South Australians living with chronic disease will be supported to better manage their health, with five organisations sharing in State Government funding of $260,000 to deliver a variety of projects to help people manage their chronic conditions and get access to the care they need.
Minister for Health and Wellbeing Stephen Wade said people living with chronic disease often need to access a wide variety of health professionals and services throughout their lifetime.
"The Marshall Liberal Government is investing in health services to better support the health and wellbeing of South Australians," said Minister Wade.
"Through Wellbeing SA's Chronic Disease Integrated Partnership Grants, we are giving several organisations a unique opportunity to deliver new, innovative ways of providing integrated care, which will help reduce Emergency Department presentations, engage people with lived experience, and use virtual technology.
"Diabetes SA, Asthma Australia, Palliative Care SA, Baptist Care SA and the South Australian Postgraduate Medical Education Association will each receive a share in $260,000 to support their projects.
"All five organisations demonstrated how their projects will assist in delivering more connected care, with people at the centre.
"These projects will build on ways to support people in self-management of their chronic conditions and increase the collaboration between health care providers in our hospitals and the community.
"We are pleased to be supporting these organisations and I am looking forward to seeing how these projects unfold."
Wellbeing SA Chief Executive, Lyn Dean, said the grants are designed to build on existing services and programs that will enhance partnerships between Primary Health Networks, Local Health Networks, General Practice, government and non-government organisations and the community.
"These grants align to our chronic disease, integrated care and injury prevention focus set out in the Wellbeing SA Strategic Plan and aim to improve integration and quality healthcare for people living with chronic conditions through a partnership-based approach," Ms Dean said
"We received 18 applications from a variety of organisations and are excited to begin working with the five successful recipients and their partners.
The successful projects are expected to run until December 2022.
For more information on the Chronic Disease Integrated Partnership Grants, visit https://openyourworld.sa.gov.au/chronicdiseasegrants.
The successful projects include:
'South Australian Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) Program' - South Australian Postgraduate Medical Education Association (SAPMEA)
- The project will include establishment of an ECHO hub, the first of its kind in South Australia, utilising virtual technology for inter-professional education and case-based learning.
'Healthcare Navigators: Supporting chronic condition self-management for vulnerable people experiencing, or at risk of homelessness' - Baptist Care SA
- The project aims to enable people living with chronic conditions to develop better self-management capacity and increase human communication by utilising salaried and volunteer registered nurses to act as 'Health Navigators'.
'Someone Like Me: Reducing emergency department presentations through a peer-led model of care' - Asthma Australia
- The project will see a person with lived experience employed to assist engagement between asthma patients and primary and tertiary health services to improve health outcomes and reduce avoidable Emergency Department presentations.
'Improving Chronic Disease Outcomes Remotely with a Nudge – a Type 2 Diabetes Demonstration Project'- Diabetes Association of SA
- The project will introduce an electronic 'nudge' via smart phone to reduce evening snacking, with the aim to improve glucose control in people living with Type 2 Diabetes.
"2022 SA Symposium on Supportive Care Planning in Chronic Non-malignant Diseases' – Palliative Care SA
- The project will provide a forum for healthcare professionals working with people with advanced chronic disease to share insights and to promote collaborative care models.
