Initiatives and Priorities 2019

Priorities | Education Project | Communications / Collaborations

ASCIA Priorities 2019

1. ASCIA Annual Conference

ASCIA Annual Conferences are a highlight of the year for ASCIA members and other health professionals working in allergy, clinical immunology and immunopathology. In 2019 the ASCIA conference was be held in Perth Western Australia, and coincided with ASCIA’s 30th anniversary. For details go to www.ascia2019.com

The ASCIA 2020 Conference is being held from 2-4 September 2020, at the Melbourne Convention Centre. For preliminary information go to www.ascia2020.com

2. ASCIA Education Project

Stage 1: In August 2018 a significant redesign of the ASCIA website was completed and launched. The ASCIA website is a trusted and extremely popular source of information about allergy and other immune diseases. Access to more than 140 ASCIA educational resources was improved by redesigning the website to be more user and mobile device friendly.

Stage 2: In February 2019 new ASCIA Fast Facts on 12 topics were completed and added to the ASCIA website. ASCIA Fast Facts provide bite sized, easy to read and trustworthy information on allergy and other immune diseases for patients, carers and the community. ASCIA Fast Facts have been adapted from existing evidence based ASCIA information and have been developed as part of the ASCIA Education Project. These will be expanded in future to include topics that are most regularly accessed on the ASCIA website. To access ASCIA Fast Facts go to www.allergy.org.au/patients/fast-facts

Stage 3: In May 2019 the updating of more than 60 ASCIA patient information topics was completed. Language was revised to make the information easier to read and understand. For details go to www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/info-updates/ascia-patient-education-resources-reborn

Stage 4: In May 2019 work commenced on updating more than 60 ASCIA health professional resources, including e-training courses, and this project is expected to take at least 12 months to complete. The updating of these resources is essential before evidence-based standards of care can be developed.

For details go to www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/ascia-initiatives#projects

3. ASCIA Submissions, Communications, Collaborations

In 2019 ASCIA has continued to issue regular communications to its members and supporters on relevant and important issues. ASCIA has also continued to liase and collaborate with government and non-government organisations, and make submissions on appropriate issues, including the Parliamentary Inquiry into Allergies and Anaphylaxis. For details go to www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/ascia-initiatives#collab

4. National Immunodeficiency Strategy

A draft National Immunodeficiency Strategy for Australia and New Zealand has been developed, following a meeting of stakeholders in March 2019. This Strategy aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people with primary immunodeficiencies (PID) and minimise the burden on individuals, carers, healthcare services and community.

For details go to www.nationalimmunodeficiencystrategy.org.au

5. National Allergy Strategy

In 2019 ASCIA has continued to promote the 250K youth project www.250k.org.au and the All about Allergens food service project www.foodallergytraining.org.au

ASCIA has also been involved in the national launch of the Nip allergies in the Bub allergy prevention project https://preventallergies.org.au/

For other details go to www.nationalallergystrategy.org.au

6. AIFA Research Grant Program

In 2019 the AIFA grant program has been expanded, with $120,000 in AIFA grants awarded to allergy and immunology research in Australia and New Zealand.

For details go to https://www.allergyimmunology.org.au/projects/#latest

7. Sustainability

As there are currently no cures for allergy and other immune diseases, quality education and training of health professionals, patients, carers and community is vital. ASCIA education and training programs can help save lives, improve health outcomes and reduce the risk of disabilities by providing evidence-based information about:

Preventing allergic reactions to foods, drugs and insects, including life threatening anaphylaxis.
Appropriate treatment of primary immunodeficiencies to reduce life threatening infections and complications.

ASCIA has provided the highest quality education resources and e-training courses for the community and health professionals since 2010. It is important that ASCIA ensures sustainability of these initiatives to help drive improved health outcomes for people with allergy and other immune diseases in Australia and New Zealand.

ASCIA Annual Conference and other Meetings 2019

National Immunodeficiency Strategy meeting in March 2019, hosted by ASCIA, Melbourne, Victoria.
ASCIA DAA-CAL Dietitians Course in March 2019, Brisbane, Queensland.
ASCIA TAPID (Transplantation and Primary Immunodeficiency) project face to face meeting in May 2019, in addition to monthly teleconferences.
APID (ASCIA Primary Immunodeficiency) training meeting in May 2019.
ASCIA 2019 Conference (4-6 September 2019) in Perth, Western Australia. This was held in conjunction with the CFAR Symposium, concurrent sessions for Medical Associates, Nurses Update, Dietitians Update, Immunopathology Update and the ASCIA-DAA CAL Dietitians Course.
ASCIA Council face to face meetings in February, July and September 2019.
ASCIA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in September 2019.
National Allergy Strategy meetings (Anaphylaxis Register, Shared Care Model, launches of Nip allergies in the Bub and All about Allergens - the next step for cooks and chefs).

ASCIA Education Project 2019

In 2019 the ASCIA Education Project will focus on updating and promoting ASCIA resources, to increase use by health professionals, patients and carers. ASCIA educational resources for health professionals, patients, consumers and carers include:

12 ASCIA Fast Facts topics www.allergy.org.au/patients/fast-facts
>60 ASCIA patient articles www.allergy.org.au/patients/information
20 ASCIA e-training courses, including 10 health professional courses www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/about-ascia-e-training
20 ASCIA plans, guides and checklists www.allergy.org.au/hp/ascia-plans-action-and-treatment
>10 ASCIA dietary guides www.allergy.org.au/patients/food-allergy/ascia-dietary-avoidance-for-food-allergy
>20 ASCIA health professional documents
www.allergy.org.au/hp/papers