What does microbiology have to do with the Hearing for Learning Initiative (HfLI)?
Amanda J. Leach A *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Menzies School of Health Research, PO Box 41096, Casuarina, NT 0811, Australia.
Professor Amanda Leach, AM, is leader of the Ear Health Research Program, Child Health Division at the Menzies School of Health Research, in Darwin, NT, Australia. Professor Leach led the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Otitis Media and Hearing Loss in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. She also led the 2020 revision of the OM Guidelines including an OM app, now endorsed as a Guideline by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Professor Leach is Joint Chair with Professor Kelvin Kong, for the Hearing for Learning Initiative – a funding partnership between The Balnaves Foundation, the Northern Territory Government, and the Australian Government. In 2021, Amanda was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for her research. |
* Correspondence to: Amanda.leach@menzies.edu.au
Microbiology Australia 43(3) 108-112 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA22035
Submitted: 26 July 2022 Accepted: 15 September 2022 Published: 3 October 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the ASM. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Where would we be without microbiology in tackling the high prevalence of otitis media (OM; middle ear infection) and disabling hearing loss that disadvantage Australian First Nations children living in remote communities? Understanding the microbiology of OM in this population has been critical in directing innovative clinical trials research and developing appropriate evidence-based practice guidelines. While these processes are critical to reducing disadvantage associated with OM and disabling hearing loss, a remaining seemingly insurmountable gap has remained, threatening progress in improving the lives of children with ear and hearing problems. That gap is created by the crisis in primary health care workforce in remote communities. Short stay health professionals and fly-in fly-out specialist services are under-resourced to manage the complex needs of the community, including prevention and treatment of otitis media and hearing loss rehabilitation. Hence the rationale for the Hearing for Learning Initiative – a workforce enhancement model to improve sustainability, cultural appropriateness, and effectiveness of evidence-based ear and hearing health care for young children in remote settings. This paper summarises the role of microbiology in the pathway to the Hearing for Learning Initiative.
Keywords: Aboriginal, antimicrobial resistance, child, clinical trial, guideline, hearing loss, non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae, otitis media, Streptococcus pneumoniae.
References
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