Ms Sam Harkus1, Dr Mary Belfrage2, Ms Vivienne Marnane1, Dr Carmen Kung1, Ms Meagan Ward1, Dr Isabel O’Keeffe1, Dr Neil Orr3, Dr John Skinner3, Dr Michelle Kennedy (Wiradjuri)4,5, Prof Kelvin Kong (Worimi)5
1National Acoustic Laboratories, Macquarie University, Australia, 2RACGP-NACCHO Clinical Lead, Melbourne, Australia, 3Macquarie University, North Ryde, Australia, 4Lowitja Institute, Collingwood, Australia, 5University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia
The purpose of the presentation
Our goal was to develop clinical recommendations for checking ear health and hearing, and detecting problems early, in young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children attending primary care.
The nature and scope of the topic
We will outline the factors that motivated the development of new recommendations, describe the users and target populations, describe the development process, and provide an overview of the recommendations.
The issue or problem under consideration
Middle ear disease in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander children is often asymptomatic and if not detected and treated, will impact development and life trajectories. Therefore, early detection of ear disease and significant hearing loss is critical. Routine primary health ear checks are essential. Currently, guidelines encourage checks at all clinic visits, yet they are rarely carried out routinely. Further, the activities that comprise an ear check vary significantly. There is a need for national recommendations for effective, evidence based, feasible ear health and hearing checks for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged under 6 years.
The outcome or the conclusion reached
With guidance from a Working Group and a panel of key experts, 8 goals and 8 recommendations relating to routine ear health and hearing checks for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were developed. Key changes to practice required to implement these recommendations include embedding routine checks, and the routine use of tympanometry and listening and communication skills screening checklists. To accelerate uptake of the recommendations into routine practice, further work aimed at scoping implementation is necessary.
Biography:
Sam is a non-Indigenous audiologist, living on Gadigal land in Sydney. She has worked with Hearing Australia in clinical roles and as Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander program lead, and now works in research at the National Acoustic Laboratories. Since 2019, Sam has worked on a range of projects with a common theme of equitable access to ear health and hearing care for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Each responded to community needs, featured Aboriginal leadership and co-design, benefited participants, and led to changes in policy and practice. Sam provides clinical services on Arrernte country in central Australia.