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Allergies on the rise
Allergies need to be taken seriously. Heather Roberts, who presented an abstract at the 40th CRANAplus Conference and has worked for the National Allergy Council since 2019, explains how rural and remote health workers can access information and training to spread the knowledge in their communities.
One in five Australians have an allergy, one in ten babies have a food allergy – and allergies are on the rise.
“But there is a shortage of specialists in this field, creating incredibly long waiting periods to get attention in public hospitals, and bottlenecks for people to get a proper diagnosis,” Heather says.
“In addition, there is a fair amount of misinformation surrounding the issue of allergies in general, which confuses people.”
The range of allergies and the range of symptoms and effects, means some people may not take allergies as seriously as they should, Heather says.
“That’s why we need well-educated health professionals in the community.”
Important resources available to health professionals include manuals and evidence-based resources to give guidance, and online opportunities to undertake education and training through the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA).
Heather, who has worked for the past fifteen years on projects to improve healthcare services in Australia, is managing the national Shared Care for Allergy project which aims to improve access to allergy care, particularly for people living in rural and remote areas. The right care has a positive effect on people’s lives, she says.
“In the first instance, the health professional needs to know if it is an allergy or something else, and then what to do next,” Heather says, “[so] correct diagnosis and management of allergies is very important.
“Of course, avoiding the cause of an allergy is crucial, but not always easy. For a food allergy, for example, it’s important to know how to read product labels. Getting the right education and support around that time is important. Dietitians, particularly those with additional training in allergies, can be very helpful.
“Parents need guidance too, to help their children and manage their allergies while they’re younger, and help their children learn how to manage their allergies as they get older and become more independent, particularly if it is a severe food allergy.
“Other allergies can be caused by certain materials, such as latex, and knowledge is needed to deal with conditions such as eczema and allergic rhinitis which can have a significant impact on day-to-day living.”
Heather, who is working on the project under the leadership of a paediatric allergy specialist from ASCIA and head of a national support organisation for people with allergies (Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia), is consulting with a wide range of stakeholders, such as people with allergies, parents of children affected by allergies, health professionals caring for these people and clinical immunology/allergy specialists.
“We want to make sure that people across the board, in cities and in rural and remote areas, get the best care possible, so they can manage their allergy and live well,” says Heather.
“It’s generally a lifelong situation for most people, and it’s important to learn to manage it.
“The focus on rural and remote areas is because it is acknowledged that the shortage of professional health workers in general is a problem. Other barriers to good care [include] distance and long travel times to get to the cities.”
Heather says that the Shared Care for Allergy project is also looking at various options to cope with the shortage such as a point of contact that health professionals can tap into to access the available knowledge base, and the potential for outreach allergy clinics, where teams can go out and conduct clinics, perhaps with local health professionals learning ways to take care of their patients on the job.
For consumers: The Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia website allergyfacts.org.au offers resources and a support line (1300 728 000)
For health professionals: The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) is the peak health professional body for allergy in Australia. Their website allergy.org.au has lots of resources for health professionals who want to learn more about allergies and anaphylaxis. Their e‑training can be viewed here: allergy.org.au/hp/hp-e-training
Tovuti hii inaweza si kazi vizuri kutumia matoleo ya zamani ya Edge na Internet Explorer. Unapaswa kuboresha kivinjari chako kwa Chrome ya hivi karibuni, Firefox, Edge, Safari, au kivinjari kingine chochote cha kisasa cha chaguo lako. Bonyeza hapa kwa habari zaidi. Hapa ndipo tunapoelezea hadithi zako, kufunika masuala ya sasa na kukuza mipango yenye maana. Madhara ya mzio yanaongezeka, na ni muhimu kuchukua hatari kwa uzito. Heather Roberts, ambaye alitoa muhtasari katika Mkutano wa 40 wa CRANAplus na amefanya kazi kwa Baraza la Kitaifa la Mzio tangu 2019, anaelezea jinsi wafanyakazi wa afya wa vijijini na mbali wanaweza kupata habari na mafunzo ili kueneza maarifa katika jamii zao. Mmoja kati ya Wauustralia watano ana mzio, mmoja kati ya watoto kumi ana mzio wa chakula <unk> na mzio unaongezeka. "Lakini kuna upungufu wa wataalamu katika uwanja huu, na kuunda vipindi vya kusubiri kwa muda mrefu sana kupata huduma katika hospitali za umma, na vizuizi kwa watu kupata utambuzi sahihi, "Hather anasema. "Kwa kuongezea, kuna kiasi kikubwa cha habari zisizo sahihi zinazozunguka suala la mzio kwa ujumla, ambayo inawachanganya watu. ""Upanuaji wa mzio na aina ya dalili na athari, inamaanisha watu wengine wanaweza kuchukua mzio kwa uzito kama inavyopaswa, ""Hedder anasema." "Kwa hiyo tunahitaji wataalamu wa afya wenye elimu nzuri katika jamii. "" Rasilimali muhimu zinazopatikana kwa wataalamu wa afya ni pamoja na vitabu na rasilimali za msingi wa ushahidi kutoa mwongozo, na fursa za mtandaoni za kufanya elimu na mafunzo kupitia Jumuiya ya Australia ya Immunolojia ya Kliniki na Mzio (ASCIA)." Heather, ambaye amefanya kazi kwa miaka kumi na tano iliyopita kwenye miradi ya kuboresha huduma za afya nchini Australia, anaongoza mradi wa kitaifa wa Shared Care for Allergy ambao unakusudia kuboresha upatikanaji wa huduma za mzio, haswa kwa watu wanaoishi vijijini na maeneo ya mbali. Utunzaji sahihi una athari chanya kwa maisha ya watu, anasema. "Kwa hivyo, ni muhimu sana kwa mtaalamu wa afya kujua ikiwa ni mzio au kitu kingine, na kisha afanye nini baadaye, ""Heter anasema, ""kwa hivyo utambuzi sahihi na usimamizi wa mzio ni muhimu sana." <unk> Bila shaka, ni muhimu kuepuka kisababishi cha mzio, lakini si rahisi sikuzote. Kwa mfano, kwa mtu aliye na mzio wa chakula, ni muhimu kujua jinsi ya kusoma vitambulisho vya bidhaa. Kupata elimu sahihi na msaada wakati huo ni muhimu. Wataalamu wa lishe, hasa wale walio na mafunzo ya ziada juu ya mzio, waweza kusaidia sana. Wazazi pia wanahitaji mwongozo, kuwasaidia watoto wao na kusimamia mzio wao wakati wao ni wadogo, na kuwasaidia watoto wao kujifunza jinsi ya kusimamia mzio wao wanapokuwa wakubwa na kuwa huru zaidi, hasa kama ni mzio mkubwa wa chakula. "Allergy inaweza kusababishwa na vifaa fulani, kama vile latex, na maarifa yanahitajika kushughulikia hali kama vile eczema na rhinitis ya mzio ambayo inaweza kuwa na athari kubwa kwa maisha ya kila siku. ""Hathers, ambaye anafanya kazi kwenye mradi chini ya uongozi wa mtaalamu wa mzio wa watoto kutoka ASIA na mkuu wa shirika la kitaifa la msaada kwa watu wenye mzio (Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia), anawasiliana na wadau mbalimbali, kama vile watu wenye mzio, wazazi wa watoto walioathiriwa na mzio." "Tunataka kuhakikisha kwamba watu wote, katika miji na katika maeneo ya vijijini na ya mbali, hupata huduma bora iwezekanavyo, ili waweze kusimamia mzio wao na kuishi vizuri, ""Hedder anasema." Kwa ujumla ni hali ya maisha kwa watu wengi, na ni muhimu kujifunza jinsi ya kusimamia. <unk>Mkakati juu ya maeneo ya vijijini na ya mbali ni kwa sababu ni kutambuliwa kwamba upungufu wa wafanyakazi wa afya ya kitaaluma kwa ujumla ni tatizo. "Hata hivyo, kuna vikwazo vingine kwa huduma nzuri, ikiwa ni pamoja na umbali na muda mrefu wa kusafiri kwenda miji. ""Heter anasema mradi wa Shared Care for Allergy pia unaangalia chaguzi mbalimbali za kukabiliana na upungufu kama vile hatua ya mawasiliano ambayo wataalamu wa afya wanaweza kutumia ili kupata msingi wa maarifa yanayopatikana, na uwezekano wa kliniki za mzio, ambapo timu zinaweza kwenda nje na kufanya kliniki, labda na wataalamu wa afya wa kujifunza njia za kutunza wagonjwa wao kazini." "Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia (AAP) ni shirika la afya la Australia linalohusika na ""Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia"" (ASA) na linafanya kazi katika maeneo ya afya ya Australia na Australia." Allergy.org ni tovuti ya kitaalamu ya afya ambayo inatoa huduma za matibabu kwa watu wanaohitaji matibabu ya allergy na anaphylaxis. Mafunzo ya e-training yanaweza kuonekana hapa: allergy.org.au