Welcome to the first 2022 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 Western Australia (WA) until 30 June 2022.

The aim of the program is to work collaboratively with primary health care clinics and other stakeholders to identify and support activities needed to improve ear health across the State.

Our goal for the Ear Health Coordination Program 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 through our resources section where updated and new resources will be made available.

THE OUTER EAR - good news stories

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. 

World Hearing Day 2022 - promotion of safe listening

The World Hearing Day 2022 , held on 3 March 2022, focused on the importance and means of hearing loss prevention through safe listening, with the following key messages:

It is possible to have good hearing across the life course through ear and hearing care. Many common causes of hearing loss can be prevented, including hearing loss caused by exposure to loud sounds. ‘Safe listening’ can mitigate the risk of hearing loss associated with recreational sound exposure. The World Health Organization calls upon governments, industry partners and civil society to raise awareness for, and implement evidence-based standards that promote safe listening.

The Deafness Council WA facilitated a webinar You Can Ask That to create a conversation about hearing loss and how it impacts different parts of our community.  You Can Ask That provided a unique and interesting forum for all members of our community to hear from people who have had an experience with hearing loss, either themselves, as carers and/or as parents. The webinar recording can be viewed here.

Blitzing ear health in the Kimberley

Last year teams of health professionals took to the Kimberley and Goldfields regions to provide some of WA’s most isolated residents with access to vital eye and ear surgery as part of the Australian Government Department of Health’s Eye and Ear Surgical Support program.

Early ear disease can have long-term impacts on the language development, education and socialisation of young children. A collaborative, multi-tiered program in the Kimberley helps to fast-track Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients for life-changing surgical interventions. We spoke to some of the program's champions during the most recent ENT surgical blitz in Derby in June 2021.

THE MIDDLE EAR - an update from Rural Health West and partners

WA Ear and Hearing Digital Health Forum

Thank you to all presenters and delegates who attended the WA Ear and Hearing Digital Health Forum in Perth on Friday 19 November 2021, which was hosted by Rural Health West in collaboration with the WA Child Ear Health Strategy and AHCWA.

Following on from the inaugural WA Ear and Hearing Telehealth Forum in June, delegates further explored digital health tools in supporting culturally safe ear and hearing health service provision.

Professor Kelvin Kong provided an opening address, discussing what excellence in Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) practice means and the importance of working with families means. AHCWA hosted a panel discussion focusing on how to integrate and coordinate culturally appropriate care for Indigenous patients and families along the ear and hearing health pathway.

Delegates were able to partake in a live and simulated ENT consultation facilitated by Dr Jafri Kuthubutheen and his team. A number of digital health successes shared across organisations and regions were acknowledged and celebrated, delegates were able to learn more about practical innovations, research and tools in the digital health space.

For those who were unable to travel to Perth to attend the Forum, a number of resources from the day are available to view online and in the Inner Ear - resource section below. Presentations from the day were recorded and with permission, Rural Health West will publish the videos on the Rural Health West ear health coordination webpage.

An update from AHCWA's Ear Health Program

Greetings everyone and we hope you are keeping safe. I would like to introduce you to our new ear health program officer - Julie Lomas.

Julie has been in this role since March 2022. Julie has a background in nursing and health promotion, most recently coming from a health promotion role with Asthma WA. Julie believes the difference that health promotion and education can provide to children and to their parents is truly wonderful. sheis excited to be part of the AHCWA ear health team and to contribute to health promotion and education in ear health. 

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 in providing support to enhance the monitoring and treatment of ear and hearing health, and 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 9227 1631 or email Lorraine.taui@ahcwa.org or Julie.Lomas@ahcwa.org

Training and health promotion visits

Due to current COVID-19 regional restrictions, current advice from executive management means Lorraine will not be travelling to most regions to provide face-to-face training. Lorraine is able to provide online training packages and encourages all stakeholders interested in training or health promotion opportunities to get in contact. 

Lorraine and Julie are happy to answer any questions you may have and they can be contacted via email - Lorraine.taui@ahcwa.org  and Julie.lomas@achwa.org

THE INNER EAR - resources

2020 Otitis Media Guidelines for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children.

Practice Assist - digital health resources

Your practice can deliver better quality healthcare by securely connecting and sharing health information with a range of specialised digital health services. If you would like assistance with initiating or expanding your practice’s digital health capabilities, contact the Practice Assist Team or email the WA Primary Health Alliance Digital Health Team. 

To assist general practice teams with the set up and use of a range of tools, WAPHA’s Digital Health Team have created the Digital Health Toolkit.  This Toolkit has been developed to assist general practices and other primary health providers to work with and embed digital health tools into everyday practice.

Child Ear Health Services: Co-design Framework

Child Ear Health Services: Co-design Framework This resource is for managers, staff, planners and leaders aiming to improve community ear health services for children by truly collaborating with Aboriginal families and communities. This Framework was developed by Child and Adolescence Health Service, WA Country Health Service and AHCWA.

Rural Doctors Network - Rural Health Pro

Rural Health Pro has curated a series of videos under the Ear Health Coordination program to enhance the monitoring and treatment of ear and hearing health in primary care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth. Click here to check out the videos.

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.