ACTnet TB Nursing & Public Health Webinar

After the success of the TB Genomics webinar, the Australasian Clinical Tuberculosis Network is excited to present the next installation of our Webinar series: The TB Nursing & Public Health Webinar, where experienced Nursing and Public Health professionals share their valuable experiences working on the front lines of providing Tuberculosis care among affected communities across Australia.

Chaired by:

Amanda Christensen AM - Executive Director, Australian Respiratory Council

Dr. Andrew Burke - Infectious Disease and Thoracic Specialist, The Prince Charles Hospital QLD

Speakers:

Hannah Ndungu & Dr. Belinda Greenwood-Smith, Northern Territory

• Topic: Navigating Tuberculosis Patient Care in Central Australia

Hannah Ngudu is a TB Nurse in Central Australia who will present a case discussion, highlighting the specifics of contact tracing and TB management, especially among Indigenous communities in Alice Springs. Dr. Greenwood-Smith, Central Australian Coordinator at the Centre for Disease Control (Public Health Unit) will also provide an overview of the TB control program in the NT, as well as the recent epidemiology of tuberculosis within Indigenous communities in the Territory.

Catherine White & Gemma Devlin, Queensland

• Topic: Utilisation of the Queensland Public Health Act in co-ordinating TB treatment in an actively infectious patient

Catherine White (RN, BN, MANP) is the Clinical Nurse Consultant in the Metro South Clinical Tuberculosis Service, the largest in Queensland servicing seven hospitals from Northern New South Wales to the Bundaberg/Hervey Bay Region. As someone who has worked predominately in Infectious Diseases and Tuberculosis control her entire career, and is a member of the Union and Tuberculosis Expert Advisory Group, Catherine is passionate about evidenced-based nursing practice. In the above talk, Catherine will be joined by her colleague, Gemma Delvin (RN, BN, MPH), a Public Health Nurse with the Communicable Diseases Branch and Nursing lead for the Queensland Statewide TB program. Gemma would like to highlight the uniqueness of TB nursing which combines public health functions along with clinical care, case management, and the privilege of going on the journey with people and their families.

Carolyn Gill, South Australia

• Topic: Contact Tracing and Community Screening in remote settings, following the TB outbreak in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands

Carolyn Gill is a Registered Nurse in the South Australia TB Services and the current Associate Nurse Unit Manager at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, with a focus on Sleep Disordered Breathing. With over two decades of experience in Thoracic and Sleep Medicine, as well as TB screening and vaccination, Carolyn Gill's portfolio has recently expanded to include assisting with the management of TB in remote Aboriginal communities in SA. Due to recent cases of TB being identified in the APY Lands, SA TB Services have conducted visits to this area to provide contact tracing and wider community screening. Carolyn's talk will discuss the challenges in providing health care services to the people living in such a vast remote area from her perspective of being a “city” nurse.