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Peer-based youth services provided by small non-profit community organisations have grown in number over the past two decades in response to an increasing need for informal, youth-friendly, accessible and confidential [...]

HIVnotifications among people born in sub‐Saharan Africa and South‐East Asia have increased in Australia in the last decade. People born in these regions have the highest rates of HIVdiagnosis by region of birth and are overrepresented in late or advanced presentation of HIVinfection. This study developed and tested a questionnaire for reliability through test‐retest. A cross‐sectional survey using intercept and online recruitment of HIVknowledge and use of health services was then undertaken among people born in sub‐Saharan Africa and South‐East Asia, who had arrived in Australia less than 10 years ago and were living in Western Australia (n = 209). Results were reported on by gender and length of time in Australia. Participants had a reasonable knowledge of HIVtransmission, but held a number of incorrect beliefs. Two‐thirds (65%) of participants reported a barrier to accessing health services in Australia. Just over a third (34%) of participants had ever tested for HIV, despite indicating that they believed HIVtesting was important. This project indicates a very low rate of HIVtesting among this priority population. Further action is required to improve early diagnosis of HIVand reduce onward transmission of HIVinfection within these communities. We need targeted interventions that extend beyond knowledge to increase HIVtesting rates among this population.

Rates of sexually transmissible infections among young people are high, and there is a need for innovative, youth-focused sexual health promotion programs. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Sharing Stories youth theatre program, which uses interactive theatre and drama-based strategies to engage and educate multicultural youth on sexual health issues. The effectiveness of using drama-based evaluation methods is also discussed. The youth theatre program participants were 18 multicultural youth from South East Asian, African and Middle Eastern backgrounds aged between 14 and 21 years. Four sexual health drama scenarios and a sexual health questionnaire were used to measure changes in knowledge and attitudes. Participants reported being confident talking to and supporting their friends with regards to safe sex messages, improved their sexual health knowledge and demonstrated a positive shift in their attitudes towards sexual health. Drama-based evaluation methods were effective in engaging multicultural youth and worked well across the cultures and age groups. Theatre and drama-based sexual health promotion strategies are an effective method for up-skilling young people from multicultural backgrounds to be peer educators and good communicators of sexual health information. Dramabased evaluation methods are engaging for young people and an effective way of collecting data from culturally diverse youth. This study recommends incorporating interactive and arts-based strategies into sexual health promotion programs for multicultural youth. It also provides guidance for health promotion practitioners evaluating an arts-based health promotion program using arts-based data collection methods. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Sharing Stories youth theatre program, which uses interactive theatre and drama-based strategies to engage and educate multicultural youth on sexual health. The study found that knowledge, confidence and attitudes of participants improved after participation in the program. These results suggest that incorporating arts-based strategies into sexual health promotion programs for multicultural youth is valuable.

The evaluation of health promotion training for the Western Australian (WA) Aboriginal maternal and child health (MCH) sector. Fifty-one MCH professionals from five regions in WA who attended one of three health promotion short courses in 2012–2013 were invited to complete an online survey or a telephone interview, between 4 to 17 months post-course. Respondents were asked how they had utilised the information and resources from the training and to identify the enabling factors or barriers to integrating health promotion into their work practices subsequently. Overall response rate was 33% (n = 17); 94% of respondents reported they had utilised the information and resources from the course and 76% had undertaken health promotion activities since attending the course. Building contacts with other MCH providers and access to planning tools were identified as valuable components of the course. Barriers to translating knowledge into practice included financial constraints and lack of organisational support for health promotion activity. Health promotion training provides participants with the skills and confidence to deliver health promotion strategies in their communities. The training presents an opportunity to build health professionals' capacity to address some determinants of poor health outcomes among pregnant Aboriginal women and their babies. Training would be enhanced if accompanied by ongoing support for participants to integrate health promotion into their work practice, organisational development including health promotion training for senior management, establishing stronger referral pathways among partner organisations to support continuity of care and embedding training into MCH workforce curricula.

Peer-based programs are increasingly used by community organisations to support vulnerable youth who are at risk of developing mental health problems. Such programs are as diverse as the populations they support and include: drop-in services; peer education; as well as camps and online discussion forums for hard-to-reach populations that may not access more conventional forms of support, owing to issues of stigma or accessibility (for example, same-sex-attracted youth and teenage parents). There has been limited evaluation of peer-based community programs. Therefore, the lack of evidence of program effectiveness makes it difficult for service providers to secure continuous funding and threatens program sustainability. This article reports on a study designed to investigate barriers and enablers associated with evaluating peer-based youth programs. The resulting implications for policy, practice and research are discussed.

Peer-based approaches have become a popular health promotion strategy among marginalised young and other hard to reach populations who may not access mainstream support services. However, very few evaluation studies have been conducted to justify the continued and safe use of such programmes. There is also a confusing array of terminology and approaches evident in the field. As a result, practitioners have limited evidence describing the outcomes delivered by peer-based approaches, and few tools to assess when and where a peer-based approach is appropriate. This paper presents a framework for understanding and positioning the role of peer-based approaches in mental health promotion. A case study is included to illustrate application of the framework. Using the framework as a starting point, practitioners may be able to formulate more accurate, realistic and consistent outcomes for peer-based programmes. Consequently, more robust evaluation strategies may be developed, resulting in additional empirical data to support the continued use of peer-based programmes.

This paper reports on the process evaluation of the Same Sky project,1 which was aimed at developing regional community support programs for same sex attracted youth (SSAY) and their families in four regional sites in Western Australia. A multi-faceted approach modelled on successful urban outreach programs was used to build professional capacity and develop peer-based support programs in the community. A triangulated mixed methods evaluation design was implemented to capture various outputs and outcomes of the intervention strategies. Data were collected via interviews and questionnaires and by assessing community readiness through community participation and involvement in the programs and through demand for printed resources. There was increased community awareness of same sex attraction issues and professional capacity to help SSAY regionally following training and distribution of printed resources. Improved alliances between regional and metropolitan service providers were also evident. Not all of the planned peer support interventions could be implemented. Drop-in centres and peer support groups proved particularly problematic to establish. Basing the project officer in one of the rural sites was notable in improving project progress. Some aspects of the urban outreach models for SSAY were transportable to rural areas, others were not. Some specific problems identified were a lack of community readiness, a distrust of ‘outsiders’ to the community, significant differences between the needs of SSAY across regional demonstration sites, and difficulties in engaging locally based volunteers and agencies to develop and run rural outreach services. Practitioners wishing to implement regional outreach programs for SSAY are strongly encouraged to first assess community readiness and to identify the specific support needs of the local SSAY population. Interventions can then be tailored accordingly. The resources needed to build strong alliances with local service providers and to supply ongoing support to rural outreach programs should not be underestimated. A project officer sited in the regional community is likely to significantly increase the chances of the project achieving its desired outcomes.