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Do you acknowledge your own limitations and are you able to support clients' navigation of systems?

  • A Core Competency in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections (STBBIs)

Consider...
A community centre in a small town in Northern Canada has a peer support group for HIV positive women aged 40 and above. The women meet on a bi-weekly basis and provide valuable emotional support to one another, often discussing the common challenges they face. Lately, some of the women have expressed their frustration with the lack of appropriate health care in the community for women aging with HIV. The staff members at the community centre sympathize with the women and yet acknowledge that their organization cannot provide the medical care they require. They wonder if they should reach out to the health professionals in the community to help their clients find service providers who understand and respect their evolving health needs.

Do you work in the area of sexual health or STBBI advocacy, prevention and support? Do you acknowledge your own limitations and are you able to support clients' navigation of systems?

Use the questions below to help you self-assess your knowledge, skills, attitudes and practices related to support for clients' navigation of systems. Remember that depending on your role, you may require different levels of proficiency for the various core competencies and it is possible that some of the competencies are not relevant to your work.

  1. Do you maintain up-to-date knowledge about the strengths and limitations of other health and social service organizations in your community, and do you share this information appropriately with your clients/peers?
  2. Can you separate your personal experiences and possible biases from the recommendations you make to others, based on a client-centred approach?
  3. Do you maintain a rapport with other health and social service organizations in your community to help you advocate for your clients and educate other service providers about your clients' needs and circumstances?
  4. What are some ways that you can support your clients in navigating the health care system?
  5. Does your organization advocate for change at the systems level to improve services for your client groups?

Suggested resources:

This is one of a series of cases on the core competencies for STBBI prevention. View all 26 cases on the core competencies for STBBI prevention.

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