Health Equity and Access
Multicultural nutrition resources
Healthy eating
Healthy drinks
Some migrants to Australia may be confused by the range of drinks available in Australia. In many countries, water is unsafe and water needs to be boiled or bottled water purchased. A key message of the ‘Healthy drinks’ resources is that tap water in Australia is safe to drink and the healthiest choice for all the family.
English (PDF, 96.76 KB)- Amharic (PDF, 129.39 KB)
- Arabic (PDF, 112.15 KB)
- Dari (PDF, 110.03 KB)
heau-healthy-drinks-dinka.mp3 (MP3, 3.5 MB)- Farsi (PDF, 110.92 KB)
- French (PDF, 106.4 KB)
- Karen (PDF, 192.83 KB)
- heau-healthy-drinks-kirundi.mp3 (MP3, 4 MB)
- Kurdish - Kurmanji (PDF, 118.58 KB)
- Kurdish - Sorani (PDF, 133.43 KB)
- Somali (PDF, 119.76 KB)
- Swahili (PDF, 129.66 KB)
Samoan food and nutrition
These resources were developed by the Soifua Maloloina (Healthy Living for Samoans) Project Team based in Logan. Members included staff from Metro South Health’s Access and Capacity-building Team and the Voice of Samoan People Inc (VOSP).
Soifua Maloloina recipes
- Banana Coconut Rice Pudding (PDF, 157.55 KB)
- Banana Muffins (PDF, 172.27 KB)
- Bean Burritos (PDF, 661.04 KB)
- Beef Stir Fry (PDF, 201.57 KB)
- Chicken Curry (PDF, 312.23 KB)
- Corned Silverside Sandwich (PDF, 219.64 KB)
- Corned Silverside (PDF, 445.02 KB)
- Fried Rice (PDF, 282.12 KB)
- Pizza (PDF, 292.08 KB)
- Potato Salad (PDF, 204.67 KB)
- Pumpkin Soup (PDF, 215.31 KB)
- Sang Choy Bow (PDF, 1.01 MB)
- Sapasui (PDF, 636.88 KB)
- Savoury Vegie Muffins (PDF, 838.31 KB)
- Speedy Pineapple Muffins (PDF, 561.16 KB)
- Toasties (PDF, 276.17 KB)
- Tray-bake Chicken (PDF, 814.08 KB)
- Tuna Pasta Salad (PDF, 198.58 KB)
- Vegie Curry (PDF, 200.74 KB)
- Vegie Sapasui (PDF, 586.51 KB)
- Vegie Spaghetti (PDF, 700.64 KB)
Soifua Maloloina resources
- Poster 1 (PDF, 7.76 MB)
- Poster 2 (PDF, 7.76 MB)
- Brochure (PDF, 11.78 MB)
- Brochure (translated) (PDF, 15.07 MB)
- Catering suggestions for church, suppers and events (PDF, 1.59 MB)
Early life
Infant feeding for African communities
This suite of resources was developed in partnership with QUT with extensive consultation with Brisbane African women. The easy English readers were created with the support of TAFE Queensland English Language and Literacy Services (TELLS) and used in their Adult Migrant English Program. For many African women, English is the first language they learn to read. Please note that these resources have been updated in 2015 to be consistent with the new national Infant Feeding Guidelines
Breastfeeding
- Breastfeeding your baby in Australia (illustrated easy reader) (PDF, 2.48 MB)
- Breastfeeding your baby in Australia (brochure) (PDF, 422.15 KB)
- Breastfeeding your baby in Australia (poster) (PDF, 759 KB)
- Breastfeeding your baby in Australia – breast feeding and milk supply (fact sheet) (PDF, 175.73 KB)
- Breastfeeding your baby in Australia – breast feeding if you are away from your baby (fact sheet) (PDF, 214.04 KB)
Introduction to solids
- Time to start solids for your baby (illustrated easy reader) (PDF, 2.92 MB)
- Time to start solids for your baby (brochure) (PDF, 442.6 KB)
- Time to start solids for your baby (poster) (PDF, 1.6 MB)
- Introducing solids to your baby (fact sheet) (PDF, 1.41 MB)
- Time to start solids for your baby – iron-rich foods (fact sheet) (PDF, 835.84 KB)
Healthy babies resource update
Healthy babies resource order form
School aged children
School lunchboxes
Families that are newly arrived in Australia often request information on how to prepare school lunches. This is a new school for many migrants because in most other countries lunches are provided by the school or children go home to eat lunch. ‘Healthy lunches’ is a suite of translated and easy English resources that are culturally tailored to the needs of different communities.
- English (African) (PDF, 336.94 KB)
- English (Asian) (PDF, 333.02 KB)
- English (Middle Eastern) (PDF, 332.15 KB)
- Amharic (African) (PDF, 936.41 KB)
- Arabic (African) (PDF, 544.61 KB)
- Arabic (Middle Eastern) (PDF, 543.05 KB)
- Dari (Middle Eastern) (PDF, 554.67 KB)
- heau-school-lunches-dinka.mp3 (MP3, 6.6 MB)
- Farsi (Middle Eastern) (PDF, 539.92 KB)
- French (African) (PDF, 340.83 KB)
- Karen (Asian) (PDF, 1.5 MB)
- heau-school-lunches-kirundi.mp3 (MP3, 11.22 MB)
- Kurdish - Kurmanji (Middle Eastern) (PDF, 770.42 KB)
- Kurdish - Sorani (Middle Eastern) (PDF, 817.33 KB)
- Somali (African) (PDF, 780.62 KB)
- Swahili (African) (PDF, 780.62 KB)
- Tigrinya (African) (PDF, 843.9 KB)
Food safety
Safe food, safe kitchens
This is a resource on keeping foods safe in the refrigerator. It is pictorial guide showing where to place foods in the home refrigerator and how long foods can be stored.
- English (PDF, 126.51 KB)
- Amharic (PDF, 365.71 KB)
- Arabic (PDF, 237.98 KB)
- Dari (PDF, 243.66 KB)
- heau-food-safety-dinka.mp3 (MP3, 4.73 MB)
- Farsi (PDF, 239.76 KB)
- French (PDF, 239.76 KB)
- Karen (PDF, 769.77 KB)
- heau-food-safety-kirundi.mp3 (MP3, 6.02 MB)
- Kurdish - Kurmanji (PDF, 306.04 KB)
- Kurdish - Sorani (PDF, 356.46 KB)
- Somali (PDF, 398.1 KB)
- Swahili (PDF, 403.72 KB)
- Tigrinya (PDF, 361.11 KB)
Resources for dietitians
Food and cultural profiles
This suite of resources was created to guide dietitian/nutritionists in providing culturally appropriate and effective services to people from a range of cultural backgrounds. Guides follow the ADIME format and follow the chronological steps in individual case management.
- Afghan (PDF, 1.91 MB)
- Burmese (PDF, 1.79 MB)
- Chinese (PDF, 1.22 MB)
- Congolese (PDF, 1.15 MB)
- Indian (PDF, 1.01 MB)
- Maori (PDF, 1.66 MB)
- Samoan (PDF, 894.33 KB)
- Somali (PDF, 1.41 MB)
- Syrian (PDF, 2.15 MB)
- Tongan (PDF, 723.38 KB)
Cultural intelligence
Dietitians can play an important role in supporting the health of individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Culturally responsive dietitians are well positioned to:
- provide culturally appropriate dietary advice
- increase people’s understanding of how to shop for and prepare unfamiliar foods.
- address misconceptions about healthy eating in Australia.
To do this, individual dietitians need to develop cultural intelligence and operate in work units that are culturally safe and accessible to clients from all cultural backgrounds. To assist in developing a greater capacity to provide culturally appropriate services, the following assessment tools have been developed:
- Dietetic Organisational Tool (PDF, 338.93 KB)
- How to choose culturally appropriate education resources (PDF, 922.1 KB)
- Providing Culturally Responsive Dietetic Services (PDF, 269.55 KB)
Samoan clinical resources
Metro South Health has a large and vibrant Samoan community. Together with the Voice of the Samoan People and community members, staff of the Access and Capacity-building Team have produced a range of resources tailored for this community:
- Working with the Samoan community: a guide for dietitians (PDF, 6.88 MB)
- Ready Reckoner of Common Samoan Food (PDF, 735.78 KB)
- Ready Reckoner of Healthy Samoan Swaps (PDF, 531.84 KB)
Information for people with heart failure*
- Salt (PDF, 2.8 MB)
- Salt (translated) (PDF, 2.82 MB)
- Fluid (PDF, 3.23 MB)
- Fluid (translated) (PDF, 3.3 MB)
Information for people with kidney disease*
- Salt (PDF, 2.34 MB)
- Salt (translated) (PDF, 2.37 MB)
- Fluid (PDF, 3.35 MB)
- Fluid (translated) (PDF, 3.38 MB)
* Please note that these resources should only be used by dietitians so that clients can receive advice on all their individual dietary requirements.
Resources for community nutritionists and other community workers and their organisations
Food and cultural profiles
These resources provide information about the food and food practices of selected communities settled in Brisbane (Australia). They also provide general information on traditional greetings and etiquette, a general background on their country and their health profile in Australia. For readers who are involved in nutrition education, there is also a section on culturally appropriate ways to approach this.