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Fourth edition of the ATSIPI Ear Health Manual

January 14, 2020 News

Clinical Professor Harvey Coates has published the fourth edition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Pacific Islander (ATSIPI) Ear Health Manual, a vital tool for those working to close the gap for ATSIPI ear and hearing health, particularly in remote communities. The manual was created with assistance of a GPRWMF Special Projects grant.

Hearing loss affects the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people disproportionately, due to high levels of undiagnosed and/or untreated childhood ear disease. The manual offers healthcare providers the latest ear health knowledge in a comprehensive, yet easy to understand manual for diagnosing and treating Otitis Media (a middle ear disease, behind the eardrum), and related hearing issues.

Updates to the fourth edition include:

  • Updated Otitis Media guidelines
  • Online resource links for healthcare providers and parents
  • Additional section for Pacific Islanders
  • Typical examples of middle ear disease

Professor Coates has worked with a broad range of experts to complete this Manual, including those from the Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in Ear and Hearing Health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children, and Dr Oh Chunghyeon and Annette Kaspar, who assisted with the new Pacific Islander section. “The CRE’s work on the new 2017 Otitis Media Guidelines has been truly commendable,” says Professor Coates “Their OM-APP is brilliant!” the OM-APP being a smartphone app for use by clinicians and health workers managing Otitis Media in ATSIPI children (available on Google Play or the Apple App Store).

Whilst the focus of the Manual is on improving Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Pacific Islander communities, its information is applicable to the broader world, with copies of the Manual being planned to ship to Nepal and the World Health Organisation. Copies have already made their way to Zimbabwe, with Harvey also contemplating attending the world’s largest paediatric ENT meeting this May to further distribute copies to colleagues from third world countries.

Copies of the Manual will be available at the next ASOHNS meeting and Frontiers 2020. A digital copy is available via this link.

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