October 2023

Hi there Caddyshakers, 

We are kicking of this months blog with an advance warning!

We are going to go a little bit official government speak on you. But don’t worry, stay with us! We promise not to be boring. Gah! 

Think of this blog like a glimpse behind the curtain, a behind the scenes sequence where it’s all laid on the table. Selling it to you?

We often get asked by Uni students, TAFE students or anyone when we are out and about, if Health Promotion is a real job. As in, “Gee you guys get to do some cool stuff, who knew its an actual career.”

Spoiler alert.

Yep, it is a real job, and we love it!

You can catch up on how we got here by reading our background stories.

Some of the stuff we get to do along with our locally based activities is being part of a broader state wide program called Play Safe Programs.

More on this soon. But first…

Play Safe NSW

Does the name Play Safe ring any bells?

You got it! It’s the NSW Health sexual health website we talk about all the time at Caddyshack, cause it’s pretty great.

When we think about how young people find sexual health and sex related information, we know that the internet is the go-to place. We also know that there are a lot of misleading and untrustworthy information sources on the internet which is a concern if a young person is trying to find out information about say discharge, and the internet tells them they are dying. Not ideal! 

Nurse nettie

So Play Safe is host to the awesome Nurse Nettie team at Sexual Health Info Link. The Nurse Nettie platform went live on the NSW Play Safe website eight years ago in March 2014, it really became the safe place for young people to ask the questions they may not feel comfortable asking anyone else.  

Nurse Nettie is a real, qualified sexual health nurse based in Sydney answering questions about bodies, sex and sexual health. It is anonymous and confidential through an online message system, or you can give Nurse Nettie a call on 1800 451 624. Not only does Nurse Nettie get back in touch within 24 hours (unless it’s the weekend or a public holiday), they also monitor and respond to threads on the Play Safe online forum. This helps to provide some professional guidance on the conversations around sex, sexual health, reproductive health, and bodies. 

Play Safe Pro

Then there is Play Safe Pro which has been designed to provide workers with tools, training and resources. It was built for professionals who are supporting young people in NSW to start the conversation around safer sex and have the skills and knowledge to guide them. 

Play Safe Programs

So let’s go back to Play Safe Programs, not to be confused with Play Safe Pro.

Have you got a cuppa? Government speak starts now!

Play Safe Programs is a suite of collaborative programs and working groups, organised into streams that are undertaken by NSW Health staff from across the state and Non-Government Organisations partners; ACON, Family Planning NSW (FPNSW) and Yfoundations. The Play Safe Programs are supported by the NSW STI Programs Unit (STIPU) who provide strategic oversight, secretariat and organisational advocacy and support and the Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH), UNSW BRISE partnership which focuses on monitoring and evaluation.

Phew! 

Still with us?

But what does Play Safe Programs actually do?

Play Safe Programs aims to develop workforce capacity around sexual health promotion while encouraging positive health behaviour change for young people in NSW aged 15-29 years.

Primarily, the programs aims to reduce stigma around sexual health by normalising conversations and health seeking behaviours; promoting the central role of condoms as a primary STI prevention strategy; disseminating safer sex materials (external condoms) and health messaging through physical and digital means and increasing access to comprehensive STI screening for young people. 

Play Safe Programs is an implementation partner in the NSW STI Strategy 2022-2026 and the NSW HIV Strategy 2021-2025, and as such has Ministry of Health (MoH) and Local Health District (LHD) support for ongoing activities.   

Reader, are you still there?  

Sure, but what programs are in play safe programs?

Great question!

Play Safe Programs is made up of eight program streams; Aboriginal Program, Access to Condoms, International Students, Out of Home Care, Peer Education, Primary Care, Sexual Health in Schools and Youth Services.

What has this got to do with the Caddyshack team?

Sooooooooo each Play Safe Program is led by two or three co-leaders and this is where our team are involved. 

It’s time for a Caddyshack team round up.

Jen - Access to Condoms Program

Jen was a key player in getting the Access to Condoms Program up and running.

The program aims to promote and monitor the distribution of free condoms to youth services and other originations who work with young people.

You have probably heard us talk about the free bag of 144 condoms that NSW services who work with young people can order each month. Well, that’s part of the Access to Condoms Play Safe Program.

Jen is part of the team behind the scenes. Think about the ongoing promotion, data crunching, trouble shooting and identifying gaps, well… that is all done by real humans!

The Access to Condoms Program is a collaboration between STIPU, Local Health District HARP Units and Family Planning NSW, led by Ashleigh Tikolevu from Family Planning NSW and Nic Gonzalez from South Eastern Sydney Local Health District. 

Maddy - International Students Program

Maddy is co-lead of the International Students Program with Anju Devkota from Western Sydney Local Health District and Wa’el Sabri from Multicultural HIV & Hepatitis Service and is a collaboration between STIPU, Local Health District units and NGO partners.

The program aims to inform and support the development and implementation of program activities working with international students to increase condom use and STI testing. 

The Program manages a consortium of over 70 members from universities, private English colleges, private health funds, multi-cultural organisations, NGOs, and local health districts with interests in international student wellbeing. 

A major achievement of this program has been the development of the online International Student Health Hub to improve international student’s access to sexual and reproductive health information and services in NSW.   

Naomi - Out of Home Care Program

Naomi is co-lead on the Out of Home Care (OOHC) Program with Jason van Ritten from Central Coast Local Health District and is a collaboration between STIPU, Local Health District Units and Yfoundations.

The Program has developed resources targeted to workers and carers who have significant contact with young people with experience of the OOHC System. Resources developed include a fact sheet and guide to trauma informed sexual health promotion, a fact sheet on sexual health promotion for people with a disability and an online training titled Because You Care that aims to develop the capacity of foster carers to engage young people around positive sexual health messaging.

Because You Care online training looks at sexual health through a trauma informed lens, and is the first of its kind in the state, possible Australia.

Hot tip - you don’t have to be a foster carer to do this free self-paced online learning module, it really is relevant to everyone! 

Kaitlyn - Primary Care Program

Finally Kaitlyn, who is still deployed to the Public Health Unit for the COVID response, is co-lead on the Primary Care Program with Maria Browne from South Eastern Sydney Local Health District and Tom Munro Sydney Sexual Health Clinic and is a collaboration between STIPU, Sydney Sexual Health and Local Health District HARP Units. Kaitlyn stays in touch with the group as much as her current role allows her to. 

The Program aims to develop social marketing resources to support young people to access sexual health care in primary care settings, resources to support youth workers in referring young people to primary care services for sexual health, and tools for General Practitioners and other professionals working in primary sexual health care make their services more accessible and friendly to young people.

To date, the Program has developed a communications and distribution plan and is looking to develop a targeted digital campaign for both young people and GPs.   

Showcasing our work

In September this year Naomi and Maddy were honoured to represent the work of these state wide projects by having their abstracts accepted at the Joint Australasian HIV& AIDS & Sexual Health conferences on the Sunshine Coast.  

Our fearless leader Jen also had an abstract accepted for our local work too.

Truly putting Illawarra Shoalhaven on the map! 

We are super proud of the work and the fact that we get to collaborate with our colleagues around the State. As we always say in the arena of sexual health - Plenty of work to do! 

Well, hope you enjoyed the peak behind the curtain. We obviously love sharing the work that we do, and when we write it up in a blog we have a little proud team moment!

What we are loving right now

Until next time 

Peace, Love & Protection 

x