workshop session 4

3.00pm - 4.00pm Transforming Sexual Health Resources to Easy-English: Including Multicultural People, Young People, and People with Disability in STI/BBV Education and Prevention

Sandra Norman (SECCA) 

Background: People from multicultural backgrounds or those with disability are excluded from comprehensive sexuality education. They are left to navigate the complexities of sexual health with no knowledge, information, or skills. This increases the risk of contracting and sharing sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with some research finding the prevalence of STIs more than twice as high for women with disability than those without disability (Parekh et al., 2023). Traditional approaches to health promotion, community engagement, and education often are not accessible to people with disability or people from different cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, health professionals are not trained in different communication styles or how to make resources and information accessible. Purpose: This workshop aims to help bridge this gap and provide people with the skills to translate inaccessible sexual health resources and information into Easy English. Easy English is a writing style that can be difficult to master. This workshop will provide simple suggestions and practical solutions that can help people transform sexual health resources into a format that can help people with developmental, and intellectual disability, as well as people from multicultural backgrounds, young people, and people who have English as a second language. Target Audience: Health professionals, people working in resource development, health promotion, students of health, and anyone who works with or supports sexual health.

 Workshop Strategies:

1. Short presentation on the key principles of Easy English using physical and visual resources

2. Small group work, applying the new knowledge to adapt a short text on a sexual health topic into Easy English

3. Debrief session to affirm learnings and lessons

Key Learnings:

People with learn:

1. What the standard format of Easy English looks like

2. How to simplify complex topics into Easy English

Relevant to Theme: SECCA believes that health professionals delivering accessible resources are a significant step to reducing the rates of STIs/BBVs in people with disability and people from different multicultural backgrounds. Recent research (Frawley et al., 2022) found that training such as this is vital to professionals’ ability and willingness to work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and reaffirmed the need for accessible sexual health services that respect all people’s human rights. This workshop will provide skills not often offered to health professionals and help reduce STI/BBV rates through education and support.