September 2004
Research

Conference looks at Cultural Differences

A University conference is looking to help health and social care professionals to understand how culture and diversity can affect their work.

The one-day conference, organised by staff in the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities and the School of Health Studies, will cover a wide range of issues with workshops, presentations and papers.

Sheila Furness, social work lecturer and one of the organising team, said: "This is such an important issue in health and social care. Health and social care services need to be adequate and relevant to meet the wide-ranging needs of the local population.

"Practitioners need to be aware of their own sense of identity in order to recognise how their own values and assumptions can impact on their contact with others. In order to develop more culturally appropriate services, we all need to question how our attitudes and behaviour can act as barriers to others. This conference will provide an opportunity for us to share some of our experiences and models of good practice from different perspectives."

As well as professionals, there will also be academics, students and service users amongst the 80 delegates gathering at the Heaton Mount Conference facility on Friday, September 17, 2004.

Vice-Chancellor Chris Taylor is scheduled to welcome delegates before the University's Chair of Social Analysis Professor Charles Husband makes a keynote speech.

Workshops will look at issues including the impact of policy on practice; the relevance of religion and beliefs; culture and stigma; maternal mental health; older people living in rural areas; the needs of asylum seekers; deaf culture; access barriers to physiotherapy services; and the cultural needs of older lesbians and gay men.

28 September 2004

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