6849 Breaking down language barriers! Working together to improve access to healthcare information for ethnic minority families

Objectives 50% of A&E attendances for children are low acuity or minor illnesses. Parental decision-making is influenced by educational attainment, coping skills, healthcare access and their experiences. ABC Parents trains families from various ethnic backgrounds and 'White Other' represented our largest proportion. We challenged our team to teach families in their own language exploring the benefits of tackling health inequalities together. ABC Parents is a growing children's community outreach project which has delivered free first aid sessions to parents/carers in Enfield and Haringey for four years. Funded by NCLICB, our team (including parent champions) works in partnership with voluntary-sector organisations, Public Health and statutory services. We are especially proud of our collaborative model engaging teams across North Middlesex Hospital and building relationships in our local community. Problems Health inequalities, poverty and poor access to healthcare affects 4 in 10 children in our local area Language barriers worsen these unfair challenges and lack of knowledge leads to 'inappropriate' or 'late' A&E attendances Aim: Translate and deliver our first aid course in different languages to educate and empower more families from ethnic minority backgrounds. Improve access to healthcare information and reduce A&E attendances for minor illnesses/injuries. Methods Pilot to deliver our established Child Health & Lifesaving Course in Albanian. As a medical student, Dr Sara Beqiri initially volunteered with ABC Parents during her paediatric placement. Now leading the Albanian Student Association (ALSA), Dr Beqiri supported us to translate our course materials. The presentation, handouts, flyers and various forms as well as information for signposting to onward support were all translated into Albanian. Outreach was done through flyers, social media and working in collaboration with ECYPS, Children's Centres, Albanian organisations: Shpresa and Nene Tereza and through our Champions and breastfeeding groups. Results On 22nd August 2023, a 6-hour interactive child health and lifesaving course was delivered in Albanian in partnership with the doctors and medical students. With the course content and discussions in Albanian, parents were enabled to fully access and engage in our session. Sixteen mothers, one father and 19 lively children attended our course. Thanks to our formidable team of registered childminders, parents were able to maximise their learning while their children were entertained for free. Conclusion Benefits of delivering parent education in alternative languages to: Parents: more comfortable, trusted environment, concepts better understood, opportunities to get involved or support towards employment Staff: greater appreciation of barriers, improve bilingual staff teaching skills and own knowledge of professional terms in their mother tongue. Enhances portfolios and employability. Community: collaboration with VCSOs and build bridges to harder to reach/seldom heard ethnic groups, advocacy on public health challenges, effects of engagement and coproduction ripples. Broader Impact Future sessions planned in Albanian and upcoming courses in Turkish and Polish Encouraged collaboration with community organisations; trust and partnerships built to tackle wider health issues like vaccination and obesity Impact on A&E attendances will be evaluated in early 2024 but one Albanian parent champion already delivered CPR on an adult stating it was thanks to training and confidence ABC Parents provided!