Elements and Performance Criteria
- Identify a remote community's basic animal environmental health and infection control requirements
- Confirm the community's attitude and relationship to companion animals
- Carry out a basic assessment of human and animal disease risk and access to preventatives or treatment options within the community
- Confirm applicable regulations relating to the keeping and management of companion animals in the community and their relationship to environmental health and infection control
- Identify key issues related to the health and condition of animals and local community priorities
- Establish rapport and trust with the local community to be able to carry out animal welfare activities within the community
- Handle or interact with companion animals safely within a remote community
- Observe animal behaviour before approaching or handling to assess risks to safety of self or other people or animals
- Select, fit and use personal protective equipment before contact with animals and animal body fluids and excrement
- Use appropriate personal hygiene practices when handling or interacting with companion animals
- Apply basic animal training and behaviour principles when approaching or handling animals to ensure safety
- Apply behaviours and techniques to behaviours to prevent attacks, bites and perceived threats to animals
- Provide animal environmental health and infection control advice to community members
- Check general condition and look for signs of health and diseases in individual companion animals within a community
- Provide advice on how to access treatments and treat common animal skin and parasitic infections to individual community members, including medications which can only be administered by a veterinarian
- Explain how to contact a veterinarian or local council or regional services for more serious animal health conditions
- Explain the benefits to the community and promote the use of available population control and treatment services
- Provide hygiene and infection control advice to community members
- Identify opportunities to build awareness of the link between animal and human health and the adoption of good hygiene relating to animal care
- Model appropriate personal hygiene and safety when handling or interacting with animals according to health standards
- Provide advice to individual community members on basic hygiene and infection control for self and family members
- Provide advice on seeking medical assistance for signs of zoonotic diseases according to available services in the region
- Consult to provide ongoing culturally appropriate community awareness activities
- Seek permission to interact with or handle animals according to community requirements and practices
- Involve community members in activities to improve care for animals, prevent and minimise the transmission of diseases and promote responsible animal ownership
- Use communication techniques and work practices that show respect for the culture of the community and other team members according to community standards
- Provide feedback to supervisor and service providers to increase cross-cultural awareness in animal environmental health and management services