‘Can Do’ for CALD people improves the capacity of general practice and the Divisions of General Practice to recognise and effectively respond to the needs of CALD people who are at risk of or experiencing mental health and substance use issues in their local community. It does this by strengthening, supporting and networking GPs and other key stakeholders who deliver health and community support services to CALD people at risk of or experiencing mental health and substance use issues.

Key learning objectives
The overall educational goal of this accredited training program is to provide general practitioners, allied health professionals and other service providers with specific knowledge and skills to work with CALD people at risk of or experiencing mental health and substance use issues to improve their health.  On completion of this program, participants should be able to:

• demonstrate an increased awareness of CALD communities in Australia
• demonstrate and increased understanding of the mental health & substance use issues relevant to CALD individuals
• demonstrate an increased understanding of the different challenges that face voluntary vs involuntary immigrants in Australia
• identify why CALD individuals may use substances
• identify the risks and protection factors for CALD individuals associated with substance use
• demonstrate improve knowledge of strategies to prevent and address substance use issues in CALD communities
• identify health and community services at the local level, particularly those that engage with and provide support to CALD people
• demonstrate an increase in ability and confidence in developing appropriate pathways of referral and care for CALD people with mental health and substance use issues.

AGPN would like to acknowledge Dr Cate Howell, Michele Murphy, Charlotte Marshall, Melissa Opolski and Ros Yuen from CM Consulting SA: Workplace Health and Productivity for their time and hard work in researching and putting together ‘Can Do’ for CALD people.