Premier’s Community Award 1995-96

NSW Office of Fair Trading Consumer Protection Award 2002

NSW Office of Fair Trading Consumer Protection Award 2003

Ethnic Community Organisation Think Smart Award 2003

NSW Health Multicultural Communication Award 2003

NSW Office of Fair Trading Consumer Protection (Consumer Service) Award 2004

National Quality Use of Medicine Award (Excellence) 2004

March 2016Page 1of 4

Job Description

Role: Volunteer Peer Educator

Health Promotion Service for Older People (HPSOP)

Combined Pensioners & Superannuants Association of NSW Inc. (CPSA)

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Who is aHPSOP Volunteer Peer Educator?

A HPSOP Volunteer Peer Educator is a person who provides health education sessions to groups of older people in the community. The Volunteer Peer Educatorsare trained to provide information about:

  • the importance of using medicines wisely;
  • healthy behaviours (e.g. exercise, nutrition and oral health care);
  • ways of preventing or delaying the onset of chronic conditions such as diabetes and osteoporosis; and
  • preventing injuries from falls.

Volunteer Peer Educators work as a part of a team coordinated by the HPSOP Coordinator.

Qualities required for a Volunteer Peer Educator

  • You need to be retired, semi-retired or over 50 years of age, and not looking for a full-time job.
  • You will have an interest in health information and will want to learn more about using medicines wisely;awareness about diabetes and osteoporosis;caring for oral health and preventing injuries from falls among older persons.
  • You enjoy presenting / talking to groups of older people and are also a good listener.
  • You enjoy working with older people and people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds.
  • You may have a health / medical / teaching background. This is desirable but not essential.
  • No previous training or experience is required and all training will be provided.

Duties of a Volunteer Peer Educator

  • Facilitating / presenting / talking to groups of older peoplein the community about health issues.
  • Distributing health information to groups during the session.
  • Participating in seminars / workshops / community festivals / seniors’ expos by talking with and distributing written information to seniors.
  • Attending regular training or refresher training or information sessions and meetings organised by HPSOP.
  • Attending refresher training every two yearsfor each healthtopic.
  • Cooperating with the HPSOP Coordinator, staff and other volunteers.
  • Working in a team managed by the HPSOP Coordinator.
  • Working with people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds.

Language

Speaking a language other than English is desirable but not essential. Volunteer Peer Educators must be able to speak, read and write English well as all training is in English.

Terms

Volunteer Peer Educators mayresign at any time. All equipment will be returned to the Health Promotion Service for Older People.

Training

Volunteers will be required to attend the following training sessions:

  • Presentation skills training: this is an intensive 2 day train-the-trainer course you will be attending that requires you to prepare and present mini training sessions to the group;
  • Working with an Interpreter: this is a 2.5 hour training session where you will learn the best way of working with an interpreter when you present sessions with the help of an interpreter;and
  • Health topics training: each of the 5 health topics (Diabetes Awareness, Falls Injury Prevention, Medicine Management, Oral Health Care and Osteoporosis Awareness) is taught for 8 hours over 2 days. Volunteers will learn each topic and you will be assessed through presenting the topic to the group.

Costs

All training is free. All costs incurred in carrying out HPSOP Peer Education work are reimbursed by HPSOP. This includes travel, telephone calls and photocopying.

Location of work

Every effort is made to arrange talks for Peer Educators in their local area but sometimes they may be asked to travel a little further. Generally, talks are held in places such as community centres, senior citizens centres, libraries, Migrant Resource Centres, RSL clubs, Probus clubs, bowling clubs and places of worship.

Hours

Peer Educators determine how much time they wish to devote to the position. A Peer Educator may do a talk / presentation once a week or once a month or even on a variable basis, depending on the volunteer’s availability and the number of requests from community groups received by HPSOP. Volunteering in HPSOP is very flexible and should not affect other commitmentsthe Peer Educator may have.

National Police History Check

NSW Health requires a National Police History Check for all staff and volunteers who work in NSW Health funded programs. Volunteers must undergo this process which is organised by HPSOP at no cost to volunteers.

Code of Conduct

All HPSOP volunteers must agree toand signHPSOP Volunteers’ Code of Conduct.

Insurance

CPSA holds volunteer insurance and public liability insurance for all CPSA volunteers.

Volunteer insurance provides partial compensation for volunteers injured or the victim of an accident in the course of their duties. An optional part of this insurance is covering volunteers who use their cars for the purpose of their volunteering duties. A condition of the insurer providing this coverage is that volunteers using a vehicle have a current driver licence, are driving a registered car and maintain their own comprehensive insurance.

Volunteers who wish to be reimbursed for kilometre costs while working as a volunteer using their own vehicle must provide copies of their current driver licence, car registration and comprehensive insurance policy. Each document must show the current expiry date. Public liability insurance covers CPSA for claims against CPSA for injury / accident caused by CPSA including CPSA volunteers.

Support

Support is provided by the HPSOP Coordinator, the HPSOP Project Assistant, facilitators and session organisers.

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March 2016