INTERVENTION IN HEARING LOSS FOR AUSTRALIAN PATIENTS ACROSS CARE SETTINGS AND WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS Audiologist talks about indications for GPs, pharmacists, primary care nurses and specialists.
Lauren McNee, is an Audiologist and National Clinic Coordinator Training Manager at Audika Australia, with over 15 years of extensive experience in the industry. For the past five years, she has been dedicated to providing comprehensive training and support for the audiological team and front desk staff at Audika. Her primary focus is to ensure that clients receive the highest standard of care, aligning with industry-leading practices.
Throughout her career, Lauren has been an advocate for early and routine hearing tests, stressing the importance of integrating them into general medical check-ups, especially for individuals diagnosed with conditions such as diabetes. She firmly believes that proactive screening for hearing loss can significantly impact an individual’s overall well-being and the effectiveness of medical treatments.
In her role, Lauren emphasises the urgency of addressing sudden hearing loss, highlighting the time-sensitive nature of available treatment options. She advises healthcare professionals, including GPs, pharmacists, primary care nurses and specialists, to remain vigilant for subtle signs of hearing loss in their patients. Such signs may include difficulty following prescription guidelines, miscommunication during conversations, or non-verbal cues like a tilt of the head or asking for repetitions.
Furthermore, Lauren underscores the crucial role of professionals in various settings, such as aged care nurses and pharmacists, in identifying and addressing hearing loss issues among their clients in the community.
Beyond her clinical work, Lauren actively promotes the understanding of recreational and commercial noise-induced hearing loss. She highlights the potential long-term consequences of recreational noise exposure, such as prolonged use of earbuds and exposure to loud household and leisure activities.
In commercial settings, Lauren advocates for the proactive use of protective equipment for hearing loss in industries such as mining or construction, where individuals may be exposed to hazardous noise levels without proper protection.
-
The role of genomic screening in transforming public health
Dr Jane Tiller is a lawyer, genetic counsellor and public health researcher. She is Ethical, Legal & Social Adviser in Public Health Genomics at Monash University, and a National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant holder. Jane is passionate about the use of genomics to prevent disease, and in delivering equitable access to preventive genetic information at the population level. She is co-lead of DNA Screen, a world-first study piloting the offer of preventive DNA screening to the Australian adult population. DNA Screen has tested over 10,000 young people for genetic high risk of medically actionable conditions such as cancer and heart disease, finding about 2% of participants had genetic high risk. Jane is leading efforts to secure Commonwealth Government funding to expand the DNA Screen program, with the eventual goal of the development of a public health population screening program for disease prevention based on high genetic risk.
-
Primary care remodelled
Tracey Johnson is the CEO of Inala Primary Care, a not-for-profit general practice located in Inala serving approximately 7000 patients; 4400 of whom attend clinic regularly. Inala is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland and has a population of great cultural and linguistic diversity, with just under 40% of residents speaking English at home. It is also one of Queensland’s most socioeconomically marginalised urban areas.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Tracey on the role of Inala Primary care in reducing hospital admissions.
-
Landmark research projects tackle critical issues in emergency healthcare
For two decades, the demand for emergency department services in Australia has outpaced population growth and wait times have increased. In 2022-2023 more than 8.8 million emergency department presentations occurred nationwide.
While demand is a contributing factor, EDs are currently being impacted by various factors across the entire health system.
The Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) is a non-profit organisation funding innovative Australian research that improves the way people are cared for in a medical emergency. The aim of the research is to deliver better and more effective health services to save lives and money.
