decision about your health. Health educators can also tell you about services you can access to seek more help about any health problems or concerns you have.
Have more questions? Read our Frequently Asked Questions below. Or contact us for more information.
How much do health sessions cost?
Our health education sessions are free of charge for migrant and refugee women. MCWH education program is funded by the Victorian Department as a not-for-profit organisation.
Where will my session be run?
You can book a session anywhere in Victoria that works best for your group. We can travel to your workplace, office, business, community space, school, meeting house, place of worship or meet online. Your session can be daytime or at night, outside of work hours or even on the weekend.
The place or venue where we meet needs to be accessible and safe.
How long is a health education session?
The length of a session is flexible to suit the group. Depending on the topic or topics, sessions usually take up 1 hour or in some cases up to 2 hours. Some groups will organise a whole education program which runs as a series of consecutive weekly sessions.
When you send your request for session/s, a staff member from programs department will reach out to you to discuss any concerns regarding bookings with you before confirming all your requests.
Are health education sessions confidential?
Health education sessions are about learning together in a safe and trusting environment, where participants can share stories and hear about general health information.
Our health educators follow a strict Code of Professional Conduct and are bound by that code for strict confidentiality. Educators may ask for some personal information about you to help them collect necessary demographic date required by our funding body. This information might include questions about age range, cultural background, language you speak or similar. However, you are not obliged to provide this information if you don’t feel comfortable.
Everyone who participates in our workshops is free to choose how much they want to contribute to discussion. Through health education sessions, we learn about issues that are important to migrant women, non-binary and gender diverse people and health challenges that they experience. We may talk about these challenges when we advocate about these issues, but we will never identify individual women or their stories without their permission.
Health educators cannot diagnose conditions or provide medical advice.
Do you provide written resources?
Health educators often bring visual resources to explain health topics. They will also provide written materials (either in English or in your chosen language) that session participants can take home. You can also ask us to send you free written resources by calling 1800 656 421 or emailing Shana@mcwh.com.au. If you want to look for health information in languages other than English you can search our multilingual library catalogue.
How do I know that the health information you provide is accurate?
Our health educators receive regular up-to-date training from key health organisations and our resources are all evidence based, carefully selected from reliable sources and checked by our health education team.
Who do I contact for more information?
For more information about the Heath Education Program, contact us at Programs@mcwh.com.au
Our Health Education Program is funded by the Victorian Department of Health.
To find out more or make a booking please contact programs@mcwh.com.au.
Quality standards for health education
MCWH has been delivering health education in-language in-community for over 40 years. In 2023, we developed our Quality Standards for Health Education as both an ethic and practice, to guide program development, implementation, delivery and evaluation. This guide is for any organisation or individual implementing, or looking to implement, bilingual health education and provides guidance on 7 key themes for ensuring high quality health education.