ASCIA has been progressing work on the following National Allergy Council projects since July 2022:

• Shared Care for Allergy project - The aim of this project is to improve access to quality healthcare for people with allergies, particularly in regional, rural and remote areas.
• Schools and Children’s Education/Care (CEC) Services project - The aim of this project is to provide consistent guidelines and improve knowledge about management of allergies and anaphylaxis in schools and CEC services. 

.The following information summarises the progress of ASCIA’s involvement in the projects as at 1 June 2023.

Increased Staff Capacity

• ASCIA employed two project officers to work on the National Allergy Council projects who 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 and contractors are working to progress work on the National Allergy Council projects.  

Shared Care for Allergy project

ASCIA’s involvement in the National Allergy Council Shared Care for Allergy project includes education and training of health professionals, to improve knowledge about allergies and anaphylaxis. 

Gap Analysis – Resource Management

A comprehensive review of ASCIA website resources accessible to patients, carers and health professionals has been completed on 31 May 2023. Each individual resource has been catalogued in a spreadsheet that now forms an integral part of the collaborative gap analysis. This spreadsheet will be maintained and updated on a continual basis as new and revised resources become available.  The intention is to have this available open access on the ASCIA website www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/website-information#s1

Promotion of Patient/Carer Support Organisations 

ASCIA Fast Facts are the first online resources for patients and carers that have been reviewed and updated in 2023 to ensure that plain language is used where possible and the following information is included at the start of each allergy document: For patient or carer support contact Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia or Allergy New Zealand (including weblinks). The updated ASCIA Fast Facts on 20 topics are available online at www.allergy.org.au/patients/fast-facts 

Shared Care Consultation Meetings

ASCIA has actively promoted the consultation meetings to ASCIA members and other health professionals through e-newsletters, direct email and social media. This has resulted in a range of health professionals being well represented at these meetings throughout Australia. Feedback to ASCIA from meeting participants has been positive and they welcomed the opportunity to provide input.

Gap Analysis – Anaphylaxis and Allergy Training

ASCIA has progressed an extensive gap analysis to scope the current anaphylaxis and allergy training provided to undergraduate students for a range of  health disciplines. ASCIA will engage with relevant stakeholders to determine the benefits, enablers and barriers for incorporating anaphylaxis and allergy training into undergraduate courses.

Surveys have been developed in Qualtrics to determine the current anaphylaxis and allergy training in undergraduate health professional degrees:

• Survey 1 in July 2023 for recent graduates to understand their undergraduate experience of anaphylaxis and allergy training. This survey will be implemented by promotion through health professional organisations, e-newsletters, direct email and social media. 
• Survey 2 in August 2023 for representatives from institutions. It is our intention to implement the survey by contacting relevant stakeholders. ASCIA has developed a comprehensive list of contacts for tertiary institutions that provide degrees for health disciplines which are approved by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). 

Surveys evaluating ASCIA anaphylaxis and allergy e-training courses for health professionals have also been undertaken:

• Reports are currently being compiled usung data from December 2021 to December 2022.
• Data collected from January 2023 to June 2023 will be analysed and a report will be developed.
• Further reports will be developed from survey data collected on a six monthly basis.

The results of all of the surveys listed above will be summarised in reports to:

• Highlight factors influencing the decision to incorporate anaphylaxis and allergy training in undergraduate degrees.
• Provide insights into the benefits of including anaphylaxis and allergy training for future health professionals.
• Outline potential improvements in ASCIA e-training courses based on feedback in the reports on ASCIA anaphylaxis and allergy e-training courses for health professionals.
• Provide feedback to assist in developing consistent minimum standards/competencies for anaphylaxis and allergy training across institutions.

Schools and Children’s Education/Care (CEC) Project

ASCIA’s involvement in the National Allergy Council Schools and CEC project includes education and training of staff in schools and CEC services, to improve knowledge about management of allergies and anaphylaxis. 

Surveys

• A survey for people studying and/or working within the education industry (schools and children’s education/care services) has been developed to determine how anaphylaxis training is being provided in undergraduate education courses throughout Australia. This survey is available to complete during June 2023 at www.allergy.org.au/schools-childcare. This survey is being promoted through stakeholders, e-newsletters, direct email and social media. 
• Reports are currently being compiled based on evaluation survey data from ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training courses for staff working in schools and CEC services from December 2021 to December 2022.
• Data collected from January 2023 to June 2023 from ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training courses for staff working in schools and CEC services will be analysed and a report will be developed. Further reports will be developed from survey data collected on a six monthly basis.

The results of these surveys will be summarised in reports to:

• Highlight factors influencing the decision to incorporate anaphylaxis training in undergraduate degrees.
• Provide insights into the benefits of including anaphylaxis training for future educators.
• Outline potential improvements in ASCIA e-training courses based on feedback.
• Provide feedback to assist in developing consistent minimum standards/competencies for anaphylaxis training across institutions.

This news item was issued on 10 May 2023 and updated on 1 June 2023 by Jill Smith, CEO of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA). ASCIA is the peak professional body for clinical immunology and allergy in Australia and New Zealand.