Chronic Diseases and Infections

Course Overview

What makes a person with chronic disease more susceptible to infections? Do common infections such as UTIs, chest infections, thrush and tinea affect people with chronic diseases differently? This Course answers these questions and will look at a range of practical and prescribing considerations relating to infections in people with chronic diseases.

Need

Chronic diseases such as COPD, diabetes, cancer and rheumatoid arthritis are known to significantly impact on a person’s health. Not only can they leave a person vulnerable to recurrent infections, but they can also impact a person’s ability to recover from an infection.

Positive patient outcomes require that health professionals are familiar with the relationship between chronic diseases and infections, including prescribing and practical considerations if prevention of infections and exacerbation of chronic diseases are to occur.

Purpose

The purpose of this Course is to provide you with current information about chronic diseases and infections in order to support the best patient outcomes.

Learning Outcomes

• A person in your care who manifests signs and symptoms of infection will be assessed and appropriate treatment initiated.
• More in-depth knowledge of prescribing in chronic disease will support the best-practice use of medicines and reduce the likelihood of unwanted effects.
• People in your care with chronic diseases will receive correct evidence-based education about the prevention of infections.

Target Audience

All health professionals will gain confidence from undertaking this Course, given the prevalence of chronic diseases and the potential for infections in this population.

Disclosure

No conflict of interest exists for anyone in a position to control content for this activity. Wherever possible, generic or non-proprietary names of medications or products have been used.

Educator

Jenny Gowan

Jenny Gowan, a practising pharmacist, is a teaching associate at Monash University, Melbourne and a clinical associate of RMIT University. She is a member of the PSA Branch committee, the Expert Group for Therapeutic Guidelines – Respiratory version 5, an editorial board member of AUS-DI, SHPA "Don’t Rush to Crush", the Guidelines Committee for the Australian Asthma Handbook (AAH) and the writing group for the RACGP ‘Medical Care of older persons in RACF’ (Silver book). Jenny is an accredited consultant pharmacist who conducts her own company, which focuses on medication reviews in the home and aged care facilities, plus education, writing, training and consultation. Jenny works regularly in community pharmacy plus sessions in a GP clinic at a community health centre. She has published over 400 educational articles. Jenny has presented talks at many Australian and international conferences to GPs, nurse practitioners, nurses, podiatrists, pharmacists, and other health professionals. In 2013, she was awarded the Australian Pharmacist of the Year by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and, in 2016, the AACP-MIMs Australian Consultant Pharmacist of the Year. See Educator Profile