This National Advance Care Planning week (20 to 26 March) is the perfect time to start a conversation with loved ones about what living well means to you, and who should speak for you if you could no longer communicate or make your own health care decisions.

COORDINARE – South Eastern NSW PHN is working with Multicultural Community Council Illawarra (MCCI) and Advance Care Planning Australia to raise awareness amongst multicultural communities about the importance of advance care planning and starting the conversation about what sort of health care you would want if you could no longer speak for yourself.

COORDINARE’s CEO Prue Buist said: “It is a challenging topic for people to feel comfortable to discuss and we are very excited to join MCCI and Advance Care Planning Australia in releasing two new videos that show members of the Portuguese and Macedonian communities, who live in Wollongong, talking about these important issues.

“Over the past four years we have worked with MCCI to develop videos for the Vietnamese, Turkish and Arabic communities. These latest videos will be launched at a community event and will be added to the collection of advance care planning videos included on both MCCI’s and Advance Care Planning Australia’s website,” she said.

Ms Buist added: “The need for an advance care plan is an important message for all of us, not just our older people. Research shows that more than 50 per cent of Australians will not be able to make their own medical decisions at end-of-life but worryingly, only 15 per cent of people have an advance care directive. So it’s important to start the conversation now.”

Paula Arvela is a member of the Illawarra Portuguese community and shares her experiences on the video. “Through the videos we’re encouraging our community to think about their values, beliefs and wishes about health care. It’s important that they talk to their family, friends and GP about them and finally to record their wishes on an Advance Care Directive and give copies to their GP and family members,” said Paula.

MCCI’s Strategic Partnerships Manager NSW & ACT, Selen Akinci added: “By working closely with community members and developing videos in their language, we hope to reach more people and encourage them to start the conversation before it’s too late. We also hope service providers will use these resources to engage with community members and raise awareness about advance care planning.”

More information and resources about advance care planning is available from Advance Care Planning Australia here and for health professionals on COORDINARE’s website here.

You can watch the new videos that show members of the Portuguese and Macedonian communities, who live in Wollongong, talking about Advance Care Planning:

• Portuguese video Wollongong resident Paula discusses the need for an Advance Care Plan with MCCI's Senior Program Coordinator, Patricia.
• Macedonian video Gorda, a member of Wollongong's Macedonian community talks about her experience needing an Advance Care Plan with her friend Hristina.

Community, COORDINARE news, End of life care, Illawarra Shoalhaven, Media release, Southern NSW,