Information updates

A series of consultation meetings are being held for the National Allergy Council Shared Care project in May and June 2023. This project aims to improve access to quality healthcare for people with allergies, particularly in regional, rural and remote areas. ASCIA’s involvement in the project includes education and training of health professionals.

To register for a consultation meeting being held in May and June 2023 go here.

To subscribe to communications about this project go to Shared care for allergy bulletin.

Thank you to our generous supporters, who have enabled the Allergy and Immunology Foundation of Australasia (AIFA) to offer eight research grants to ASCIA members in 2023.. 

The 2023 AIFA grant round is now open and expressions of interest are due by 5 May 2023.

Grants to be awarded in September 2023 are as follows:

• $20,000  Professor Ann Kupa AIFA Food Allergy Research Grant 
• $15,000  DBV Technologies AIFA Food Allergy Research Grant 
• $15,000 CSL Behring AIFA PID Clinical Research Grant 
• $15,000 CSL Behring AIFA HAE Clinical Research Grant 
• $40,000 (4 x $10,000) AIFA Research Grants 

The four grants of $10,000 are to get new research projects off the ground. They are available to Early Career Researchers which include:

• Early career scientist researchers
• Emerging clinician researchers (such as advanced trainees)
• Other health professionals (dietitians, nurses, pharmacists)

Grants are awarded as part of a competitive research grant program. 

To find out how to submit an expression of interest for an AIFA grant in 2023 read more here

AIFA ensures that 100% of donations and sponsorship goes directly to fund grants for allergy and immunology research. Read more here

The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) and Dietitians Australia (DA) Centre for Advanced Learning (CAL) recently hosted the 'Medical Nutrition Therapy in Food Allergy and Intolerance' course.  Congratulations and thank you to the team of ASCIA dietitians who were educators (see below) in this two day in-person course.

The course was held in Melbourne from Thursday 2nd March to Friday 3rd March 2023 (8:30am - 5:00pm) and attended by more than 40 delegates. The course has previously been held in Canberra (September 2018), Brisbane (March 2019) and Perth (September 2019).  

Due to the high demand (the Melbourne course was sold out), we are planning to host the course in Sydney in late 2023, Adelaide in early 2024 and Auckland in late 2024.

This course is presented in an interactive case study format and has been designed for dietitians with an allergy caseload or wanting to upskill in food allergy and intolerance, who work in private practice, community and hospital-based dietitians. The course can also be used as a refresher if you are returning to practice within this area.  The course is worth 24 CPD hours.  

Educators

Kathy Beck is a paediatric dietitian at ChildD (Child Health in Life & Disease Dietetics). She has expertise in food allergy and a passion to support families living with food allergy. Kathy is the chair of the Dietitian Committee of Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA). In this role, Kathy works with ASCIA members to produce clinical and consumer resources, in addition to supporting other dietitians working in food allergy. Kathy is also a member of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical immunology (EAACI).

Dr Vicki McWilliam is a clinical dietitian and Clinician-Scientist Fellow at the Royal Children’s Hospital/Murdoch Children Research Institute in Melbourne Australia. Vicki is a member of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) and a past chair of the Dietitians Committee. She is a member of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical immunology (EAACI) and an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian member of Dietitians Australia. Vicki is involved in clinical management of families with food allergy, teaching and training, resource development, industry consultation and food allergy management within foodservice. Vicki’s research interest is developing and initiating research trials that explore dietary interventions for food allergy prevention and treatment.

Dr Merryn Netting is an experienced clinical paediatric dietitian and Research Fellow based at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Merryn is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian member of Dietitians Australia (DA). Merryn works as a senior project officer for the National Allergy Council. Her research focuses on the influence of early life nutrition on long term health.

Anna Richards has a background in hospital and community dietetics and has been in private practice since 1997. Anna combines the passion of good nutrition with her passion for good food. Anna is well known for her specialist work in Allergy and Intolerance in children and adults. She works closely with Auckland’s key Allergy Specialists to care for clients all over the country and is a member of national and international boards and medical panels. Anna has specialist skills in paediatric nutrition and dietetics and a unique understanding of families and children’s nutrition issues.

Caroline South is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) who works at the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) in Melbourne as well as private practice. She has over 10 years' experience working in the area of paediatric food allergy and is passionate about providing practical and evidence-based advice to children and their families, as well as working with the hospital foodservice department to optimise food allergy management. She is also the deputy char of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) dietitians committee and is involved in resource development, education and training. 

Marianne Tomlin is a Melbourne based APD, with extensive experience in childhood food allergies both in the UK and Australia. Marianne has a particular interest in feeding difficulties in children with food allergies and has recently established a new allergy feeding clinic at Monash Children's Hospital where she has helped set up the new paediatric allergy clinic service. Marianne also works privately from Kids Nutrition Clinic and Offspring Health. Out of work, Marianne is a keen cyclist and enjoys exploring Melbourne with her husband and two boys. 

Amanda Jackson is a clinical dietitian with over 14 years' experience, including 10 years working with adults with complex food allergies, intolerances, gastrointestinal conditions, and immune disorders. She is the senior dietitians in the Clinical Immunology and Allergy Department at Royal Melbourne Hospital and runs a private clinic at Melbourne Allergy Asthma and Immunology Consultants. In her current roles Amanda is involved in resource development, teaching, training and more recently project management for a multi-centre immunodeficiency research trial. Amanda is an active member of Dietitians Australia, the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) and sits on the healthcare advisory panel for the Immune Deficiency Foundation of Australia. 

Learning outcomes

• Appraise the complexity of diagnosis and management of IgE mediated food allergy, non-IgE mediated food allergy and various presentations of food intolerance across the lifespan,
• Recognise the importance of collaboration with other HPs in the allergy care team for optimal patient care in food allergy and intolerance.  
• Formulate appropriate and safe evidence-based nutrition care plans within the scope of practice, for patients with food allergy and food intolerance.
• Integrate reinforcement of medical management and practical skills regarding label reading, food preparation and eating away from home into patient management of food allergy, including the food service setting.
• Integrate available resources to enhance assessment, education, and nutritional intervention for patients with food allergy and food intolerance.  

Invitation for Public Submissions: An Australian Living Guideline for the Pharmacological Management of Inflammatory Arthritis: Draft for Public Consultation (Version 3.0)

Organisations and members of the public with an interest in the pharmacological management of inflammatory arthritis are invited to submit their comments and suggestions on Version 3.0 of the draft guideline to help inform and contribute to its development.

The draft guideline can be viewed at:

https://app.magicapp.org/#/guideline/LqRV3n (a pdf of the guideline may also be accessed HERE)

Submissions should be made via: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Inflammatory_Arthritis_Living_Guideline_Feedback_Survey_Version_3

Period of Public Consultation:  Tuesday, 14 March to Sunday, 30 April 2023.

About the Guideline:

An Australian Living Guideline for the Pharmacological Management of Inflammatory Arthritis seeks to present the best available, current scientific evidence to assist decision making in the pharmacological management of the most common forms of inflammatory arthritis (IA), namely rheumatoid arthritis (RA), axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

The guideline is being produced by the Australia and New Zealand Musculoskeletal (ANZMUSC) Clinical Trials Network, the Australian Rheumatology Association (ARA) and Cochrane Musculoskeletal. From 2019 to 2022 guideline development was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health through the Value in Prescribing (VIP) bDMARDs Program Grant, awarded to the Targeted Therapies Alliance led by NPS MedicineWise. Current support is being provided by the NHMRC Australia and New Zealand Musculoskeletal (ANZMUSC) Clinical Trials Network Centre of Research Excellence (2023-27), Cochrane Musculoskeletal and the Victorian Government via the Australian Living Evidence Consortium.

Versions 1.0 and 2.0 of this living guideline were approved by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) on 7 July 2021 and 5 August 2022, respectively. Approval is now being sought for 'Version 3.0' of the guideline under Section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992. The approval process requires a public consultation period (legislated minimum of 30 days) to allow relevant authorities and stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback about the draft guideline, thereby contributing to its development.

'Version 3.0'of this living guideline comprises an additional three recommendations relating to:

· Subcutaneous or intramuscular methotrexate (MTX) versus oral MTX for people with rheumatoid arthritis (refer Section 6)

· Choice of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) in people with rheumatoid arthritis who have not responded to tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors (refer Section 7)

· Short-term bridging glucocorticoid therapy as an adjunct to DMARD therapy in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (refer Section 11.3)

As a living guideline, further recommendations relating to topics and questions identified as having highest clinical relevance to medical practitioners who treat IA will continue to be added and existing recommendations updated.

Further information can be viewed at:

· Technical Report

· Dissemination Plan

ASCIA has planned the following events, to coincide with World Primary Immunodeficiency (PID) Week (22-29 April 2023) and the International Day of Immunology (29 April 2023):

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ASCIA anaphylaxis, allergy and immunodeficiency e-training courses for health professional, schools, children’s education/care services and community are:

• Accessible - online and free of charge
• Consistent - used throughout Australia and New Zealand
• Evidence based - courses are regularly reviewed and updated, in response to requests, recommendations, changes in clinical and academic expert consensus, new published literature and product updates..

To help ASCIA to continue improving these courses a short survey is now included at the end of each of the courses, which will only take a few minutes to complete. All information collected will be anonymous.  Improvements made as a result of feedback will be undertaken as part of ASCIA's involvement in the National Allergy Council (NAC) Share Care Model (SCM) project and the NAC Schools/Childcare project. 

ASCIA’s involvement in the National Allergy Council Schools and Childcare project includes education and training of staff in schools and Children's Education/Care (CEC) Services. 

The following information summarises the progress of ASCIA’s involvement in the project as at 9 February 2023, in regards to: 

• Increasing the uptake of ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training for schools and CEC
• Scoping education undergraduate training

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ASCIA’s involvement in the National Allergy Council Shared Care for Allergy project includes education and training of health professionals. The aim of this project is to improve access to quality healthcare for people with allergies, particularly in regional, rural and remote areas.

The following information summarises the progress of ASCIA’s involvement in the project as at 8 February 2023, in regards to:

1. Scoping of undergraduate education and training for health professionals 
2. Review of existing ASCIA education and training resources
3. Stakeholder consultation to identify education needs via surveys
4. CPD point allocation for training courses and programs
5. Promotion of patient support organisations through training and other mechanisms
6. Providing support to users of ASCIA e-training courses
7. MBS Item numbers for food and drug challenges
8. Development of new training resources and programs including case-based programs
9. ASCIA nominations to National Allergy Council Shared Care for Allergy project working party
10. ASCIA staffing for National Allergy Council Shared Care for Allergy project

1. Scoping of undergraduate education and training for health professionals

Whilst we are aware that some undergraduate courses include ASCIA e-training, we do not know the extent of this, and if is mandatory or optional.

To scope the benefits, enablers and barriers for incorporating allergy training into undergraduate training for medical and other health professionals, ASCIA will:

• Conduct a gap analysis to determine current allergy education being provided in universities.
• Engage with relevant stakeholders to determine the benefits, enablers and barriers for incorporating allergy training into undergraduate training.
• Work with other medical organisations to develop minimum competencies.
• Provide a report with the findings of the above activities.

2. Review of existing ASCIA education and training resources

The ASCIA website was significantly updated in late 2022 to improve the user experience and make it easier to find more than 400 online resources and courses, which include:

• 160 ASCIA information topics for patients, carers and community (140 anaphylaxis and allergy; 20 immunodeficiency and autoimmunity)
• 130 ASCIA resources for health professionals (108 anaphylaxis and allergy; 22 immunodeficiency)
• 100 ASCIA anaphylaxis resource translations
• 23 ASCIA Action, First Aid, Management, Travel and Treatment Plans (19 anaphylaxis and allergy; 4 immunodeficiency)
• 20 ASCIA e-training courses for health professionals, schools, children's education/care (CEC) and  community (17 anaphylaxis and allergy; 3 immunodeficiency)
• Links to 13 animation videos about allergy/anaphylaxis (10) and immunodeficiency (3)
• Monthly ASCIA Update e-newsletters
• Regular information updates

The process for reviewing, developing and updating ASCIA online resources and training has been documented and this information is available on the ASCIA website www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/website-information

3. Stakeholder consultation to identify education needs via surveys

ASCIA will obtain feedback data from evaluation surveys, which will be collated and reviewed in 2023. ASCIA e-training surveys used to be optional, whereas they now need to be completed before users obtain their certificate of course completion.

In 2023 ASCIA will be collecting more data, which will include the following initiatives: 

• To obtain feedback from ASCIA members about ASCIA online resources, education and training a survey was sent to all ASCIA members in December 2022. Responses were received from 40% of ASCIA members by the deadline of 31 January 2023, and these will be summarised in a report by the end of March 2023.
• To obtain stakeholder feedback about ASCIA online resources, education and training a similar survey will be sent to non-ASCIA members who subscribe to the ASCIA community newsletter.
• To obtain feedback about ASCIA anaphylaxis, food allergy, allergic rhinitis and allergen immunotherapy e-training courses for health professionals a short survey is now included at the end of the courses, which will only take users a few minutes to complete before they obtain their certificate of course completion. All information collected will be anonymous, and courses can be accessed here
• To obtain feedback about ASCIA anaphylaxis, food allergy and allergic rhinitis e-training courses for pharmacists a short survey is now included at the end of the courses, which will only take users a few minutes to complete before they obtain their certificate of course completion. All information collected will be anonymous and courses can be accessed here

The following ASCIA meetings will also be oppportunities to obtain feedback on ASCIA online resources and courses:

• ASCIA-DA Food Allergy Course for Dietitians - 2 to 3 March 2023
• ASCIA 2023 Conference Allergy Update for Medical Practitioners - 8 September 2023
• ASCIA 2023 Conference Allergy Updates for Nurses and Dietitians - 8 September 2023

4. CPD point allocation for training courses and programs 

• ASCIA e-training courses have been updated in January 2023 to include the new evaluation surveys.
• These surveys include questions in the health professional courses that are required for RACGP CPD point allocation.
• In February 2023 ASCIA will apply to the RACGP (for the 2023-2025 triennium), ACCRM, PSA and other relevant organisations for CPD point allocation. 

5. Promotion of patient support organisations through training and other mechanisms 

ASCIA online resources for health professionals, patients and carers will be reviewed and updated in 2023-2024 to ensure that plain language is used where possible and to include the following information at the start of each document:

For patient or carer support contact Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia or Allergy New Zealand.

This information has also been included in ASCIA e-training courses.

6. Providing support to users of ASCIA e-training courses 

Users of ASCIA e-training courses continue to be supported through:

• Online feedback form
• Direct email
• Website updates
• Newsletter information
• ASCIA responding to feedback from the new evaluation surveys.

7. MBS Item numbers for food and drug challenges

ASCIA is in the process of requesting recommendations regarding consultants with experience in applying for MBS item numbers for procedures. In the meantime ASCIA has developed the following resources (mostly in 2022), which will be important to reference in the MBS item number applications:

• ASCIA Position Paper - Food Allergen Challenges
• Food Allergen Challenges FAQ  
• ASCIA Consent Form - Food Allergen Challenges 
• Antibiotic Allergy Challenges FAQ 
• Antibiotic Allergy Challenges Consent Form 

An ASCIA Position Paper for Drug Allergy Challenges is under development and is expected to be completed by the end of March 2023.

8. Development of new training resources and programs including case-based programs

In 2023 ASCIA will expand its CPD opportunities for ASCIA members, by facilitating clinical case review groups for clinical immunology/allergy specialists and immunology/allergy advanced trainees via the existing Paediatric Immunology and Allergy Interest Group (PIAIG) and the new Adult Immunology and Allergy Interest Group (AIAIG).

Facilitating these case review groups will provide ASCIA with experience and knowledge that can be transferred to upskilling other health professionals (including non ASCIA members) in anaphylaxis and allergy. These case discussion groups may be offered to health professionals who attend the following meetings (as a follow up to the meetings):

• ASCIA-DA Food Allergy Course for Dietitians - 2 to 3 March 2023
• ASCIA 2023 Conference Allergy Update for Medical Practitioners - 8 September 2023
• ASCIA 2023 Conference Allergy Updates for Nurses and Dietitians - 8 September 2023

9. ASCIA nominations to National Allergy Council Shared Care for Allergy project working party

• In response to the call for nominations, a total of 13 expressions of interest were received from ASCIA members for 3 positions.
• These positions have now been appointed and are listed on the National Allergy Council website https://nationalallergystrategy.org.au/about-us/project-working-groups

10. ASCIA staffing for National Allergy Council Shared Care for allergy project

• ASCIA has now employed two project officers to work on the National Allergy Council projects who have commenced work on 1^st March 2023, as listed on the ASCIA website  www.allergy.org.au/members/committees#d
• In addition, existing ASCIA staff (equivalent to 1 FTE) and contractors are working to progress work on the National Allergy Council projects.