My Health My Language bridging the gap in public healthcare messaging

ISSUE: Like many other European countries there has been a sharp increase in the number of migrants in Ireland recently. 13.9% of migrants in Ireland have poor or no English (Census 2016) and are not reached with mainstream public health messaging. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, most intercultural health resources were written rather than audio-visual. A clear need to reach out to these communities was identified. PROJECT: In 2021 the Health Service Executive (HSE) National Social Inclusion Office (NSIO) initiated a project with Translate Ireland (TI) to address the gap in intercultural health resources. Through consultation, priority health protection and health service areas were identified for inclusion in a suite of videos in main migrant languages. NSIO consulted with mychild.ie, National Immunisation Office, Irish College of GPs, Public Health, HSE Communications and the Sexual Health/Crisis Pregnancy Programme to ensure the scripts were aligned with HSE policy. TI identified health professionals living and working in Ireland, that were part of the migrant communities, to deliver key messages in the videos. TI worked with the presenters in wording the scripts to ensure cultural appropriateness. RESULTS: 11 primary care/maternal care videos were produced in 17 languages (187 videos), for healthcare professionals and people seeking health information. A dedicated webpage was created to ensure the videos were easily accessible and the project was named My Health My Language. The project was formally launched in June 2022 by the Minster of Health. We engaged with migrant communities, NGOs and government departments to share the multi-media video messages. By June 2023 there are 14,055 views of the videos. LESSONS: As smartphones are widely used by underserved groups, video messaging is very effective, for those with limited English or where English is not their first language. Short URLs on social media are very effective in providing access to videos. KEY MESSAGES: • My Health My Language is a health equity initiative, addressing health information needs of people who have limited English or where English is not their first language. • Culturally appropriate healthcare videos by peer healthcare professionals speaking in their own language have had significant reach, with over 14,000 views since launching in April 2022.