Bendigo Community Health Services was one of five community health groups working with Swinburne University of Technology on the study which researched the lived experiences of social housing residents and managers during the pandemic.

Each organisation was responsible for delivering the High-Risk Accommodation Response (HRAR) program to engage with and respond to the needs of vulnerable communities during the multiple COVID peaks and outbreaks in these settings.

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More than 800 residents shared their challenges and fears along with what gave them strength over the past two years.

The study also worked with frontline community health workers to learn what they did to understand residents' requirements and assist them.

A key finding of the research was local community health services were crucial for successful communication and engagement in these settings.

Bendigo Community Health Services chief executive Gerard José said social housing residents had diverse needs requiring flexibility in how services work with them.

Mr José said there was a high reliance on digital and social media by government departments to impart important messages, but some communities supported by HRAR struggled with these forms of communication.

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"These community members appreciate someone who will take time to explain things to them and not rush them through or redirect them to websites, Facebook and the like," he said.

"They appreciate friendly, genuine supports that steer them through often complex processes and health pathways.

"The positive outcomes and experiences we have observed extend beyond a response to COVID and tell us much more about how we truly engage people in services and in building up an understanding of their care needs."

The publication 'Actions to address health literacy and equity in social housing, Victoria' captures the research, findings, analysis and recommendations that could be applied more broadly to improve health literacy and equity for social housing residents, along with improvements to service provision, communication and engagement.

The report made several recommendations for actions on how governments and health services needed to respond, and what could be done to understand and support people living in public housing settings.

These actions included improving the health literacy responsiveness of the system, reducing digital exclusion, ensuring proactive and flexible interactions and improving the connections between the different parts of government and services sectors.

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"During the COVID-19 pandemic we have learnt much about how we engage with the many diverse communities across our region," Mr José said.

"Over the past two years, BCHS staff has asked the community what they want, what works for them, and changed our approaches and ways of communicating to accommodate those needs.

"By being agile and working directly with local communities, we have seen a gradual build in trust as our teams have become familiar faces in the neighbourhood either going door-to-door or holding events at neighbourhood venues."

The study, led by Centre for Global Health and Equity's Dr Shandell Elmer, sought to understand residents' health literacy, including what they knew about COVID-19 and keeping safe.

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