Childhood Heart Disease – Consumer Awareness, Education and Standards of Care

Overview

The purpose of the grant opportunity is to ensure that those affected by childhood heart disease (CHD), their families/carers and the wider population have access to a broad range of educational resources and care and support options. The grant opportunity also aims to increase health professional’s capacity and knowledge of CHD diagnosis, management and treatment, through the development of standards of care, clinical practice guidelines and educational and training materials. The grant strongly aligns with the priorities and recommendations as outlined in the National Strategic Action Plan for Childhood Heart Disease (the Action Plan), launched by the Australian Government on 14 February 2019.  The objective of the grant opportunity is to support the recommended activities from the Action Plan. This includes:  - developing a broad range of educational resources regarding care and support options for those affected by CHD; - developing national standards of care for CHD, including neurodevelopmental and mental health standards of care;  - developing national clinical practice guidelines on CHD, for health services and health practitioners Australia-wide;  - delivering education, training and support for health professionals to improve the management of CHD in primary care;  - delivering the HeartKids Helpline, face-to-face and digital services to enable timely access to information and services for people impacted by CHD, including their families/carers, health professionals and the broader community;  - targeting priority populations, specifically Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 years who are transitioning from paediatric to adult cardiac health services, and people living in remote, rural or regional locations; and - implementing a digital strategy, developed in consultation with CHD consumers, that provides a web-based CHD education portal with linkages to key parent sites.