Associate Professor Diana Egerton-Warburton |
Associate Professor Diana Egerton-Warburton was recognised for her
significant work in the prevention of alcohol related harm, winning a
prestigious VicHealth
Award last week.
Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton’s research project, Preventing
harm from alcohol, measured the number of emergency department visits
caused by alcohol harm.
Emergency departments (EDs) in
Australia and New Zealand are at the forefront of dealing with the harmful
effects of alcohol consumption. However, ED alcohol-related presentation data
is not routinely collected in patient data sets in Australasia.
Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton
said the primary objective of the project was to provide an evidence base to
advocate for alcohol harm reduction measures in our communities, by quantifying
the level of alcohol harm presenting to Australasian emergency departments.
The Hon. Jill Hennessy MP and Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton |
“This survey quantifies that on weekends, one
in eight patients in emergency departments in Australia is there because of
alcohol,” Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton said.
“This is the third such snapshot survey which
has demonstrated the impact of alcohol on ED presentations.”
Australasian College for Emergency Medicine President Dr Simon
Judkins said the Award is recognition of the hard work Associate Professor
Egerton-Warburton and her team have done with The
Alcohol Harm Snapshot Survey, exposing the true extent of alcohol abuse and its effect on our communities and
healthworkers – particularly in Australian EDs.
Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton said the award was a credit
to the many clinicians who had compiled the data in EDs across the country.
The fourth Alcohol Harm Snapshot Survey in Australian and New
Zealand EDs will take place at 2am (local time), on 16 December 2017.
“This goes to all the ED clinicians who completed those 2am
surveys and we are looking forward to a record response in this December’s
Snapshot Survey,” Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton said.
“I’d like to acknowledge the incredible efforts of the emergency
departments over the past four years to do these surveys at a busy time.”
“These surveys do lead directly to advocacy around the issue and
an attempt to influence culture, so I think it’s a very powerful thing for
emergency clinicians to do.”
The awards were announced last week at VicHealth’s 30th
anniversary event at Melbourne Museum by Health Minister Jill Hennessy, Shadow Health Minister Mary Wooldridge, Leader of the
Victorian Greens Samantha Ratnam and VicHealth CEO Jerril Rechter.
Information about the research project is HERE.
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