Allied Health Link Round Up Blog – May 2022
- Allied Health Support Services
- May 30, 2022
We here at AHSS always find time to keep our audience up to date with all things allied health! With that being said, here is our monthly LINK ROUND UP BLOG!
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT PAEDIATRICS THIS MONTH!
Pediatric care starts at the infant stage for your child. It has a wide range of responsibilities from conducting regular well-child checkups to diagnosing and treating illnesses, injuries and other health conditions. Here’s a special shout out to all our colleagues working in the Paediatric space!
ARTICLES
Future of paediatric healthcare in Western Sydney unveiled
Premier Dominic Perrottet said, “the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network is the largest provider of paediatric health services in Australia, and this redevelopment will deliver the best paediatric healthcare in the country. This is a once-in-a-generation project that will strengthen our frontline services by delivering world-class healthcare facilities and services for families to provide them with the care and support when they need it most.”
Gardens, playgrounds, family rooms and accommodation for carers are among the highlights of a major expansion being delivered as part of the $619 million Stage 2 redevelopment at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
Australian researchers discover clues to severe cases of Covid-19 in kids
Researchers in Australia have discovered the blood clotting and immune protein pathways that are activated in severe cases of Covid-19 in children, paving the way for earlier diagnosis and more targeted treatments.
The team at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and the University of Melbourne identified disease mechanisms in children with Covid who present with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (where different body parts can become inflamed including the heart, lungs, and brain) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (a type of lung disease).
The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, showed the main triggers for severe Covid in children were blood clotting and how proteins in the immune system reacted to the virus. Read more…
Gov’t funds free access to online parenting resources to support children’s mental wellbeing
Australian parents and caregivers will soon have free access to online resources to support their children’s mental health and wellbeing.
The Australian government’s latest A$40.6 million investment under the Parenting Education and Support grant is funding access to Triple P – Positive Parenting Program. Developed locally, the program has been used by families in over 30 countries for more than four decades.
Triple P, which has been proven to work across cultures, socio-economic groups, and in many family structures, provides parents and caregivers with a range of strategies for supporting children’s healthy development. Read more…
BLOG
Practical Skills to Build Resilience in Children and Teenagers
Excessive stress and anxiety causes a lot of pain for kids and parents alike and can lead to a wide range of issues…
- From worrying thoughts to sleep problems
- Avoiding school, sports or other activities
- Difficulty concentrating and learning
- Sometimes even physical symptoms like fatigue, lightheadedness, upset stomachs or vomiting
And what’s more, if the underlying issues are not addressed, things can worsen over time.
In fact, roughly half of all mental health disorders start by the age of 14. That’s why early intervention is vital.
Read the blog by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services, Port Melbourne
RESEARCH
Gas in scattering media absorption spectroscopy as a potential tool in neonatal respiratory care
Medical applications of laser light technology are an ever-expanding area, enabling the improvement of non-invasive diagnostic and treatment techniques in different areas of medicine. In particular, a technique termed the ‘gas in scattering media absorption spectroscopy’ (GASMAS) detects molecular oxygen within gas pockets and thus may become a beneficial respiratory monitoring and diagnostic tool in clinical practice.
Read the full article here.
Hype up fitness to support kids’ health post-lockdowns, experts urge
Conducted by Newcastle University (UK), the University of South Australia, Edinburgh Napier University, and Murdoch University, the study assessed one-year changes in children’s physical fitness and health-related quality of life and body mass index (BMI) after the 2020 COVID-19 UK lockdowns.
Researchers found that for children 8-10 years old:
- 51 percent of children were classed as ‘unfit’ (compared with 35 percent at baseline)
- 47 percent of children were overweight or obese (compared with 33 percent at baseline)
- Children’s body mass increased by an average of 6.8 kg, about twice the amount expected in this time period.
Read the full article here.
Peruse our awesome Allied Health blog offerings here!
RESOURCES
To be up to date in the paediatrics space, take a look at these resources.
Educator specific training and workshops – Growing Early Minds
Growing Early Minds provides direct, tailored early childhood educator training, workshops, and support programs. Customised for teachers and educators from child care centres, preschools, out-of-school hours services, primary schools, and high schools.
Check out their compiled resources here.
Health industry training for Townsville & North Queensland
Alliance Rehabilitation offers a range of corporate training services for groups requiring Continuing Professional Development. Training may be provided to:
- General workplace staff (office, warehouse, construction)
- Allied health professionals
- Support workers and nursing staff
- University students
- Community organisations and support groups
- Families and individuals
Check out their website here.
Resources and support for the Child Safe Standards – Commission for Children and Young People
Commission for Children and Young People has compiled resources and support to help organisations comply with the Standards.
Have a look at all the articles here!
Grand Rounds hosted by CHA
Every week, in various children’s hospitals and paediatric units across Australia and New Zealand, some excellent presentations are shared about child health and well-being. But too often, they can only be accessed by staff of the health service at which the presenter works.
CHA is proud to be partnering with our members to make the best child and adolescent-focused Grand Rounds talks accessible to a wide audience from across the CHA community. With presenters’ consent, we have created a new ‘Grand Rounds’ forum in the CHA member’s Community.
Grand Rounds cover a vast array of topics and issues in children’s health and care.
Access their website here.
MACA’s Resources
Introducing MACA’s resources! They have developed a range of practical resources to help support families and meet professional obligations.
They have useful templates, forms, and other resources for health professionals and organisations.
Access their website here.
Children’s Health Queensland
Children’s Health Queensland: a statewide network of health services and professionals delivering world-class care for Queensland kids.
Allied Health Support Services has a library of FREE resources for health professionals! Topics range from business and marketing to neurological rehabilitation and paediatrics. Sign up today to access amazing resources, podcasts, webinars and blogs for FREE!
ALLIED HEALTH EVENTS
Trauma Informed Practice for Young People with Complex Support Needs – AASW
This 3-hour interactive virtual workshop gives an opportunity for social workers to refresh and learn through experiential activities, case study reflections, and delivery of knowledge.
It explores the essentials of trauma-informed practice, including an awareness of trauma followed by putting this into direct practice experience and examples, encouraging social workers to work through case scenarios in a step-by-step reflection using what they have learned from the earlier parts of the session.
Date: 07 June 2022 (Virtual)
Supporting children who have disclosed trauma
This webinar will explore:
- how self-blame operates and how perpetrators may manipulate children to blame themselves
- how to help children challenge feelings of complicity in their trauma experiences by focusing directly on the power difference between children and adults
- children’s stories of protests or choices they have made throughout their experiences that kept themselves, or their loved ones, safe, to acknowledge that no child is a passive recipient of trauma.
This webinar is of interest to professionals working specifically with children who have experienced trauma or who work with infants and young children, and/or their caregivers, across early learning and care services, maternal and child health and other family support services.
This webinar is co-produced by CFCA and Emerging Minds.
Date: 08 June 2022 (Virtual)
2022 OT Exchange
Designed to be accessible and approachable, the OT Exchange is an inclusive event for all working within the broad spectrum that is occupational therapy. The OT Exchange will foster relationships, spread important ideas and ignite discussions amongst peers.
At its core, the OT Exchange is an interactive conference where participants are encouraged to contribute and employ ideas of value. It is designed so that all participants—whether they are practitioners, students, managers, educators or academics—will implement solutions into their own work.
The OT Exchange is themed around three key concepts of Learn, Practise and Enrich. Learn supports the evidence-based approach at the core of our profession. Practise focuses on the application of that knowledge and learning.
Date: 09 – 10 June (Melbourne)
Sydney Disability Connection Expo 2022
The Sydney Disability Connection Expo 2022 Presented by Afford, on February 4th and 5th, can change lives by bringing hundreds of NDIS business providers and thousands of participants together under one roof for two fantastic days of fun and information.
The event focused on supporting Participants to access Disability Service Providers, Early Intervention, Allied Health, Capacity Building, Therapeutic, Disability/Complex Case Services for Aged and Child Care, as well as, all things NDIS.
Date: 01 – 02 July 2022 (ICC Sydney 14 Darling Drive Sydney)
Sounds~Write is an evidence-based phonics program utilising an exciting and highly successful approach to the teaching of reading and spelling. This four day intensive course offers an instructional method that is structured, cumulative, sequential and explicit; all of which are strongly recommended for teaching children to read and spell. Progressing through Initial Code to Extended Code, the training includes clearly structured, easy to follow lesson plans, a complete program, manual and printable resources. Sounds-Write is developmentally appropriate for beginning readers in Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2, and also offers fast and highly effective intervention for children at all year levels who have fallen behind with their reading and spelling from Year 3 onwards.
Date: 29 August 2022 (St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary school – 6 Fryer Street North Ward QLD)
FEATURED EVENT
Australian Paediatric Palliative Care Conference
This inaugural event is a deliverable of the Paediatric Palliative Care National Action Plan Project and is proudly hosted by Palliative Care Australia (PCA) and Paediatric Palliative Care Australia and New Zealand (PaPCANZ).
The Paediatric Palliative Care Project represents a unique opportunity to build the capacity of the Australian health care system to respond to the specialist needs of infants, children and young people with life-limiting conditions. The project brings together two peak bodies with the capability and content knowledge to deliver outcomes crucial to enhancing palliative care for infants, children and young people. The conference aims to present a comprehensive program to share knowledge, skills and experiences, specifically for paediatric palliative care across Australia and New Zealand.
Happening October 13th – 14th, 2022!
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Sarena Jones
Director @ Allied Health Support Services
Founder @Australian Allied Health Awards
