This unit describes the required skills and knowledge to manage the provision of health education and promotion services to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities. This includes advocating for health education and promotion services and ensuring these services meet community needs.

It does not involve the actual delivery of health education and promotion services – this is detailed in HLTAHW023 Plan, develop and evaluate health promotion and community development programs.

This unit applies to senior Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Workers overseeing clinical aspects of the delivery of primary health care services and/or managing the overall delivery of primary health care services and programs to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities.

The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and State/Territory legislation, Australian/New Zealand standards and industry codes of practice.

The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the job role.

There must be evidence that the candidate has:

managed the provision of at least one health education and promotion service to effectively address the needs of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander individuals and communities, including:

working with other staff to identify and evaluate existing health education and promotion services

communicating effectively with relevant community members, agencies and other organisations to support the delivery of health education and promotion services

advocating on behalf of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities in relation to the provision of health education and promotion services

conducting research and preparing reports detailing effectiveness of primary health care health education and promotion programs

lobbying and advocating at high levels to support health education and promotion programs for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities

undertaking organisational planning to support the delivery of health education and promotion programs.

The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role.

This includes knowledge of:

individual and community health including broad knowledge base of biology and development, psychology, disease and treatment options, culture and tradition

primary health care health needs and service delivery options

legislation relating to the delivery of primary health care services

organisational guidelines relating to health service provision

referral resources

traditional health, healing and medicines.

Skills must be demonstrated working:

in a health service or centre

as a senior member of and/or supervising a primary health care team

with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients.

In addition, simulations and scenarios must be used where the full range of contexts and situations cannot be provided in the workplace or may occur only rarely. These are situations relating to emergency or unplanned procedures where assessment in these circumstances would be unsafe or is impractical.

Simulated assessment environments must simulate the real-life working environment where these skills and knowledge would be performed, with all the relevant equipment and resources of that working environment.

Assessors must satisfy the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.

Assessment must be undertaken by a workplace assessor who has expertise in this unit of competency and who is:

an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Worker

or:

accompanied by an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person who is a recognised member of the community with experience in primary health care