Information updates

Thank you to everyone involved in the ASCIA 2023 Conference, which was a highly successful hybrid event, with a record high number of delegates (724 – 72% in-person, 28% virtual), abstracts (165) and social functions.

ASCIA 2023 Conference sessions can now be viewed on demand by registered delegates on the conference platform for the next six months (until Sunday 31st March 2024) to enable continued professional development. To view the sessions, you will need to login to the conference platform using your custom log-in link which was sent to you in the delegate information email in the week prior to the ASCIA 2023 Conference. If you cannot find your link or gain access to the platform, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Final Program Book is available here:

ASCIA 2023 PROGRAM BOOK1.51 MB - updated to include details about sponsored sessions and social functions. 

Highlights

The ASCIA 2023 Conference was held at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney from Tuesday 5th to Friday 8th September 2023, as a hybrid conference, which enabled in-person and virtual attendance. There were several highlights, including:

• An international standard of continuing professional development (CPD)*, with presentations of the latest research and issues in allergy and clinical immunology, presented by more than 60 speakers, including five international speakers - A/Prof Edmond Chan (Canada), Prof Anna Nowak-Wegrzyn (USA), Prof Anne Puel (France), Dr Lluis Quintana-Murc (France) and A/Prof Elizabeth Tham (Singapore).
• The 2023 Basten Oration presented by Prof Connie Katelaris AM, which was chaired by Prof Ron Walls AM and attended by Prof Tony Basten AO. The Basten Oration can be viewed open access at www.allergy.org.au/conferences/ascia-annual-conference/annual-ascia-basten-oration
• A record high number of 26 clinical grand rounds (CGR) presenters, with 25 CGR cases presented in-person. 
• A record high number of 139 posters - abstracts will be published online in the Internal Medicine Journal which can be accessed at www.allergy.org.au/conferences/ascia-annual-conference/published-abstracts-ascia
• AIFA grant recipients from 2021 presenting their research, and the announcement of the 2023 AIFA grants, which are listed on the AIFA website https://www.allergyimmunology.org.au/projects/projects#latest
• An inaugural ASCIA Immunodeficiency Update for Nurses on Thursday 7^th September.
• Three concurrent Allergy Updates for Medical Practitioner, Nurses and Dietitians on Friday 8th September.
• Interactive Q&A for all sessions, with the option of asking questions via the fixed microphones at ICC Sydney, the conference app or the conference platform.
• A record high participation in six social functions held over four nights, including dinners on Wednesday night for 80 Trainees/Consultants and 70 Nurses, and the Gala Dinner for more than 200 delegates on Thursday night - all were fun and memorable events.

Thank you to the:

• Organising committee, chaired by Dr Katie Frith, for their work in compiling an outstanding program, and for paticipating as session chairs and speakers. Members. Main Program - Dr Paul Gray, Dr Alisa Kane, Dr Karuna Keat, A/Prof Jennifer Koplin, Dr Kathryn Patchett, Prof Kirsten Perrett, Dr Kahn Preece, Dr Shruti Swamy, Dr Winnie Tong, Dr Brynn Wainstein, Dr James Yun. Updates for Nurses and Dietitians - Kathy Beck, Jan Belcher, Wendy Birks, Geraldine Dunne, Carolina Valerio. Allergy Update for Medical Practitioners - Dr Lara Ford, Dr Kathryn Heyworth, Dr Rohit Saldanha.
• ASCIA team, managed by Jill Smith, (ASCIA CEO) for coordinatiing speaker/chair invitations and confirmations, sponsorship and exhibition,  program development, communications, dinners, finances, poster and CGR abstract review, editing and prizes. The ASCIA team comprises Rikki Dunstall (Finance and Operations Officer), Michelle Haskard (Senior Project Officer) and Nadene Dorling (Senior Project Officer). ASCIA Project Officers who commenced work with ASCIA in March 2023 (Emily Mamo and Georgina Egan - both are health professionals) attended all allergy sesssions to assist in their work on National Allergy Council projects and to provide feedback on the program.
• ICMSA team, managed by Siobhan Jensen (Event Manager) for managing complex onsite and virtual logistics, with more technological challenges than previous ASCIA conferences. The ICMSA team includes Jessica Moebus (Event Coordinator) and Emily Low (Event Assistant).

We greatly appreciate the support from the ASCIA 2023 Conference sponsors, which allows ASCIA to provide an outstanding program at a reasonable registration fee. Sponsors and exhibitors are listed at www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/sponsors

Other meetings held during the ASCIA 2023 Conference week included:

• ASCIA Annual General Meeting (AGM) chaired by A/Prof Theresa Cole (ASCIA President) on Thursday 7th September. The ASCIA Annual Report is a record of presentations from the AGM and is available at https://www.allergy.org.au/members/ascia-annual-reports
• CIRCA (Australian Immunogenomics) Symposium at the Garvan Institute, Darlinghurst on Monday 4th September
• Practical Rhinoscopy Workshop at St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst on Saturday 9th September.

Sustainability

To improve sustainability, the ASCIA 2023 Conference featured:

• A living, digital Program Book, which can be kept up to date and reduces waste associated with printing. 
• Online posters, which reduces production costs and waste associated with printing and transporting of posters.
• Namebadges that do not include a plastic holder and reusable lanyards.

Feedback

The ASCIA 2023 Conference was the 2nd hybrid ASCIA Conference, and we continue to learn more from the process of organising what is essentially two conferences (in-person and virtual) in one. Delegates appeared to welcome interactions with colleagues and feedback has been very positive.

Whilst we will make modifications in future based on feedback and data, we will continue with the hybrid model for the ASCIA 2024 Conferences, as it has several advantages, including:

• Participation -  for delegates when travel isn’t possible or feasible. 
• Ongoing CPD - with all sessions accessible on demand for six months after the conference.
• Q&A sessions - which enable in-person and virtual delegates  to submit questions.

In the meantime, we have recieved the following feedback from delegates, even before the post-conference survey feedback has been compiled:

• Thank you for organizing such a wonderful ASCIA conference with an excellent scientific program!! 
• Congratulations and huge thank you to Katie, Jill and your teams for a fabulous ASCIA annual conference with the perfect mix of science, education and networking.  
• Reflecting on a wonderful ASCIA conference - Thank you to Katie, Jill and the amazing team.
• Thanks so so much Katie and Jill, and all the organisers for an amazing conference! I have had so many people say that the organisation, line up and presentations were amazing this year! Well done team!
• Continuing a great tradition of amazing ASCIA conferences! Looking forward to the next one. 
• Thanks ASCIA committee for a great conference, thanks also to all presenters and attendees! Everyone has made it not just a useful conference but also fun… especially the dinners. 
• Thank you everyone for making ASCIA 2023 such a success and also so much fun! Roll on ASCIA 2024!
• A very big congrats to everyone for an excellent conference! Dr Katie Frith⁩ and Jill Smith -⁩ well done for leading your team to a great week!!
• Thank you Jill Smith⁩, Dr Katie Frith⁩ and the Sydney organisation team for hosting a terrific and memorable meeting. 
• Thanks Jill and Katie and Team!!! Great conference.
• Thank you Jill, Katie and team for a great meeting. 
• Thanks to Dr Katie Frith⁩ and Jill Smith⁩ and a huge shout out to Jan Belcher and Carolina Valerio for being a dream to work with in organising the nurses days. Let’s hope we can continue the immunodeficiency nurses day now too.
• Congratulations on a great nurse program. 
• Congratulations on a highly successful ASCIA 2023 conference!
• Congratulations on an excellent conference!
• I want to thank you and the team for a wonderful conference once again – it really goes from strength to strength!!
• Great conference this year! 
• Thanks for putting on another very successful conference . Its so good to be able to meet up with my peers but also to be able to have the online recordings to go back to later to catch all the points I missed.  I thought this year the conference was particularly efficiently run… the food was exceptional  and you even put on good weather.
• Thank you again for the amazing ASCIA conference. This was my first conference, and it has greatly advanced my interest in this field! 
• Thanks again to you and your team for a great conference.
• Many thanks once again to you and the team for running an amazing event this year!!
• Thank you to all involved in organising a fantastic ASCIA conference!
• Congratulations on a wonderful ASCIA conference last week!
• Thanks for a wonderful conference last week. 
• Thanks for an amazing conference, everyone had a wonderful time and left feeling very inspired!
• Congratulations to you and the team on organising such a brilliant ASCIA scientific program and social events for the ASCIA 2023 conference! 
• Congratulations again for the success of another great ASCIA congress.
• It was so nice seeing you at the ASCIA conference and what a great event it was!
• Congratulations to you and your team for a very well organised and impactful conference.
• I thought it was a fantastic conference organised by Katie, her team and ASCIA so well done!
• Thanks again to you and the committee for a great conference. It was really one of the best programs in recent years, and I enjoyed seeing everyone.
• I just want to say congratulations. It was a wonderful congress. The sessions are always highly educational but there was a real energy in the room this year.
• Thank you again for the amazing ASCIA conference. This was my first conference, and it has greatly advanced my interest in this field! 
• Thanks for a wonderful ASCIA, I really enjoyed the conference and the Immunogenomics Day.
• The conference was fantastic. So good to be able to gather again.
• Enjoy your well deserved break after a fantastic conference!
• From all accounts ASCIA went exceptionally well, and you and the team should be very proud!
• Great work on the ASCIA Sydney conference organisation Katie - informative and fun!
• Congratulations on a wonderful and successful event!
• I just wanted to say congratulations!! It was a great meeting.
• The ASCIA conference was really good.
• I didn’t have the chance to thank you properly for the amazing job you did with the ASCIA congress. Really valuable sessions and I learnt a lot, particularly in the sessions devoted to food allergy. Congratulations and thanks so much.

We look forward to seeing you at the ASCIA 2024 Conference, which will be held from Tuesday 3rd to Friday 6th September 2024 at the Adelaide Convention Centre, chaired by Dr Jovanka King.

The National Blood Authority (NBA) has agreed arrangements with Grifols Australia Pty Ltd for the introduction of their Subcutaneous Immunoglobulin (SCIg) product, Xembify 20%, under the national blood arrangements. Supply to the Australian market is anticipated to commence in January 2024. This additional product will strengthen and diversify the supply of SCIg in Australia to ensure eligible patients continue to have access to Ig treatment.

Xembify 20% (Grifols) is approved by the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) in line with the usual high standards of safety and quality. The introduction of Xembify will be in addition to the currently available suite of imported SCIg products, namely Hizentra 20% (CSL Behring), Cuvitru 20% (Takeda) and the new domestic SCIg product Hizentra AU (CSL Behring).

For information about the transition from Evogam to Hizentra AU go to https://www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/info-updates/transition-from-evogam-to-hizentra-au-scig-products

Please see the NBA website for further information about the introduction of Xembify. Announcements on BloodSTAR and BloodNet, as well as relevant advice to stakeholder groups will occur over the coming months in preparation for the introduction of Xembify 20%. Communications will also be sent to Approved Health Providers and Red Cross Lifeblood to prepare their systems for this change, as further details are available.

The Australian Rheumatology Association (ARA), in collaboration with Arthritis Australia, is developing a Quality Standard for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), to improve the quality of care for people living with RA.

The final quality statements will be based on consensus agreement by healthcare professionals involved in the care of people with RA, as well as people living with RA.

ARA invites ASCIA members to take part in an online survey to indicate agreement with the:

1. Selection of priority areas
2. Content and wording of each quality statement

The survey is available at https://redcap.link/RA_qual_stds and is open until 6th September 2023. 

For more information, please review the Participant Information Sheet for healthcare professionals:

Participant Information Sheet for Healthcare Professionals240.40 KB

ASCIA is conducting a short survey to help improve undergraduate allergy education for future health professionals, as part of the National Allergy Council (NAC) Shared Care for Allergy (SCA) Project. 

The survey is open until 21 August 2023 at ASCIA Allergy Training Survey   

Health professionals who complete the survey will have a chance to win one of five ASCIA 2024 Conference virtual registrations. 

We encourage health professionals to complete the survey, who have completed an Australian degree in Medicine, Nursing, Nutrition/Dietetics, Paramedicine, Pharmacy, Podiatry or Psychology, and postgraduate students currently studying one of these disciplines. 

You can read more about ASCIA’s involvement in the NAC SCA project in the latest ASCIA Progress Report    

This information is also on the ASCIA website www.allergy.org.au/hp 

In May 2022, the National Blood Authority (NBA) announced that five domestically produced plasma products are undergoing transition in 2023 and 2024.

From 2 August 2023, patients on EVOGAM subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg) product will transition to HIZENTRA AU, if they have not already transitioned. The timing of when each patient will transition will be determined by their treating team and it is anticipated that most patients will be transitioned by October 2023.

HIZENTRA AU will continue to be manufactured from Australia’s plasma and is approved by the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) in accordance with usual high standards of safety and quality.

This NBA handout provides details and timing for the transition.

HIZENTRA AU Handout 332.10 KB

Continue reading

ASCIA Progress Report - National Allergy Council (NAC) Shared Care for Allergy (SCA) Project 

ASCIA’s involvement in the National Allergy Council Shared Care project includes:

• Advocacy to increase access to care, including food and drug challenges, to improve diagnosis and management of allergic conditions.
• Education, training and mentorship of health professionals, to improve knowledge and experience in managing allergic conditions.

For the latest update go to https://www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/info-updates/ascia-update-shared-care-project

Shared Care Consultation Meetings

ASCIA actively promoted the Shared Care consultation meetings to ASCIA members and other health professionals through e-newsletters, direct email and social media. This resulted in a range of health professionals being well represented at these meetings throughout Australia. Feedback to ASCIA from meeting participants has been positive and they have welcomed the opportunity to provide input.

Gap Analysis – Anaphylaxis and Allergy Training

ASCIA is undertaking scoping work to determine the current allergy training being provided in medical and allied health professional undergraduate degrees/certificates.

ASCIA has progressed an extensive gap analysis to scope the current anaphylaxis and allergy training provided to undergraduate students for a range of  health disciplines. ASCIA will engage with relevant stakeholders to determine the benefits, enablers and barriers for incorporating anaphylaxis and allergy training into undergraduate courses.

• An initial scoping report of current providers of undergraduate healthcare degrees has been completed.
• ASCIA has developed a comprehensive list of contacts for tertiary institutions that provide degrees for medical practitictioners (including general practitioners, physicians and paediatricians), nurses, nurse practitioners, psychologists, dietitians, and paramedics.

Surveys evaluating ASCIA anaphylaxis and allergy e-training courses for health professionals have been undertaken:

• Data from voluntary post-training evaluation surveys for ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training for health professionals from December 2021 to December 2022 has been analysed and results entered into a report which is available here.
  HP Anaphylaxis Report 2022694.21 KB and also on the ASCIA website https://www.allergy.org.au/ascia-reports
• Data collected from January 2023 to December 2023 from mandatory e-training surveys will be analysed and reports will be developed in early 2024
• Further reports will be developed from survey data collected on annual basis.

The following surveys to determine the current anaphylaxis and allergy training in undergraduate health professional degrees have been developed in Qualtrics 

• Survey 1 in July-August 2023 for health professional graduates to understand their undergraduate experience of anaphylaxis and allergy training. This survey was implemented by promotion through health professional organisations, e-newsletters, direct email and social media. 
• Survey 2 in October-December 2023 for representatives from institutions and is available at https://www.allergy.org.au/hp. This survey is being implemented by contacting relevant stakeholders. ASCIA has developed a comprehensive list of contacts for tertiary institutions that provide degrees for health disciplines which are approved by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).  

The results of all of the surveys listed above will be summarised in reports to:

• Highlight factors influencing the decision to incorporate anaphylaxis and allergy training in undergraduate degrees.
• Provide insights into the benefits of including anaphylaxis and allergy training for future health professionals.
• Outline potential improvements in ASCIA e-training courses based on feedback in the reports on ASCIA anaphylaxis and allergy e-training courses for health professionals.
• Provide feedback to assist in developing consistent minimum standards/competencies for anaphylaxis and allergy training across institutions.

Gap Analysis – Resource Management

A comprehensive review of ASCIA website resources accessible to patients, carers and health professionals has been completed on 31 May 2023. Each individual resource has been catalogued in a spreadsheet that now forms an integral part of the collaborative gap analysis. This spreadsheet will be maintained and updated on a continual basis as new and revised resources become available.  The intention is to have this available open access on the ASCIA website www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/website-information#s1

Promotion of Patient/Carer Support Organisations 

• ASCIA Fast Facts have provided concise, reliable and easy to read information about allergies and other immune system disorders since they were first developed in 2019. ASCIA Fast Facts are the first online resources for patients and carers that have been reviewed and updated in 2023 to ensure that plain language is used where possible, and links to patient and carer support organisations are included at the top of each document. These updates have been made by ASCIA as part of the National Allergy Council Shared Care for Allergy project. The updated ASCIA Fast Facts are available at www.allergy.org.au/patients/fast-facts on 20 topics.
• ASCIA Dietary Guides for Food Allergy have been updated with links to patient and carer support organisations included at the top of each document. The previous versions had blue “Dietary Guide” headers which are no longer used, as it is important to make it clear that these resources are for patients and carers and “Dietary Guide” is now stated in the title of each document. In October 2022 each of the 11 Dietary Guide webpages were updated to include ReadSpeaker, to improve accessibility. The updated ASCIA Dietary Guides for Food Allergy are available at www.allergy.org.au/patients/food-allergy/ascia-dietary-avoidance-for-food-allergy for 10 allergen groups, as well as general information in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for patients and carers.
• ASCIA Dietary Guides for the Four Food Elimination Diet (4FED) and Two Food Elimination Diet (2FED) for Eosinophilic Oesophagitis (EoE) have been updated with links to patient and carer support organisations included at the top of each document. The previous versions had blue “Dietary Guide” headers which are no longer used, as it is important to make it clear that these resources are for patients and carers and “Dietary Guide” is now stated in the title of each document. ReadSpeaker is available on the Dietary Guide webpages to improve accessibility. The updated ASCIA Dietary Guides for EoE are available at 
  www.allergy.org.au/patients/food-other-adverse-reactions/eoe-2fed
  www.allergy.org.au/patients/food-other-adverse-reactions/eoe-4fed

ASCIA Progress Report - National Allergy Council (NAC) Schools and Children’s Education/Care (CEC) Project

ASCIA’s involvement in the NAC Schools and CEC project includes education and training of staff in schools and CEC services, to improve knowledge about management of allergies and anaphylaxis. 

Gap analysis to determine current allergy education being provided

• Initial scoping research detailing the progress of the gap analysis has been completed.
• The full gap analysis is expected to be completed by 31 December 2023.

Surveys

• A survey for people studying and/or working within the education industry (schools and children’s education/care services) to determine how anaphylaxis training is being provided in undergraduate courses was completed during June 2023 and was available at www.allergy.org.au/schools-childcare which was promoted via newsletters, direct email and social media. Analysis of the survey data is expected to be completed by 31 December 2023. 
• Mandatory evaluation surveys were added to these courses in January 2023 and survey data from January to July 2023 will be analysed. Based on this data, ASCIA will develop a plan by November 2023 to consult with users, which is likely to include conducting focus groups. 
• Data from voluntary post-training evaluation surveys for ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training for Schools and Children's Education/Care (CEC) from December 2021 to December 2022 has been evaluated and results will inform course reviews and updates. Reports are available here: 
  
  Schools 2022 Report629.44 KB   
  
  CEC 2022 Report583.28 KB
  

The results of these surveys will be summarised in reports to:

• Highlight factors influencing the decision to incorporate anaphylaxis training in undergraduate degrees.
• Provide insights into the benefits of including anaphylaxis training for future educators.
• Outline potential improvements in ASCIA e-training courses based on feedback.
• Provide feedback to assist in developing consistent minimum standards/competencies for anaphylaxis training across institutions.

Updating ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training for schools and CEC

Major updates have been made to these courses in June and July 2023 to include the 2023 versions of ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis (red), ASCIA Action Plan for Allergic Reactions (green), ASCIA Action Plan for Drug (Medication) Allergy (dark green) and ASCIA First Aid Plan for Anaphylaxis (orange). Details of the updates are on the ASCIA website: https://www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/info-updates/new-2023-versions-of-ascia-action-plans-for-anaphylaxis

ASCIA has developed new 2023 versions of ASCIA Action Plans for Anaphylaxis and ASCIA First Aid Plans for Anaphylaxis, to improve ease of use, which are available from June 2023 onwards. This is the first major formatting change in 20 years, since ASCIA Action Plans for Anaphylaxis were first introduced in 2003. The plans can be accessed on the ASCIA website:

• www.allergy.org.au/hp/anaphylaxis/ascia-action-plan-for-anaphylaxis
• www.allergy.org.au/hp/ascia-plans-action-and-treatment

Increase the uptake of ASCIA anaphylaxis refresher training by schools and CEC 

• ASCIA anaphylaxis refresher e-training courses for schools, CEC and community have been promoted in monthly ASCIA Community newsletters from July 2022 to June 2023. These newsletters are sent to more than 5,000 recipients each month.
• A promotion plan for ASCIA social media has been developed, to be implemented from July 2023 onwards 
• From 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 there were 6,028 enrolments for ASCIA Anaphylaxis Refresher e-training of which 681 had not yet completed the course.
• From 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 there were 5,277 enrolments for ASCIA Anaphylaxis Refresher e-training of which 653 had not yet completed the course.

Maintain ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training for schools and CEC services

• In addition to the June/July updates, courses have been updated in January 2023 and September 2022 to include addition of mandatory evaluation surveys and product changes (Anapen and EpiPen).
• Once evaluation reports are completed further course improvements will be made.

Provide support for users of the ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training for schools and CEC

• ASCIA provides ongoing email and online support for ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training for schools and CEC services.
• ASCIA responds to approximately 300 inquiries regarding the courses per month.