Date:
Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 March 2013.
Location:
Rydges Lakeside, 1 London Circuit, Canberra – the national meeting place
Day one: Tuesday 19 March
Morning tea upon arrival – networking and displays
10.30am
Session one – welcome and keynote: Asthma in Australia
1.15pm
Session two – Global research update
5.30pm
Close – hosted cocktail event
Day one of the program provided a comprehensive update of asthma research and best practice relevant to community asthma management.
Asthma Australia’s National Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee hosted presentations from lead asthma clinicians and researchers in Australia and provided opportunities for conference participants to discuss and apply their knowledge to their work and recommendations for national priorities for the next 5 years. The presenters’ brief was:
- What are the new developments and exciting prospects in your area of practice/research?
- What might these best practice guidelines and research mean for the community?
- What would you urge Asthma Australia to do to ensure best benefit for people with asthma and their carers?
International guest, Asthma UK CEO, Mr Neil Churchill shared UK experiences and assisted us to stand back from the Australian experience and look at what we can do to improve quality of life and health outcomes for people with asthma and their carers.
Day two: Wednesday 20 March
8.00am
Sponsored breakfast – guest speaker Robyn Archer – Canberra history and centenary
9.00am
Session three – consumer perspectives; parliamentary policy and commitment
11.00 am
Innovation and excellence papers and workshops
4.00pm
Debate and recommendations Close of formal proceedings
7.00 pm
Dinner at National Press Club
Day two of the program provided the perspective of consumers and then offer papers, posters and workshops showcasing innovation and excellence in:
- Engaging the community - including education and training across community sectors and marketing and communications
- Enhancing self management - including partnerships and programs to maximise health and quality of life outcomes for people with asthma and their carers
- Working with priority groups - including partnerships and programs to support people and communities with greatest need and least access to services.
The social program will include events in unique, nationally significant locations including breakfast in the historic Rydges Skyline Room with Canberra Centenary Chair and arts leader, Ms Robyn Archer and dinner at the National Press Club.
Keynote speakers
Keynote speakers included a range of wonderful presenters:
Mr Neil Churchill, CEO of Asthma UK, will share UK experiences and assist us to stand back from the Australian experience and look at what we could do to improve quality of life and health outcomes for people with asthma and their carers.
Neil has been Chief Executive of Asthma UK since 2007, during which time the charity has secured some of its longstanding campaign goals including quality standards, a national improvement strategy and a national inquiry into asthma deaths.
Neil learned campaigning from Iris Bentley, whose brother was wrongly hanged for murder in 1953. He joined Barnardo’s and worked on its first child poverty campaign. As Deputy Chief Executive of Crisis Neil oversaw a strategic review which saw the charity focus on learning and training. At Age Concern Neil helped secure major reforms to women’s state pensions.
He is also a Non Executive Director for the NHS, a member of the National Respiratory Programme Board and a member of the National Information Governance Board.
Neil writes opinion columns for Health Service Journal and a blog for Progress and has edited a number of health publications for the Smith Institute. He himself has asthma.
Professor Guy Marks will provide an overview of Asthma in Australia.
Guy is a respiratory physician and epidemiologist, based at Liverpool Hospital and the Woolcock Institute in Sydney. He is an NHMRC Practitioner Fellow and has been Director of the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring since 2002. He is principal investigator on the Australian Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study and the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study.
Dr Simon Bowler, Chair of the Asthma Australia Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee will host a series of research updates.
Simon is the Director of Medicine at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane with a long history of working with people with asthma and in asthma research. He has led and participated in numerous research projects.
Simon will also give a presentation on Community asthma management: overview of the issues, opportunities and challenges.
Associate Professor Helen Reddel will present on: Self management: what works, what’s working and challenges
Helen is a Research Leader at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, and Chair of the Science Committee of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). She has a multi-disciplinary clinic for asthma and COPD at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Prof. Reddel’s current areas of research interest include:
- practical strategies to improve the quality use of respiratory medications through better diagnosis, prescribing, adherence and inhaler technique;
- action plans for the prevention and management of asthma and COPD exacerbations;
- collaborative approaches to the management of airways disease with GPs, practice nurses and pharmacists, and
- population level monitoring of airways disease through the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring.
Prof. Reddel has a strong focus on the patient perspective, and has a long-standing involvement with consumers through Asthma Australia and Asthma Foundation NSW.
Professor Peter Gibson will provide a comprehensive overview of Asthma phenotypes – what asthma looks like for different people.
Peter is a NHMRC Practitioner Research Fellow; Senior Staff Specialist and Director of the Ambulatory Care Service in the Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the John Hunter Hospital; Conjoint Professor of Medicine in the Faculty of Health at the Universities of Newcastle and Sydney and Jilin University, China. His key research areas include Asthma, Cough, COPD, Biomarkers in airway diseases, and evidence-based respiratory medicine. In addition, he has participated in several national and international guideline panels and is an Editor in the Cochrane Airways Group.
Professor Peter van Asperen will present on Asthma and children
Peter is Macintosh Professor of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine at the University of Sydney and currently Head of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at The Children’s Hospital, Westmead (1991-2012). He has an active clinical and research interest in childhood asthma and children with recurrent or persistent cough. He has published over 160 papers as well as two books for families of children and young people with asthma. He was on the Board of the Asthma Foundation of NSW from 2002 – 2010 He also serves on the National Asthma Council as an author and reviewer of the Asthma Management Handbook and a number of Position Papers. He has also been involved as co-author on position papers and guidelines for management of cough in children.
Professor John Upham will present on Understanding asthma immunity and viruses.
John Upham is a respiratory physician and clinical scientist with research interests in asthma and chronic lung disease, especially the role of the immune function in allergy and virus infections of the lung, and the development of novel approaches to treatment.
After specialist training in Brisbane, John completed a PhD at the University of Western Australia, and spent 2 years at McMaster University in Canada, before moving back to Perth in 1998 where he held positions with Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and the Institute for Child Health Research. In 2007, he moved to Brisbane to take up a position as Professor of Respiratory Medicine.
John is married to Susan and has 4 daughters. Outside of work he enjoys cycling, reading and bushwalking.
Arrangements for other keynote speakers are being finalised.