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In Australia, a significant number of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) grandparents are sole carers for their grandchildren. Available information on the impact of caring on CALD grandparents and the ability of service providers to respond to their needs is limited. Our needs-gap analysis quality improvement project aimed to uncover 'hidden issues' for CALD grandparent carers so that services can be improved. One hundred service providers, such as community and aged-care services, child and/or grandparent support services and CALD-specific services, were approached using six structured questions. Six consultative forums on the caring role, issues encountered, and what needed to be done, were conducted with African, Asian, Spanish, Middle Eastern, European, Pacific Island and Maori grandparent carers in Queensland. The data were qualitatively analysed. Six themes emerged: 1) service provider and grandparent carer perception that there was limited research on CALD grandparents; 2) inadequate legal and financial support; 3) barriers to accessing information; 4) lack of childcare options; 5) transport difficulties; and 6) inadequate technological skills. Our findings provide insight to health service providers on the 'hidden issues' so that they can better assist CALD grandparent carers by improving access to relevant information, referrals and resources.

Nurse clinicians and academics need to understand intercultural communication challenges to improve their communication skills and better support students' learning. Gaps exist in the literature regarding intercultural communication resources for students, academics and clinicians. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of clinical nurses, nurse academics, and student nurses regarding intercultural communication challenges. Data were collected using focus group interviews with nineteen clinical facilitators (nurses who supervise nursing students in clinical practice), five clinical nurses, and ten nursing students. Seven nurse academics were interviewed via telephone. The purposive sample was drawn from a tertiary hospital and a university in Australia. Participants were invited to discuss challenging intercultural scenarios they had experienced including strategies they used to overcome such challenges. Using qualitative content analysis data were analysed resulting in four categories which were: 1) prejudice based on cultural diversity; 2) unfamiliarity with cultural boundaries; 3) stereotyping cultural behaviours; and 4) difficulty understanding English. Strategies participants used to mitigate challenges included resorting to cultural validation through alliance building, proactively seeking clarification, and acquiring cultural awareness knowledge. This study highlights intercultural challenges students, clinicians and academics face and signpost the way forward with useful strategies to better inform nurse education., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

With 28% of Australia's population having a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background, the health system faces an increasing challenge to provide accessible and culturally competent health care. The view that all CALD communities are homogenous and solutions can be developed for the entire nation is detrimental. Despite available health services, CALD communities are reluctant to use them due to cultural differences, perceived racism and misunderstandings leading to the existing health disparities. Therefore, gathering data from four prominent CALD communities, such as the Sudanese, Afghani, Pacific Islander and Burmese communities in Logan, Queensland, about how they perceive and use health services can provide insightful information towards development of a service model that will better suit these CALD communities. The objective of the study was to examine the extent to which four prominent CALD communities (Sudanese, Afghani, Pacific Islander and Burmese) access and use health services in Logan, Queensland. Six focus group interviews using interpreters were conducted in English with Sudanese, Afghani, Pacific Islander and Burmese people. The results indicated that even long-standing CALD communities, such as the Pacific Islander people, were unfamiliar with health services and experienced difficulties accessing appropriate health care. Most wanted doctors to use traditional healing methods alongside orthodox medicine, but did not feel respected for their beliefs. Language difficulties impeded communication with health professionals who were hindered by ineffective use of interpreters. In conclusion, a clear role for bilingual community-based navigators was identified by CALD participants to address concerns about the health system, and to improve accessibility and health service usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]