workshop session 1

11.00am - 11.30am Using the WA Notifiable Infectious Diseases and Maternity Services Dashboards to drive improvement in antenatal syphilis screening to prevent congenital syphilis

Donna Mak (Communicable Disease Control Directorate, WA Dept of Health), Fraser Clarke (Healthcare Quality Intelligence Unit, WA Dept of Health), Richard Gillett (Healthcare Quality Intelligence Unit, WA Dept of Health), Maureen Hutchinson (Information & Performance Governance Unit, WA Dept of Health), Carolien Giele (Communicable Disease Control Directorate, WA Dept of Health)

Background: Congenital syphilis (CS) notifications in WA increased from three in the decade from 2008 and 2017 to 18 in the eight years from 2018 and 2023. CS can be prevented if people have syphilis screening three times during pregnancy and those with syphilis are treated promptly. In July 2023, mandatory notification of syphilis screening in pregnancy was added to the Midwives Notification Dataset to enable statewide monitoring of completeness of antenatal syphilis screening for the purpose of clinical audit and quality improvement. The data are accessible by WA Health staff via the Maternity Services Dashboard (MSD). Purpose: To raise participants’ awareness of, and confidence to access and interpret data from, the WA Notifiable Infectious Diseases and Maternity Services Dashboards, and use these data to improve completeness of antenatal syphilis screening. Target audience: WA Health professionals working in antenatal care, public health and sexual health. At least one half of attendees are expected to be WA Health staff. Workshop strategies:

Participants will need to bring a laptop or tablet with internet connection to access the WA Notifiable Infectious Diseases Dashboard (https://www.health.wa.gov.au/articles/n_r/notifiable-infectious-disease-dashboard) and a version of the Maternity Services Dashboard containing synthetic data for teaching purposes. The presenters will provide a brief demonstration of both dashboards and explain the data sources. Participants will be provided with practical scenarios and questions designed to facilitate understanding of the data available in these dashboards and how to use the interactive reports to engage staff in quality improvement. Example scenario: You are orientating newly recruited midwifery staff.

Explore the data in the WA Notifiable Infectious Diseases Dashboard and select some key findings that you could use to demonstrate that a) syphilis is being transmitted to women in your region and b) CS occurs in WA. Explore the Maternity Services Dashboard and find out what proportion of women giving birth in hospital A had all the syphilis tests they should have had taking into account the gestation at which they delivered. Key learnings: By the end of the workshop participants will know how to access and interpret data from the WA Notifiable Infectious Diseases and Maternity Services Dashboards and how to use these data to drive quality improvement. Relevance to symposium theme: This workshop will help WA Health professionals to develop their skills in to use routinely collected surveillance data to evaluate initiatives aimed at increasing antenatal syphilis screening.

​

11.30am - 12.30pm Interactive strategies for talking about HIV and STIs with young people.

Stephanie Andrews (WAAC), Zoe Sullivan (Youth Educating Peers (YEP) Project), Aimee Rendell (WAAC), Karina Reeves (WAAC), Claudia Bedford (YEP Project)

Background: In Western Australia, young people comprise a sizable proportion of sexually transmissible infection (STI) notifications each year. Thus, the provision of sexual health education which is inclusive of testing and prevention is fundamental to improve health outcomes and empower young people to navigate their sexual health. Purpose: This workshop aims to increase the knowledge, skills and confidence of service providers and those working with young people to educate and engage young people with accurate and relevant sexual health information, including responding to opportunistic learning moments. Target audience: This workshop is suitable for service providers, educators, health promotion officers, community development workers, and any other workforce working with young people. Workshop strategies: Drawing on lessons from education workshops and outreach at events with young people, the workshop will discuss approaches, including harm reduction and sex positive approaches, used to engage young people with sexual health information. This will include the demonstration of fun, interactive activities and practical strategies to address STIs. Referrals to youth services and take-home resources will also be provided. Key learnings: Participants will gain practical strategies for the provision of sexual health education to young people, including ways to increase awareness of STIs, supporting use of condoms, and addressing stigma related to sexual health and STI screening, and discussions of sexual rights and consent. Relevance to symposium theme: Young people are recognised as a priority population for STIs, and workforce are positioned to support young people and their sexual health. Therefore, it is essential that those working with young people are skilled and confident in responding to sexual health issues to reduce STI transmission.