The program aims to connect parents of children and babies with evidence-based education while they wait to see a specialist.
A national pilot and research program aimed at connecting parents of children and babies with eczema with expert advice while they wait to see dermatology and allergy specialists has launched in Western Australia.
Perth Children’s Hospital will be the first location to offer the program, known as Eczema Connect, which has been developed by Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia.
The free service provides parents and caregivers with evidence-based information and practical tools to help them manage their child’s eczema as they wait to see a dermatologist or allergy specialist.
Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia CEO Maria Said told Allergy & Respiratory Republic she believed the pilot would be welcomed by Australian specialists and general practitioners alike, as it offered a lifeline for parents while they waited for an appointment.
“It will be welcomed by specialists in dermatology and allergy and immunology – wait lists are long around the country,” she said.
“We can support them by delivering an email to their inbox, sending them to credible information in plain, easy to understand English, not medical jargon, and encouraging them to call our health professionals, our allergy educators, or our national helpline if they have questions.”
Ms Said said demand for dermatologists and allergy specialists across Australia had seen waiting times blow out.
“While severe cases of eczema are prioritised, some children and babies can wait more than six months for an appointment,” she said.
“Eczema is a chronic condition and when severe it places a huge burden on the whole family. While they wait, parents are left feeling helpless and desperately hunt for answers from Dr Google, social media or advice from family and friends, which can be well-intended, but often misguided and even dangerous.
“Many parents remove foods from their child’s diet thinking it may be the cause, when it is not. Eczema is rarely linked to a child’s diet and removing foods can place them at an increased risk of developing a food allergy.”
Eczema Connect has been developed by eczema nurses, allergy specialists and a dermatologist. It includes resources from the National Allergy Council and the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy.
Referred parents will receive a range of easy-to-understand fact sheets, videos and webinars with evidence-based advice from allergy specialists, including nurses trained in eczema.
Parents waiting to see a specialist also have access to a support line so they can speak directly with a qualified allergy educator from Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia.
“So, we’re not diagnosing them; we’re basically supporting them with the basic treatments of eczema [such as] explaining what wet dressings are, explaining that a bleach bath is no different to swimming in a chlorinated pool, for example,” Dr Said explained.
“When you mention a bleach bath to a parent whose baby’s skin is bleeding, they look at you like, ‘I’m not going to put my baby in bleach’. But having the time to explain that to the parent, to explain how much moisturiser to use, how much steroid cream and for how long to use it – all of that information greatly helps these parents.”
Professor Michaela Lucas, a clinical immunology/allergy specialist at the University of Western Australia, said early, credible information and support was crucial.
“We are excited to be trialling a program that could successfully bridge the gap and empower parents with credible information right from the start,” she said.
“When treated and managed correctly, eczema can clear up in a matter of weeks, helping to reduce suffering from relentless itchiness and inflammation.
“Credible, easy to understand information for parents and carers is critical, so they can help their child as best they can while they are waiting to be seen by a specialist. The program also helps reinforce what the general practitioner has communicated in relation to management of eczema.”
The Eczema Connect pilot will also be the focus of a research trial in collaboration with the University of Western Australia to evaluate the effectiveness of the program as an intervention.
Ms Said told ARR that the study results would be used to inform a rollout of the program in other states.
“Our hope is that we’ll be able to prove that the concept does help people who are in the community waiting to be seen, and that by the time they get to see the specialist, hopefully these people are not taking foods out of diets and not doing treatments that are not evidence-based, they’re listening to science, and that they feel supported and that they persist to do what is seen as best practice for eczema.”
The Eczema Connect pilot program and research trial are funded by the Department of Health and Aged Care through the National Allergy Council, a partnership between Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia and the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, the peak patient and medical bodies for allergic disease in Australia. The project has also received support from sponsors of Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia.
