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$50,000 grant awarded to support CALD patients at Western Health

14 Nov 2023

Western Health Foundation has been announced as a successful applicant of a $50,000 Telematics Trust grant. This funding will support the Leaflet app, led by Western Health colorectal surgeon, Professor Justin Yeung. Leaflet aims to assist culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) patients in the management and improvement of chronic health conditions. We are thankful for the funding, as Telematics Trust grants are highly sought-after and competitive (other 2023 recipients include the Florey Institute and the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute).

What is Leaflet?

Leaflet is a health management mobile application designed to help CALD community members who receive a challenging health diagnosis. Leaflet enables access to appropriate, understandable information in Chinese, Vietnamese and Arabic - the most commonly spoken CALD languages in Melbourne's western suburbs.

Western Health’s patient base is diverse: almost 40% of the western suburbs population do not speak English as their first language, and language barriers often prevent CALD communities from accessing care. Leaflet was conceived by Professor Yeung and a team of clinicians who saw the challenging effect of language differences at Western Health daily. Co-developed with patients at Western Health, the app aims to support CALD patients in understanding their condition, sharing information with friends and family, and ultimately strives to enable self-advocacy. The app is also available in simplified English as some CALD patients did not attain secondary school.

Leaflet's initial prototype contains four modules, including a colorectal cancer patient journey, bowel preparation medication and Permcath (a renal dialysis catheter) module. The Leaflet team hopes these four modules will measure the app’s usefulness and highlight treatment management and patient outcomes.

The Telematics Trust grant will build on Western Health’s history of working with CSIRO to utilise technology to provide gold-standard patient care.

Watch the video to learn more about Leaflet from Professor Yeung.

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