How do you get a message about the importance of regular physical activity to people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds?
Improving the understanding of how to deliver this important message was the aim of a Melbourne pilot study into the cultural beliefs and attitudes towards physical activity of those aged of 45 from the Italian-speaking and Cantonese-speaking communities.
Almost 1,000 people participated in the pilot study conducted by CEH with VicHealth funding.
In the project’s second stage, a direct communications strategy was developed to address the identified issues through large-scale workshop trailing with members of each community, in their own language.
Crucial to the strategies was the identification of appropriate ‘ambassadors’ from each community who would be prepared to maintain the awareness raising pilot program among groups.