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Ear Health Coordination Program
Welcome to the first Rural Health West ear health e-bulletin
Rural Health West, in partnership with the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia (AHCWA), is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health to provide the Ear Health Coordination Program in WA to 2022.
The aim of the coordination program is to work collaboratively with primary health care clinics and other stakeholders to identify and support activity needed to improve ear health across the state.
The intended outcomes of the Ear Health Coordination Program are that primary health care clinics are supported to:
implement processes designed to ensure regular ear and hearing health screening and timely treatment (including any follow-up treatment required) and ongoing monitoring is provided;
a continuous quality improvement approach to strategies to identify, screen, treat and follow-up Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children at risk of (or experiencing) otitis media and related hearing loss, particularly before entering primary school;
ensure health care professionals are made aware of opportunities to enhance skills to undertake ear health assessment and management in children; and
improve the collection of clinical data on the prevalence of otitis media and treatment provided.
Together, Rural Health West and AHCWA will work closely to ensure a coordinated and collaborative approach to ear health services across the State.
Our goal for the ear health e-bulletin is to provide quarterly updates where we reflect the wonderful work of the ear:
- the outer ear - where we collect sound waves in the form of good news stories with the aim to share experiences and learnings from stakeholders across WA;
- the middle ear - where we transmit vibrations via our ossicles: an update from Rural Health West, AHCWA, and from ear health stakeholder groups; and
- the inner ear - transferring sound waves to nerve messages, our resources section where updated and new resources will be made available.
THE OUTER EAR
Do you have a good news story from a recent ear health visit which highlights the importance of coordination and planning between service provider and the local community/health professionals?
Are you involved in a collaborative partnership with another ear health stakeholder which could assist others?
What information would you find useful in this e-bulletin?
We want to hear your feedback and promote your good news stories. Our aim is to highlight the successes from ear health stakeholders across the State. We want to share your learnings and experiences in providing ear health services and your ideas to improve service provision across WA.
If you have a story, partnership or learning you would like us to feature in the next e-bulletin, please email outreach@ruralhealthwest.com.au.
THE MIDDLE EAR
Outreach ear health services
Rural Health West is the WA Fundholder for Australian Government Department of Health outreach programs which deliver ear and hearing health services across the state. Healthy Ears - Better Hearing, Better Listening (HEBHBL), Eye and Ear Surgical Support (EESS), Medical Outreach Indigenous Chronic Disease Program (MOICDP) and Follow-up Ear and Hearing Health Services (FEHHS) are outreach programs supporting health professionals to provide much needed ear health services throughout WA. For detailed information on each program, please visit the Rural Health West website.
Rural Health West is involved in various ear health stakeholder groups across WA including:
WA Child Ear Health Strategy Steering Committee
Communication, Coordination and Partnerships Working Group (subcommittee of the Strategy)
Kimberley Ear Health Coordinating Panel
Goldfields Ear Health Stakeholder Group
Pilbara Hearing Interagency Group
Children's Collective Ear Health Working Group
If you would like information on Rural Health West's outreach ear health programs or ear health groups, please contact outreach@ruralhealthwest.com.au
AHCWA's Ear Health Program
Greetings everyone and Happy New Year to you all. We would like to introduce the members of the AHCWA Ear Health Program, Lorraine Taui and Deisha Price.
Lorraine is the ear health coordinator and has been in this role for seven years. Lorraine is a proud Maori woman hailing from New Zealand, with a background in nursing. During her time at AHCWA, Lorraine has enjoyed incorporating her own experiences as a First Nation woman in her work with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Throughout her work, Lorraine has gained immense knowledge about the culture and traditions of Australia’s Indigenous population and she also enjoys learning and meeting people from different communities all over Australia.
Deisha is the ear health program officer and has been in this role since March 2020. Coming from a background in general practice nursing, Deisha remains a qualified registered nurse with qualifications in health promotion and public health and is working towards her Master of Public Health. Working at AHCWA is Deisha’s first opportunity to work directly with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Deisha also enjoys learning about how tradition and culture can greatly improve long-term health outcomes and is passionate about working on complex public health problems such as improving the health gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians.
The AHCWA Ear Health Program was established to support collaborative practice with primary health service providers and all stakeholders to identify and support activities to improve ear health. AHCWA is working collaboratively with Rural Health West (RHW) in providing support to enhance the monitoring and treatment of ear and hearing health, to support access to quality, culturally safe ear and hearing health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth.
AHCWA is a registered training organisation (RTO) and provides ear health training equivalent to the requirements for a Cert IV in Ear Health. This training is available for all Aboriginal health workers and practitioners, as well as both enrolled and registered nurses. The training can be provided either face-to-face or online via the new online training package, which can accommodate for training needs for health workers living in regional and remote areas.
See the following section for information regarding health promotion initiatives through the Ear Health Program.
To contact the AHCWA Ear Health Program, please call 08 92271631 or email Lorraine.taui@ahcwa.org or Deisha.price@ahcwa.org
Ear health workshop topics
As part of the Ear Health Coordination Program, Rural Health West is collecting responses from ear health stakeholders in regards to topics of interest for future ear health workshops.
Please click the button below to complete the short survey.
THE INNER EAR
2020 Otitis Media Guidelines for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children.
Wednesday 3 March 2021 was World Hearing Day and Menzies School of Health Research launched the new 2020 Otitis Media Guidelines for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children (2020 OM Guidelines). The OM Guidelines are available online and mobile app, which is free to download via the Apple App Store or Google Play. These guidelines provide interactive, engaging and culturally appropriate best practice up to date information on the prevention, diagnosis and management of otitis media.
Simon says...
AHCWA's Ear Health Program is working on a number of health promotion initiatives to raise awareness about the impacts of ear disease and hearing loss. In July 2020, the program published the first volume of their new series Simon Says…, which aims to inform kids about the ways they can look after their ears and prevent the spread of illness in their community.
In 2021, the Ear Health Program has two large health promotion projects in the works. Firstly, AHCWA will be filming a video series in all regions of the state to demonstrate common ear health assessments as well as share real stories from people and families who have experienced ear disease or associated hearing loss. This series will also incorporate the activities of outreach programs in collaboration with Rural Health West.
Secondly, the program is hosting a week-long event to celebrate Hearing Awareness Week. The event will include a presentation for AHCWA staff and stakeholders at AHCWA’s head office, as well as week-long social media posts to share facts and resources associated with ear disease and hearing loss.
Disclaimer
You have received this e-bulletin as you have been identified as a key ear health stakeholder. If you wish to unsubscribe, please reply "STOP" to this email.
The Outreach programs are delivered by Rural Health West on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health.
Tel: +61 8 6389 4500 | Fax: +61 8 6389 4501
Before taking any action based upon advice and/or information contained in this email you should carefully consider the advice and information and obtain relevant independent advice.
