Best practice in occupational respiratory disease multidisciplinary team work

This educational module has been developed in response to a rapid rise in diagnosed numbers of cases of occupational respiratory diseases in Australia. There have been recent cases of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, and silicosis both in the Stone benchtop industry and in workers in construction/tunnelling. Asthma, COPD and lung cancer may also be caused by occupational exposures. This education is part of a national initiative, funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing to improve the prevention, identification, control and management of occupational respiratory diseases. 

The course is aimed at health professionals, specifically those who might refer to, or participate in, the diagnosis and/or management of occupational respiratory diseases, in multidisciplinary team settings. Engagement with the module will refresh skills in thorough occupational history taking and highlight key elements in prevention, diagnosis and management of the most common respiratory diseases associated with work.  

The Learning Outcomes are: 

• Understand the roles of multidisciplinary team members, and the roles of the additional health professionals that contribute to successful diagnosis and management. 

• Outline the essential elements of undertaking effective occupational histories, particularly how to identify sources, and acute or chronic scenarios, of high-risk exposures. 

• Identify the relevant occupational history findings and how to present these effectively to the MDT. 

• Recognise the relevant clinical examination findings when assessing a patient with potential occupational respiratory disease. 

• Accurately interpret radiology and lung function tests in the context of occupational respiratory exposures. 

• Describe the elements of post-diagnosis management of a patient, including referral to support services and workers’ compensation schemes. 

The Best Practice in Occupational Respiratory Disease Multidisciplinary Team Work eLearning modules were developed and reviewed by Monash University. Lung Foundation Australia hosts the modules on its Learning Management System to provide access to participants, and will share de-identified aggregated evaluation survey data back to Monash University for the purpose of reporting only.  

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