CALD Assist

CALD Assist is an App developed by the Western Health and the CSIRO for use in clinical situations where simple questions need to be asked of non-English speaking patients and no interpreter is available. The App allows clinicians to select the language of their patient, the discipline of their field of inquiry (nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy etc) and then select from a range of simple questions.

NSW Health engaged Inky Smudge to create a demonstration video showing clinicians the ease of use of the App and the range of languages and inquiries it could field. A hybrid video/animation technique was developed that would simultaneously show a clinician using the App while the screen of the App being used could be seen picture-in-picture. NSW Health reports a significant uptake in the use of the App as a result of this video.

NSW Health had been studying the way traditional ideas of health, culture and wellbeing might sit alongside modern western ideas of health management. In many cases strong compatibility existed but in other cases clashes could occur particularly in the way traditional medicines could interfere with the western counterparts. In some cases cultural sensitivities around serious disease could prevent individuals from accessing the help they needed from health professionals, particularly in the early stages of serious diseases such as cancer or heart failure.

Inky Smudge was engaged to produce a series of 9 videos over a period of two years which examined how different cultures expressed themselves within the health arena and what if any concerns there might be around specific incompatibilities. Topics covered include contraindicative medicine, cancer, mental health, end of life etc.