Update 081029 cd update 17

Chronic Disease Update 17 30 October 08 Please note: for all attachments visit: http://newsletters.gpqld.com.au//index.php?action=view&view=38720 NEWS
Joke of the Week
Nursing Home
Did you hear that nursing homes are starting to give Viagra to the old men living there? It's to keep them from rolling out of bed. Moving Ahead. Report of the 2006-2007 Annual Survey of Divisions of General Practice
This report is now available online and provides a comprehensive national overview of Divisions of General Practice activities for the 2006-2007 financial year. Key findings relating to management of chronic disease can be located in chapter 8. Click here to access chapter
8.
To access a copy of the full report, click here. Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Program Update
Follow-up from Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Program Orientation Workshop
An orientation workshop for the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Program was held on 22nd October. Twenty Eight representatives from 15 of the 18 Divisions attended the workshop. A detailed overview of the program components and program implementation was provided. Open discussions were undertaken with Division representatives to identify AGPN and GPQ support strategies to assist Divisions to implement the program at a local level. Small group discussions were also undertaken to discuss potential barriers and enablers to implementation and potential strategies for both Divisions and GPQ to address barriers. A number of issues and queries were raised at the workshop. GPQ is in the process of collating the information and ideas discussed and following up on any queries or issues that were not addressed at the workshop. This information will be provided to AGPN for consideration and GPQ will liaise with AGPN to respond to any issues or questions not addressed at the workshop. Once collated and prepared, the following will be disseminated to the Queensland Divisions Network: A copy of all the resources provided at the workshop A copy of the presentation provided at the workshop A response to any issues and questions that were not addressed at the workshop A summary of the workshop evaluation results In the meantime, if you have any question please contact Sabrina Ostowari (sostowari@gpqld.com.au) on 07 3105 8300 or via email. Media Release Template for the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Program
As part of AGPNs network communications strategy, a media release template has been developed for use by the
Divisions Network to promote the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Program. Click here for a copy of the media
release template.

Accreditation of Reset Your Life Program
On 1 October 08, a formal process for accrediting Lifestyle Modification Programs (LMP) came into effect. All
accreditation information and forms have been uploaded to the AGPN website. The Reset Your Life program which
has been rolled out to the Division Network has already been accredited. Reset Your Life facilitators will not be
required to complete accreditation forms and submit it to the Department of Health and Aging as AGPN has
already undertaken this process.
In order for AGPN to register each health professional trained in the Reset Your Life program as an accredited provider and supply them with a certificate of accreditation, details regarding their qualifications, first aid qualifications and experience in delivering group based education will need to be provided. An email has been sent to all Reset Your Life providers requesting this information. Once this information has been provided, providers will receive a certificate of completion and accreditation. Click here for a list of the Reset You Life Facilitators in Queensland.
Further Information or Support
For further information or support, please contact Sabrina Ostowari (sostowari@gpqld.com.au), Program Coordinator – Chronic Disease, on 07 3105 8300 or visit the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Program Page.
Consultation events for the Queensland Health funded 'Improving the Physical Health of
People with a Severe Mental Illness' project ongoing
Consultation events for this project are ongoing with two further events taking place last week with stakeholders from Brisbane North (22nd October) and Brisbane South (23rd October) regarding the ‘Improving the Physical Health of People with a Severe Mental Illness’ project discussion paper. The Brisbane North event, facilitated by GPpartners was attended by nearly 60 stakeholders, ranging from local GPs, District Mental Health Services (DMHSs), private allied health providers, non-government and community organisations and consumers and carers. The Brisbane South event, facilitated by Brisbane South Division of General Practice (BSDGP) received approximately 30 attendees, including GPs, DMHSs, private mental health, allied health providers, non-government and community organisations. Thank you to Linda Pullen, Shelley Kleinhans (GPpartners) and Kathie Jenson (Moreton Bay General Practice Network) for their contribution to the Brisbane North event and to Carmel McNeill and Maureen Thorne (BSDGP) for organising the Brisbane South event. Both events generated a lot of useful discussion for inclusion in the final report to Queensland Health, due at the end of December 2008. The final consultation event for this project took place in Townsville on 28th October 2008 with online consultations for both consumers and health care providers remaining open until November 7th 2008. Online consultations can be accessed here: http://www.gpqld.com.au/page/Programs/Mental_Health/Improving_the_Physical_Health_of_People_with_a_Severe_Mental_Illness_Project/ Statewide Diabetes Clinical Network
It has been a busy time for the Statewide Diabetes Clinical Network. On the 23rd October, the Steering Committee met to discuss a number of issues including Innovation Projects and review of the Type 2 Diabetes Standard Care Pathway for endorsement. On Friday the 24th October, the Statewide Diabetes Clinical Network Forum was held at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. The Forum was very well attended, with Network members from across the State enjoying an informative and interactive event. The day began with an overview of Network activities and a discussion of the draft standards for diabetes services. The midday session followed, with survey results for the Clinical Practice Improvement Payment for diabetes and the Queensland Health approach to the use of insulin pumps. In the afternoon, presenters covered topics such as service planning, Lean Thinking and how the Network can be effective in supporting local/regional issues. • The standards for diabetes services include levels 1-6 and cover service complexity, patient characteristics and support services/core clinical services. In their current form, the lower levels 1-3 potentially involve GPs. The details of each level remain under discussion to achieve maximal system efficiencies and patient outcomes • A number of the quality improvements discussed at the Forum encompassed areas in which Queensland Divisions are already making progress, including information systems and auditing. There is an opportunity to share Division successes with the acute sector For further information, please contact Katie Griffin (kgriffin@gpqld.com.au) on 07 3105 8300 or via email. Statewide Renal Clinical Network
The Chronic Disease Team at General Practice Queensland has been actively pursuing membership of a number of Statewide Clinical Networks. Through representation on the Networks, GPQ can provide up-to-date feedback to Divisions regarding Network activities and can provide the Network with a General Practice perspective on health matters. Our first meeting as a member of the Statewide Renal Clinical Network Steering Committee occurred on 22/10/08 at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane. Issues of particular note at the meeting included: • Standards to be included in a repository on the Network Website • The draft Workplan for the Network • Performance Indicators for priority areas For further information, please contact Katie Griffin (kgriffin@gpqld.com.au) on 07 3105 8300 or via email. WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health: A policy and research agenda
for Australia
The Queensland Centre for Public Health last week hosted Professor Fran Baum to present ‘WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health: A policy and research agenda for Australia’. Fran Baum is the Head of Department and Professor of Public Health at Flinders University, Foundation Director of the South Australian Community Health Research Unit and Co-Chair of the Global Coordinating Council of the People’s Health Movement. Fran’s presentation highlighted the health care sector implications for Australia following the release in August this year of the WHO Commission report on the social determinants of health titled
‘Closing the Gap’.
The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) supports countries and global health partners to address the social factors leading to ill health and inequities. It draws the attention of society to the social determinants of health that are known to be among the worst causes of poor health and inequalities between and within countries. The determinants include unemployment, unsafe workplaces, urban slums, globalization and lack of access to health systems. Inequities are killing people on a "grand scale" reports WHO's Commission: "(The) toxic combination of bad policies, economics, and politics is, in large measure, responsible for the fact that a majority of people in the world do not enjoy the good health that is biologically possible," the Commissioners write in Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity through Action on the Social Determinants of Health. The CSDH sets Closing the Gap as a goal for the whole world and produces the evidence on how health inequities are a reflection of the way we organize society and distribute power and resources. Fran reports that the positive news from the CSDH for Australia is that it provides plenty of ideas on how to set an agenda that will tackle the underlying determinants of health and create a healthier Australia for all of us. She further adds that there needs to the primary health sector needs to be engaging the community and empowering communities to argue for health equalities is important. Other findings from ‘Closing the Gap’ suggest that health and professional training should prepare people to work in a multidisciplinary capacity with a clear move away from the existing siloed approach to health professional education. The full ‘Closing the Gap’ report can be accessed on the WHO website.
Calling for expressions of interest from eye health, vision and nursing professionals to
participate in a national focus group consultations on best practice in vision screening
for Australian children aged 0 – 16 years
The Centre for Community Child Health is currently undertaking a project on the effectiveness of vision screening programs for children in Australia. This project is supported by the Department of Health and Ageing under the Eye Health Demonstration Grants program. The aim of the project is to determine whether vision screening is the most effective way to detect vision conditions in children. The project is comprised of three main tasks: Completion of a literature outlining current evidence on the topic of vision screening effectiveness Consultation with eye health, vision and nursing professionals to present the findings of the literature review and discuss recommendations for children’s vision screening in the Australian context Presentation of a report to the Federal Government outlining recommendations for the future of vision screening programs in Australia The National Children’s Vision Screening Project Team will be holding focus groups in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin throughout November and December 2008. Some regional consultations will also be available. If you would like to be involved in this consultation process, please register your interest by clicking on the following link and filling in your details: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=MUN8lI_2f9dDGMuSpd4W7GRg_3d_3d If you are unable to attend a focus group, but would like to read and provide comment on the discussion paper, please follow the above link to provide your details. Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month which prompts many women to seek advice about their risk of breast cancer. It is an opportune time to remind women aged 50-69 years of the importance of having regular two yearly screening mammograms. BreastScreen Queensland has a range of resources available for doctors and nurses in general practice to help you recommend screening mammography to your patients. A range of resources can be ordered / downloaded from the BreastScreen Queensland website (www.breastscreen.qld.gov.au). Resources, Links and Articles

The World Health Report 2008: Primary Health Care – Now More Than Ever
World Health Organization. The World Health Report 2008: Primary Health Care – Now More Than Ever. Geneva, 2008. Why a renewal of primary health care (PHC), and why now, more than ever? Globalization is putting the social
cohesion of many countries under stress, and health systems are clearly not performing as well as they could and
should. People are increasingly impatient with the inability of health services to deliver. Few would disagree that
health systems need to respond better – and faster – to the challenges of a changing world. PHC can do that. To
access the report, click here (http://www.who.int/whr/2008/en/index.html)
The emotional context of self-management in chronic illness: A qualitative study of the role of health
professional support in the self-management of type 2 diabetes
John Furler, Christine Walker, Irene Blackberry, Trisha Dunning, Nabil Sulaiman, James Dunbar, James Best, Doris Young. The emotional context of self-management in chronic illness: A qualitative study of the role of health professional support in the self-management of type 2 diabetes. BMC Health Services Research 2008, 8:214. Support for patient self-management is an accepted role for health professionals. Little evidence exists on the appropriate basis for the role of health professionals in achieving optimum self-management outcomes. This study explores the perceptions of people with type 2 diabetes about their self-management strategies and how relationships To access the article, click here (http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/8/214/abstract)
Asthma in Australia 2008
Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring 2008. Asthma in Australia 2008. AIHW Asthma Series no. 3. Cat. no. ACM 14. Canberra: AIHW. Asthma is an important health problem in Australia. This report brings together data from a wide range of sources
to describe the current status of asthma in Australia. It includes information on the number of people who have
asthma and who visit their GP, are hospitalised or die due to asthma. Time trends and profiles of people who
receive various treatments for asthma are also presented, along with information on those who have written
asthma action plans. In addition, comorbidities and quality of life among people with asthma are investigated. This
report also includes a chapter that focuses on asthma among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. To
access the article, click here (http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10584)
GPQ Primary Care Integration Program & Chronic Disease Workshop, 19 – 20 November
Don’t forget to register!!
General Practice Queensland invites QLD Divisions Primary Care Integration Program staff and Division staff with a key role in chronic disease prevention and management to attend a two day workshop on 19th – 20th November 2008. This workshop will be held at Christie Corporate, 320 Adelaide Street, Brisbane. A primary focus of the workshop will be the sharing of findings from the chronic disease mapping and consultation activity undertaken earlier this year in addition to sharing learnings from the Primary Care Integration Projects. Specifically the aims of the workshop are: • To present the detailed local chronic disease activity matrix, illustrating the breadth of activity occurring across the primary health care sector in response to chronic disease • To identify opportunities to maintain an up- to-date record of this activity • To collaboratively develop responses to PCIP program challenges and barriers • To enhance skills to contribute to building the evidence base for this work • To explore the support strategies GPQ can provide to enhance PCIP and CD project outcomes • To support networking and sharing of successes GPQ will cover the cost of travel and accommodation, workshop expenses and the Networking dinner, for 2 staff
from each Division. A copy of the draft agenda and registration form can be downloaded by clicking here.
For further information about this event, please contact Phillipa Grant (pgrant@gpqld.com.au) or Lisa New (lnew@gpqld.com.au) on 07 3105 8300 or via email.

Source: http://www.gpqld.com.au/content/Document/3%20Programs/02_Chronic%20Disease%20Management%20and%20Prevention/Chronic%20Disease%20Updates%20-%20print%20versions/UPDATE%20081029%20CD%20Update%2017.pdf