Background:

The Central Australian clean faces healthy places program incorporates strategies evidence-based to reduce trachoma through reinforcing consistent public health personal hygiene messages and highlighting environmental improvements that reduce the transmission of infections, including trachoma. The personal hygiene messages and healthy environment messages have the potential to impact broadly on reducing childhood infection

The strong collaboration between University of Melbourne Centre of Indigenous Eye Health, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Northern Territory Department of Health Centre for Disease Control, Fred Hollows Foundation and Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Inc has ensured that the program impacts broadly,  implementing a holistic model of health across a range of community settings

Methods:

Community engagement approaches were employed in developing the bilingual  Ti-Tree Story book to share knowledge. Sharing of this knowledge in culturally appropriate ways has the capacity support behaviour change not only in reducing trachoma infection risk but more broadly in reduce childhood infections

Partnership with Fred Hollows Foundation, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education has engaged key agencies in supporting community to share messages 

Results/Discussions:

 20 community members developed a story book to share information to reduce trachoma infection risk

Following the May 2014 Launch the Story Book and USB will be made available to community participants

Hazel Presely, local Aboriginal women and book author has shared this story in language at NATSIEH conference in Nov 2013 to over 170 conference delegates

Conclusions/implications:

Not only does this community development project demonstrate the importance of process and engagement to sharing knowledge and building capacity of community to make informed decisions relating to reducing infection risk, but also through collaborative efforts can build the capacity or organisations to share resources and expertise to impact beyond a single disease / health issue specic focus