Dr Chris Brennan-Jones from the The Kids Ear Health Team, talks to Health
Minister Roger Cook and the Castle family about the new research project.
Wait times for Aboriginal children suffering recurrent ear infections could be dramatically reduced, from two-and-a-half years to less than four weeks, as part of a new The Kids Research Institute Australia research project.
Otitis media (OM), commonly referred to as middle ear infection or glue ear, affects 650,000 Australian children each year, and Aboriginal children have the highest documented rates of chronic ear infections in the world.
Dr Chris Brennan-Jones, The Kids Research Institute Australia researcher and Princess Margaret Hospital audiologist, is aiming to reduce wait times by leading a project that involves community-based Aboriginal Health Workers assessing children for OM and linking them to ear, nose and throat services at the hospital via telehealth services.
Dr Brennan-Jones from the Ear Health Team in the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, based at The Kids Research Institute Australia, says OM affects approximately half of Aboriginal children and the long wait for treatment brings significant long-term consequences.
“Some children are currently waiting over two years to see a specialist, plus up to a year on top of that if surgery is required. During this time, the infections worsen, hearing loss may increase and children can fall far behind their peers in their speech and language development,” he said.
“When kids can’t hear their learning suffers - leading to issues surrounding education, behaviour, social relationships, employment and other future endeavours. This is why early treatment is so vital, and we need to ensure all children can access the right specialist care, in the right place, at the right time.”
Dr Brennan-Jones has been awarded a National Health and Medicine Research Council Fellowship to conduct this research and has chosen to expand on the great work already achieved by The Kids Research Institute Australia in this area.
“The new project links into existing studies where team members have gone straight into urban Aboriginal communities to see how detection and treatment of ear infections and hearing loss can be improved,” said Dr Brennan-Jones.
“Our previous studies have shown us that using treatment methods that are timely, flexible and easily accessible are the key. In this study, children will be assessed in their own community without the need to wait for an appointment or travel into the city, preventing further damage well before any long-term issues can arise.
“We hope the success of this project can lead the way for new treatment models and make long wait lists a thing of the past for Aboriginal children suffering painful ear infections.”
For more information on the work of the Ear Health team at the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, please visit infectiousdiseases.telethonkids.org.au