About

Scope is a community of practice for HIV Peer Support and Peer Navigation Workers. It is an initiative of the NAPWHA Learning Project made possible by an unrestricted educational grant received from Gilead Sciences.

It consists of a Teams group for ongoing friendly and supportive dialogue among workers, as well as quarterly Zoom calls (approx. 90 minutes each) for more structured discussions.

Topics for discussion

Some of the topics we might discuss in the Scope chat and Zoom sessions could include:

  1. Supporting each other with personal and professional challenges arising in our work.
  2. Asking and answering questions about issues we don’t feel we fully understand.
  3. Keeping up to date with learning opportunities from NAPWHA and our partners.
  4. Sharing and reflecting on new research findings and publications.
  5. Taking part in research and evaluation activities led by NAPWHA and our partners.
  6. Contributing to consultation and engagement to identify emerging issues of concern.
  7. Cultural safety for Indigenous HIV workers, volunteers, clients and communities.
  8. Cultural responsiveness and health literacy for culturally diverse people and groups.
  9. Supporting people working and volunteering in small jurisdictions.
  10. Mentoring recent training graduates and people new to employed/volunteer roles.

Eligibility to take part

Participation is open to anyone currently working or volunteering in an HIV Peer Support or Navigation role, as well as anyone who has completed the HIV Peer Navigation training.

Participants who work or volunteer for an organisation should check with their manager or supervisor to ensure they have permission to take part in Scope, and be mindful at all times of your professional boundaries around what you can share with the group.

NAPWHA may remove a participant at any time for any reason. Reasons will be given. If this occurs, the person removed may resort to NAPWHA’s dispute resolution procedures in case they wish to challenge their removal from the initiative.

Group agreement

Confidentiality and legal obligations

  1. Participants will not share personally identifiable information about clients or communities on Scope without getting and documenting permission to do so.
    • This includes all information that another person could use to recognise the identity of a client or community member: their names, age or age bracket, suburb of residence, diverse gender or sexuality, among other information.
    • Remember that our communities are small and people travel between cities so even vague details can sometimes identify a client or community member.
    • You can ask clients and community members for permission to share their experiences by saying ‘I would like to discuss this with my colleagues, can I share your issue/experience without giving your identifying details?’ Always document that you have asked for permission and been granted it.
    • You can change personal details or make them more general to prevent your client being recognisable (e.g. ‘age forty’ might become ‘middle aged’, while ‘nonbinary zie/hir’ might become ‘gender diverse’).
  2. Participants will not share details of confidential internal processes at your organisation without obtaining permission from your manager to discuss them.
  3. Participants will maintain each other’s confidentiality: don’t share what you learn on the Teams conversation without confirming you have permission to do so.
  4. Participants with a grievance against their organisation will raise it with their organisation through the proper channels rather than ventilating it through Scope.
  5. Participants will not use Teams to ‘back channel’ on matters they cannot raise in the main group without violating the Terms of Reference or Group Agreement.
  6. Participants should be aware that Teams chat is not confidential and the NAPWHA account on Teams will capture everything you say using the Scope Teams group.

How we interact with one another

  • Only share what you feel safe to share. Reflect on your boundaries in an ongoing way. Sometimes the conversation can get deep and invite personal sharing. Don’t go beyond sharing ‘green light’ and maybe some ‘orange light’ experiences.
  • Listen non-judgmentally and respect the diverse opinions and perspectives shared.
  • Use ‘I statements’ to own your lived experience and perspective without suggesting it should be normative for others.
  • Acknowledge our privilege as people living with HIV in Australia where we have comparatively excellent access to HIV treatments and services, while acknowledging that people in some communities and smaller jurisdictions have very limited access.
  • Show respect for the different ways in which people choose to identify their gender and sexuality — each person is the expert on their own experience.
  • Slow down and ensure cultural safety and responsiveness as first priorities whenever we are discussing Indigenous and culturally diverse people and their HIV-related needs and experiences.
  • If there is conflict in the Teams conversation, please immediately contact the NAPWHA Learning Project Officer daniel@napwha.org.au (mobile will be shared in the chat).