KAMSC Protective Behaviours Community Way Package

KAMSC SEWB and HPU recently launched it's Protective Behaviours Community Way Package. The Protective Behaviours Community Way Package is a safety package developed for children to help them deal with their problems and find the right sort of help.

The Protective Behaviours program was developed by a lady called Flandreura West to teach young people how to keep themselves safe and to prevent child abuse. In the 1980’s the Victorian Police force started using the Protective Behaviours Program and this was followed by the Western Australian Police force in the 1990’s. Now a lot of people working in Social Welfare, Education, Health and Communities are using the Protective Behaviours Program. The Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services Council was given permission by the Western Australian Protective Behaviours Organisation to adapt the PB Program to be used with young people and families in the Kimberley Region in 2005.

The KAMSC Community Way package aims to make children strong and to feel safe in their home and community. Protective Behaviours lets our children know they can talk about good secrets and bad secrets with people they trust, who will listen and support them.

This package contains three books which can be used as an educational program by families, teachers, health workers or community groups with children. Within each book there are lessons, sharing time and hands on activities designed for primary school children to gradually learn the principals of Protective Behaviours.

The package consists of 3 books, 29 full-colour laminated posters, plus 5 A4 black and white worksheets which can be photocopied.

To order this resource, please download an Order Form* and fax it to KAMSC SEWB and HPU on (08) 9192 6127. For more information about the package please email Marie Cox or phone her on (08) 9192 6435.

* Please Note: The Order Form may take a few minutes to download.

KAMSC Book (Sophia Couzos and Richard Murray)

A second edition of the KAMSC book, 'Aboriginal Primary Health Care - an Evidence-based Approach' published by Oxford University Press is now available.

The second edition has been extensively updated and contains ten new chapters including sexually transmitted infections, failure to thrive, prison health, ischemic heart disease, substance misuse, suicide and self harm and research.

The range of contributors is greatly expanded and includes three Aboriginal doctors and various experts in their fields from around the country.

This book presents a qualitative synthesis of the evidence across a range of Aboriginal health issues from the primary care perspective. It is intended to assist health practitioners identify best-practice in their own health service setting.

'Telling You Straight' Retinal Camera Manual

Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease that is found only in diabetic patients and is the leading cause of blindness in people aged 20-65 years. Damage to small blood vessels in the back of the eye cause them to leak, burst or scar. When this occurs in the area of the eye used for vision, the sight is affected. Damage to the blood vessels in the back of the eye is painless and the patient is usually unaware of the problem, until damage is very advanced.

Using retinal cameras to take a photo of the back of the eye, Aboriginal Health Workers play an important role in helping patients with diabetes receive regular eye examinations along with their other diabetes checks. To help support Aboriginal Health Workers use the retinal camera, KAMSC Population Health Unit staff - Mena Lewis and Sue Laird have developed a manual ‘Telling you Straight - How to Operate the Retinal Camera’.

The manual covers a range of information including setting up the retinal camera and the room for screening, preparing the patient, what to do with the retinal photos, as well as useful terminology and checklists.

The KAMSC ‘Telling You Straight - How to Operate the Retinal Camera’ has been made available to each of the KAMSC affiliated ACCHSs in the Kimberley. Additional copies of the manual for $70.00 are available from Mena Lewis on (08) 9193 6043.

KAMSC Health Promotion Unit produces a wide range of resources. To view these resources, please visit the Health Promotion section.