Otitis Media Guidelines

Otitis media is a common childhood illness, and is the most common reason for children being prescribed antibiotics.  It has been estimated that up to 75 per cent of children will have had otitis media at least once by the age of three years.  Acute otitis media occurs most often in children aged between six and 18 months, but is common up until four years of age.

The Australian Government has committed $58.3 million over four years to expand eye and ear health services through the Improving Eye and Ear Health Services for Indigenous Australian for Better Education and Employment Outcomes measure.

Otitis media is of particular concern in relation to Aboriginal children, who are ten times more likely to suffer from it than non-Aboriginal children.  The associated hearing loss has a life-long impact, as it occurs during speech and language development and the early school years.

The purpose and intended outcome of the Program is to enhance the capacity of GPs and other primary health care providers to provide high quality treatment for otitis media in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

The aims and objectives of the Otitis Media Program are to:

  • increase awareness of the updated Recommendations for Clinical Care Guidelines (the Guidelines) on the management of otitis media in Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander populations;
  • improve the uptake of best practice service delivery for the prevention, early detection and management of otitis media in Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander children; and
  • increase diagnosis and appropriate referral of otitis media in Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander children aged 0-4.

The program will be implemented in three phases:

  • promotion and marketing within general practice from January 2012;
  • education and training - a training/CPD module for GPs and other primary health care providers (based on the Guidelines) to be available from March 2012; and
  • implementation of the best practice model of care (based on the Guidelines) from February 2012 to June 2012.


For more information about the otitis media guidelines program, please contact Irene Dummett, Project Officer for the Otitis Media Guidelines Program, at idummett@agpn.com.au or 02 6228 0826.

 

The implementation of the Otitis Media Guidelines Program was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.