Kiri Ora, Healthy
Skin project
The Eastern Bay of Plenty
Primary Health Alliance
(EBPHA) Kiri Ora, Healthy Skin
project in Kawerau, Te Teko
and Te Mahoe
Co-authors
Sandra Ball EBPHA RFCL
Kate Dooley EBPHA RN
was created as an outcome of;
local ASH stats for
childhood skin infection
highest in EBOP region
the same pathogenic
bacteria Group A strep
(GAS) causing skin and
throat infections
potential to utilise the
excellent
relationships
that existed between the
sore throat swabbing
team and the children,
school and community
potential to utilise the
community
knowledge
held by the sore throat
swabbing team
apparent that whilst these
parents were very interested to
learn about how to treat their
child’s skin condition they did
not have finances available to
purchase basic skin care
product or to attend their GP.
Also attendance at the 2014
Rheumatic
Heart
Disease
conference in Darwin added
the understanding that skin
infection as well as GAS sore
throats could lead to acute
rheumatic fever.
When
Toi
te
Ora(TTO)
identified reducing childhood
skin infections as a goal, and
were
looking
at
what
intervention to action in the
community the RF clinical lead
was adamant that resources
were equally as important as
providing education. A strong
working relationship came
about between the school sore
throat programmes and TTO.
The programmes had the
motivation and relationship,
TTO the resources and both
had the overarching goal of
i mproving child health.
Support to set up the Kawerau,
programme came from Lizzie
Farrell a nurse leader with the
original South Auckland Wiri
School project this provided an
opportunity to review their
school based clinic, along with
sharing
their
protocol
document. Tarawera Medical
Centre senior nurse Jackie
Davis helped develop a
seamless referral system into
general
practice
(initially
tamariki visits were funded
however this was no longer
required after 2015 July).
A total of five primary schools
are part of the programme with
collectively close to 1000
children enrolled – consenting
numbers are close to 90%.
The EBPHA EBOP Rheumatic
fever clinical lead nurse who
also works as a district nurse
had found that when she spoke
to mums whose tamariki had
impetigo and eczema it was
September 2016 L.O.G.I.C
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