Welcome to the Australasian Sexual Health & HIV Nurses Association Inc.

What's New

 

Hot off the press! ASHHNA Newsletter

 

Click on to the newsletter to catch up on all the happenings from the Australiasian Sexual Health Conference, Canberra 2011, the new Drama Down Under campaign and lots more... ASHHNA Newsletter

 

Australasian Sexual Health Alliance (ASHA)

 

ASHA is a multidisciplinary support  network for all those working in sexual health. 

ASHHNA is proud to be one of the founding partner organisations of ASHA.  Others are

     - The Australian Society for HIV Medicine (ASHM)

     - The Australian Society for Sexual Educators, Researchers & Therapists (ASSERT)

     - The New Sealand Sexual Health society (NZSAS)

     - The Sexual Health Society of Queensland Inc. (SHSQ Inc)

     - The Sexual Health Society of Victoria (SHSoV)

To find out more about ASHA including the core aims of the Alliance see ashm News Headlines

 

New MSM testing guidelines

 

Testing guidelines for MSM have been recently updated and reprinted.  The new versions have "Updated 2011" printed on the front of the brochure. If you have any of the previous version, please throw these away and recycle them.

The campaign has a website which includes a large amount of information for gay men and other MSM on STIs, testing and treatment with contact details of relevant organisations and clinics.  It also includes a new "For Clinicians" page which has links to brochures as well as other information.

A highly recommended website www.thedramadownunder.info

 

ashm Testing Portal for HIV, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B

 

ASHM has launched its testing portal with the 2011 National HIV Testing Policy v1.0 released on 9/09/2011.  Similar policies for HCV & HBV are currently in development.  The portal is targeted to health professionals ordering HIV, HCV & HBV related tests and receiving and interpreting results.  Being web-based health professionals have access to regularly revised and updated policies and related resources.

Check out the portal now http://testingportal.ashm.org.au/

 

Newly Revised Nursing Competency Standards

 

The  ASHHNA Competency Standards for Sexual and Reproductive health and HIV Nurses (2nd Edition) is now available!  These competency standards are designed to guide best practice to nurses working in the specialties of Sexual health, Sexual & Reproductive Health, and HIV Nursing.  See the newly revised Competency Standards on our Resources page.

 

2011 Annual General Meeting & Breakfast

 

The ASHHNA 2011 Annual General Meeting this year included breakfast and was well attended.  In her annual report President Donna Tilley reflected on a year "of celebrations and loses" while the Sub-branch reports summarised more local happenings. 

The AGM was proudly supported by

To read the minutes of the 2011 AGM click here  

 

 

NSW Sexual Health Standard Operating Procedures (2011)

 

In an exciting development the NSW Sexual Health Standard Operating Procedures (2011) have been included in the NHMRC Clinical Practice

Guidelines Portal, which can be accessed on http://www.clinicalguidelines.gov.au/search.php?pageType=2&fldglrID=1882&

The NSW sexual health clinical guidelines are updated on a regular basis by senior nurses (Clinical Nurse Consultants or Nurse Unit Managers) and form the basis of quality improvement activity and guidance for clinical practice. This document provides generic guidelines which may be adopted or amended to meet service requirements. The document has application for other disciplines and health providers involved in the prevention, detection and management of STIs.

Click here to access the NSW Sexual Health Standard Operating Procedures (2011)

 

Talk Soon. Talk Often. Resource supporting families as sexuality educators of their children

 

A new resource to support parents and families as sexuality educators of their children. Written by Jenny Walsh of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society at La Trobe University, Victoria.   Click here to access this resource

 

Sexuality Education in Australian Schools (April 2011)

 

The first National Survey of Secondary Teachers of Sexuality Education (~300 secondary school teachers) examined what is currently being taught and what the barriers and facilitators are of successful sexual health education. This very interesting research identified that middle aged female PE teachers do most of the sex education, and pass on their biases and lack of knowledge.

Click here to access the Sexuality Education Survey:

 

ASHHNA Newsletter Survey

 

We recently surveyed our members on the future of the ASHHNA newsletter.  We were interested to know how you would feel if we stopped the structured newsletter twice a year and instead had more regular updates on the ASHHNA website with alerts sent through the listserver. Thanks very much to the 23 members who responded and to view the survey results click on .

 

STI Contact Tracing Tool

 

The NSW STI Programs Unit has just developed a simple STI contact tracing tool which contains good information for any health care worker providing STI care and management.

Click on the picture to access the STI Contact Tracing Tool.

 

 

Australasian Contact Tracing Manual

 

ASHM recently published the 4th Edition of this practical handbook for health care providers managing people with HIV, viral hepatitis, STIs and HIV-related tuberculosis.  Contact tracing - partner notification is a cornerstone in the management of people diagnosed with STIs and this useful Manual provides definitions, guide case studies, specific conditions and how far to trace back, privacy, confidentiality, public health law, evaluation and resources.

Click here to access the Australasian Contact Tracing Manual.  


 

Results of the 4th National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health

 

The Fourth National Survey of Secondary Students and Sexual Health involved nearly 3,000 Year 10 and Year 12 students from more than 100 secondary schools from the Government, Catholic and Independent school systems and from every jurisdiction in Australia. The key findings are arranged under the key themes of knowledge, behaviour and health and can be found on

Click here for Survey results .

 

Congratulations to Heather Woods first Sexual Health Nurse Practitioner in South Australia 

 

Heather started a Masters in Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) in 2003 through Uni SA and graduated in 2006.  Heather said, 'it took a long time to be endorsed as a Nurse Practitioner due to organisational circumstances, however I encourage anyone who has any ambition in this area to pursue your dreams and not be deterred by those who put obstacles in your path'.  Heather has worked as a community health nurse since 1977 (in TB services and later in school health), then transferred into the specialist field of Youth Health Nursing, which required training in Sexual and Reproductive Health.  Heather now works as Clinical Practice Consultant in youth health (community clinics and in juvenile justice) in Adelaide and is currently the Coordinator for ASHHNA in South Australia as well as being the secretary of the Australian College of Nurse Practitioners (SA Chapter).

 

National Strategies for Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections 2010

 

The Australian Health Ministers’ Conference have endorsed five new national strategies for blood borne viruses (BBVs) and sexually transmissible infections (STIs).  For the next three years, these documents will guide policies in relation to the prevention, testing, treatment and more in relation to BBVs and STIs. The documents were developed in a spirit of cooperation with significant contributions from community stakeholders, research organisations, medical professionals and state and territory health departments.

The five BBVs & STI Strategies can be accessed here by clicking on any of the following documents:

 

The ASHHNA Knowledge Network

 

Have you joined the ASHHNA Knowledge Network? The email list is a great way to connect with your colleagues and share information. It is open to all ASHHNA members. For joining information contact Jennifer Walsh to get connected.


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