Ear Health

The Ear Health team's aim is to understand the causes of Otitis Media (OM, middle ear infection), identify the extent of the problem and design and evaluate interventions to reduce the burden of the disease and its consequences and inform policy.

Our Ear Health team is a multidisciplinary group involved in epidemiological studies, qualitative research, data linkage, pathogenesis and clinical trials. An integral linkage for our team is the Aboriginal Community Advisory Group which guides the team in working in a culturally-sensitive manner and provides direction to ensure the program is relevant and appropriate for their communities.   We aim to reduce the prevalence of chronic otitis media and hearing loss in Aboriginal children and improve developmental and educational outcomes.

We are part of the national Centre of Research Excellence in Ear and Hearing Health of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children (CRE_ICHEAR, A/Prof Lehmann and A/Prof Richmond are chief investigators), whose mission is to close the gap in educational and social disadvantage associated with the high prevalence of OM and hearing loss in Australian Indigenous children.

Within this CRE, our team's primary activities focus on prevention, capacity building, pathogenesis, vaccine trials and systematic reviews. We have established an Urban Aboriginal Ear Health program to determine prevalence of disease, optimal diagnostic methods in young children and key risk factors; to undertake qualitative research to understand the impact of OM on children and families and barriers to accessing care; and to investigate language and communication skills in an urban setting, with a view to developing and evaluating culturally appropriate speech pathology services. . We will use innovation and technology to improve the outcomes of otitis media in high-risk populations and provide better access to appropriate specialist services.

The Ear Health team works alongside the Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group (BRIDG) which has a major focus on ear and lung disease involving Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae in particular in Aboriginal children.

We are also:

• examining the impact of OM on later child development in collaboration with the Raine Study cohort.
• developing new telehealth approaches to improve access to ear and hearing healthcare.
• members of the Technical Advisory Group revising Clinical Care Guidelines on the management of OM in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.
• members of EarHealthForLife – a network committed to a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Hearing Health Taskforce.
• members of working groups developing guidelines for the implementation of the WA Child Ear Health Strategy we developed together with relevant stakeholders (see highlights below).
• collaborating with WA Country Health Service and Bega Garnbirringu Health Service in  Kalgoorlie in an innovative pilot project involving ear health screening when children attend for routine immunisations.

Team Highlights

Launch of the WA Child Ear Health Strategy - a state-wide, whole of Government approach to combat OM in Aboriginal children, led by Telethon Kids researchers with WA Country Health and Child and Adolescent Health Services, Aboriginal Health Council of WA and WA Primary Healthy Alliance with Peter Richmond Chair, Deborah Lehmann, Chris Brennan-Jones and Victoria Stroud committee members.

Chris Brennan-Jones awarded NHMRC Early Career Fellowship for research into impact of OM on child development. In 2018 Chris also received the Rising Star award at the WA Health Translation Network’s Science on the Swan conference.

Chris Brennan-Jones awarded competitive research funding from the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation and the WA Department of Health’s Telethon Perth Children’s Hospital Research Fund to establish telehealth programs at PCH and in urban communities.

Participation in #EarHealthforLife Network committed to a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Hearing Health Taskforce that can provide evidence-based advice to Commonwealth Government about hearing health and establishment of preventable deafness in Aboriginal people as a Medical Research Future Fund priority with an Aboriginal Ear Health Roadmap for research.

The entire team attended OMOz in Darwin in August 2018, including 2 members of our Aboriginal Community Advisory Group. 5 team members were awarded travel scholarships and the 2 community members were funded through the CRE entitled Improving Health Services for Aboriginal and Torres Islander Children (ISAC).  The team gave 5 oral presentations, 2 co-presented with the community members.

Development of video to help families understand what the Koorlungkas yarning project is about and enhance awareness about language and communication with young children.