The Round Up: A Rural Health Podcast

An ever-increasing phenomenon, paediatric allergies can lead to unexpected considerations and challenges in primary care. Studies have shown around 10 per cent of children have an allergy, a figure that increases to 30 per cent in children with eczema. With incidence continuing to rise, the treatment of allergies and its complications is something every healthcare practitioner should feel comfortable managing.

Join NQRTH Round Up host, Dr Elissa Hatherly, as she discusses food allergies in children with Dr Peter Bourke. Dr Bourke is a consultant physician at Cairns Hospital, a clinical immunologist, and an allergist. This episode covers a range of important topics all clinicians should be taking into account when treating a child with allergies:

• Identifying common (and uncommon) presenting symptoms.
• Important considerations during history taking.
• Managing parents' expectations and anxieties around the risks associated with allergies.
• Discussing current best treatments and next steps.
• The latest evidence on how the incidence and treatment of allergies.
• Busting common myths in the community about food allergies in children.

Choosing the best and most accessible contraception for patients isn't always straightforward, especially in rural and remote areas. Primary healthcare practitioners must balance patient expectations, safety, and other considerations to get the best outcome for their patients.

In the first episode for season 3 of the Round Up, your host Dr Elissa Hatherly discusses contraception with Dr Kaylene Girgenti, a rural generalist based in Townsville. Dr Girgenti specialises in women's health, having trained in obstetrics and gynaecology, and works in practice and hospitals across rural north Queensland. She covers a range of topics important for primary health care practitioners, from accessibility to fertility implications and managing patient expectations.

In our final episode for Season 2 and for 2023, we're discussing an issue that's on the rise in northern Queensland and across the world. Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a largely preventable disease that is an ever-increasing presentation in primary healthcare settings and is often not caught until advanced stages.

Join the Round Up host, Dr Elissa Hatherly as she chats with Dr Tahira Scott, a nephrologist based in Cairns who treats Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the Cape and Torres region. Dr Scott discusses some of the shocking statistics on CKD, current and future diagnosis and treatment, and why 'Time is Kidney' when it comes to addressing this rising health concern.

Today we're talking about an increasingly common and completely avoidable condition that is impacting close to half of the young Australians diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a serious and life-threatening complication of diabetes that is growing in prevalence across Australia. For many children and young adults, DKA is leading to hospitalisation and a host of life-impacting complications that could have been avoided if screened for sooner.

Join the Round Up host, Dr Elissa Hatherly as she chats with Dr Jason Yates, a paediatric endocrinologist at Townsville University Hospital. Dr Yates shares his clinical and research experiences in working to improve the diagnosis and prevention of DKA and what primary healthcare practitioners need to know to better address this condition.

For many people, making decisions and a plan for future healthcare needs might feel uncomfortable or irrelevant. But, if a time comes when you're unable to make or communicate decisions about your care, an Advanced Care Plan could be crucial in ensuring your treatment is in line with your preferences, beliefs and values. For doctors and other health workers, successfully understanding and enacting an Advanced Care Plan can help you provide the desired treatment outcome for your patients.

Join Round Up host, Dr Elissa Hatherly, as she chats with Cairns-based Psychologist Denise Craig about advanced care planning. Specialising in dementia and end-of-life care, Denise provides insights for primary healthcare practitioners on the recent updates to legislation, how to navigate the process with families, and other important information to ensure patients' treatment aligns with their preferences and values.

At the start of this year, the Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) Act was enacted to provide eligible Queenslanders the option to request medical assistance to end their lives in a manner that is safe, accessible and compassionate. So what has the new legislation meant for primary health care and the community?Join your host, Dr Elissa Hatherly for a follow-up conversation with FACRRM GP and JCU MBBS Alumnus Dr Max Ryder. Dr Ryder was instrumental in getting the new legislation off the ground and shares his learnings and advice for navigating the voluntary assisted dying journey.You can catch up on Dr Ryder's conversation about VAD, before the legislation was enacted, in Episode 6 of Season 1.

It might not be clinicians' favourite topic, but we need to talk about fibromyalgia; a misunderstood invisible illness that affects an estimated 2 to 5 people in every 100. This chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain is accompanied by other physical and psychological symptoms and has a delibating impact on quality of life. With no validated individual patient diagnostic criteria currently available, detecting fibromyalgia can be difficult and misdiagnosis is common.

Join your host Dr Elissa Hatherly as she talks about Fibromyalgia with Dr Anna Kermond, an advanced rheumatology trainee based in Cairns. Dr Kermond discusses some of the many myths and misconceptions about Fibromyalgia and the ways clinicians can better diagnose and treat this complex condition.

Those who suffer from migraines know just how debilitating it can be, and they often look to their GP in search of solutions. Migraines affect an estimated five million Australians and are an incredibly common presenting complaint in general practice.

Join your host Dr Elissa Hatherly as she talks about migraines with Dr Kimberley Forrest, a Cairns-based general neurologist and JCU Medicine Senior Lecturer. Dr Forrest discusses some of the risk factors and triggers and the best acute treatments and preventative measures primary healthcare practitioners can be offering to their patients.

No matter your role in primary care, this episode is sure to provide you with useful tools and greater insight into how to better support patients with this common and debilitating condition.

Across most of Australia, rheumatic heart disease was all but eradicated midway through the twentieth century. And yet, our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have some of the highest rates of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in the world. It's a disease of social disadvantage that affects old and young alike and is having a long-term impact on the health of our communities.

Join your Round Up host, Dr Elissa Hatherly as she chats to Dr Ben Reeves, a paediatric cardiologist in Cairns Hospital as he shares about the vital role of primary healthcare clinicians in Closing the Gap in patient outcomes. Dr Reeves explains the impact of this prevalent disease, what clinicians should be looking out for, and some of the techniques and new technology assisting with diagnosis and treatment.

Rural Generalism offers a rewarding career with a broad scope of practice from the hospital to the clinic and continuity of care that makes a real difference to rural and remote communities. With such a diverse and important role, often in a low-resource environment, life as a rural generalist is full of both opportunities and challenges.

Join your host, Dr Elissa Hatherly as she chats with rural generalist and the Head of sixth-year JCU Medicine Dr Sarah Chalmers. The Palm Island-based RG and immediate-past President of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) shares her journey into rural generalism and a snapshot of the opportunities and challenges. She provides insight on everything from training pathways, telehealth, navigating Medicare rebates, and working with a multidisciplinary allied health team to get the best outcome for your patients.