The Multicultural Health and Support Service (MHSS) was established in 2006 at CEH to work with migrant and refugee communities on the prevention of blood borne viruses (BBV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Newly arrived refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and international students can be more vulnerable to BBV/STI and experience poorer health outcomes compared to the established Australian population. Stressors such as the migration experience, exposure to new sexual cultures and loss of social networks are some of the factors that contribute to high-risk sexual behaviour of individuals within this group.