PROOF ONLY ‘Community navigators’: making a difference by promoting health in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in Logan, Queensland Saras Henderson A,C and Elizabeth Kendall B A Population and Social Health Research Program, Griffith Health Institute, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith Universi Q1 ty, Australia. B Population and Social Health Research Program, Griffith Health Institute, Centre for National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Griffith University, Australia. C Corresponding author. Email: s.henderson@griffith.edu.au Abstract. A key component of the 2011 Australian National Health Reform, via the Access and Equity Policy, is to improve access to quality health services for all Australians including CALD communities. Awareness has been raised that certain CALD communities in Australia experience limited access to health care and services, resulting in poor health outcomes. To address this issue, the Community Navigator Model was developed and implemented in four CALD communities in Logan, Queensland, through a partnership between government and non-government organisations. The model draws on local natural leaders selected by community members who then act as a conduit between the community and health service providers. Nine ‘navigators’ were selected from communities with low service access including the Sudanese, Burmese, Afghan and Pacific Islander communities. The navigators were trained and employed at one of two local non- government organisations. The navigators’ role included assessing client needs, facilitating health promotion, supporting community members to access health services, supporting general practitioners (GPs) to use interpreters and making referrals to health services. This paper explores the ‘lived experience’ of the navigators using a phenomenological approach. The findings revealed three common themes, namely: (1) commitment to an altruistic attitude of servility allowing limitless community access to their services; (2) becoming knowledge brokers, with a focus on the social determinants of health; and (3) ‘walking the walk’ to build capacity and achieving health outcomes for the community. These themes revealed the extent to which the role of CALD community navigators has the potential to make a difference to health equity in these communities, thus contributing to the Australian National Health Reform. Additional keywords: health service access and equity, national health reform, phenomenology, role of community navigators. Received 3 May 2011, accepted 11 August 2011, published online dd mmm yyyy Introduction Across the world, there are vast disparities in health service delivery and health outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. In Australia, for example, members of communities from countries such as Sudan, Burma (Myamar), Afghanistan and the Pacific Islands experience less access to health care and poorer health outcomes compared with the Australian-born population and immigrants from English- speaking countries (Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia 2009). The report of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia 2009) stated that the difficulties associated with navigating our health system render it incapable of meeting the needs of CALD consumers, effectively preventing them from taking an active role in their own health care. As a result of access difficulties, members of some CALD communities may only seek health care and support when their health condition has reached a crisis point, a situation that leads to less than optimal health outcomes (Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia 2009). This situation detracts from their overall well-being and increases their vulnerability to disease. A systematic literature review (Henderson et al. 2011) indicated that one successful approach to reducing CALD health disparities is the use of community-based bilingual health workers. These health workers are natural leaders, selected by their communities, because they are in a position to promote positive approaches to health and minimise disease risks within their communities. Most importantly, they are able to assist their people to navigate the complex Australian health system, AUTHORS’ PAGE PROOFS: NOT FOR CIRCULATION This compilation Ó La Trobe University 2011 http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/PY11053 CSIRO PUBLISHING Research Australian Journal of Primary Health www.publish.csiro.au/journals/py