HealthBeyond is not about technology

Leukaemia Foundation

Aden's Story
Aden knows a great deal about hospitals, drugs and medical treatment - much more than a child of 11 years needs to know. In 2004, aged 6 ½ years, Aden was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. Within 24 hours he was undergoing chemotherapy treatment in Melbourne.

Can you imagine how a parent - in a period of 24 hours - could even absorb and deal with the shock of hearing that your child has leukaemia?

"I was working full-time in a great job, I had two beautiful children and life seemed really good. Then, literally overnight, life was turned upside down," says Faye. So began a profoundly difficult period in the lives of Aden, Faye and Aden's sister Darci. more

Diversional Therapy Technologies - ditto

DITTO is a tool which reduces anxiety related pain, specifically for children during traumatic medical procedures. The colourful marker characters called 'Dittems' can be inserted into the DITTO to choose between procedural preparation, stories and games. The intuitive user interface has other fun tangible interaction thanks to the touch screen and the motion sensors. Once in a DITTO game or story, the child can tip and turn the DITTO to look around or control the scene. DITTO offers a range of entertaining stories, games and movies that are interactive under the child's control. It has new and exciting modes of interaction including touch screen, colourful marker keys, and response to physical movement.  more

ANU e-hub Mental Health Research & Development

The e-hub group at the ANU Centre for Mental Health Research (www.ehub.anu.edu.au) is committed to developing self-help resources which empower individuals with free online information, support and skills training. The e-hub suite of web services includes BlueBoard (www.blueboard.anu.edu.au) - an online mutual support community which provides a safe, non-stigmatising space to converse with others who know what you are going through.

BlueBoard is a supportive environment where users can anonymously share their experiences of depression or anxiety, or of caring for someone who is depressed or anxious. BlueBoard members explain:.

"bb is great and my only support....i need it regularly as it keeps me in check and motivated....probably because i can talk about things 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Its like a help line for me and the people on here are amazing, caring, loving souls." BlueBoard member more

WiiFit at Royal Melbourne Hospital

Physiotherapists at The Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park Campus introduced a Wii gaming console including the WiiFit system as a means to bring variety into what can sometimes be a slow and painful treatment process for patients. Kelly Bower, a physiotherapist working in neurological rehabilitation at RMH Royal Park Campus said the Wii gaming system was proving popular with patients, and helped to bring out their competitive streaks. Therapists have found patients using this technology often showed increased engagement and motivation in therapy, as well as higher activity levels. more

impetus

impetus™ is a network of local General Practitioners (GPs) working to improve health care in the local community. Established in July 1993 as part of the General Practice Divisions Program, the company is one of 115 Divisions of General Practice set up to assist and support general practices throughout Australia. impetus™ receives a range of funding, the main funder being the Department of Health & Ageing. They provide a wide range of services to advance and encourage general practice to achieve high professional standards, whilst promoting relationships and partnerships, within the community.

SMS SecureTrans is a server-based technology that enables organizations to send secure SMS. SMS SecureTrans ensures that only the targeted recipient receives the message. The great thing about SMS SecureTrans is its ability to be adapted to a number of different usage situations where verification of user identity is critical. Campaign Messenger is a unique stand alone business application that allows two-way text messaging and VoIP as a useful and unique communication tool. Campaign Messenger operates from either the desktop or in-house server to enhance the security of your customer data. SMS Print is a very innovative approach to sending SMS, which operates with any SMS application, simply open the document you wish to print, select SMS Print, enter the destination number and it will convert the document into an SMS message and deliver it to the patient's mobile phone using our secure messaging platform.  more

Canteen - bringing together young people living with cancer

CanTeen - The Australian Organisation for Young People Living with Cancer, is the national support organisation for young people (aged 12-24) living with cancer. The touchstone of CanTeen is the belief that young people, through meeting and talking with one another, are better able to cope with the uncertainties of a cancer diagnosis.

Lisa's Story
As I started my last year of high school in 2005 the last thing I thought about was getting sick again. I had just gotten over glandular fever. At the end of first term assignments and exams where coming up; I had a lot on my mind. I was preparing for the upcoming soccer matches and hoping to get captain after being in the team since grade 8. Everything had started to fall into place until I found a bruise on my upper leg. At first I thought it was dirt it was so dark so I tried to rub it off but at the time I didn't think much of it. more

Better Health Channel

Victorian health website is Australia's number 1
One of Australia's most trusted health websites has scooped a major national popularity award proving that quality health information still matters. The Better Health Channel, a site that has been run by the Victorian Government for the past ten years, has outclassed several major commercial health websites to win the number 1 position as the most visited health and medical information website in Australia.  more

Livewire.org.au

 David says: "If you think about being really sick then you feel sick. If you have something to distract you then you don't focus on how bad you are feeling. Livewire is a great distraction and a great way of staying in touch with the world when I'n hospital for really long periods of time."

Livewire is a free, safe and fun online community for people aged over 10 and under 21 living with a serious illness, chronic health condition or disability.

Livewire members testimonials

"Livewire is a really kool place for sick kids to hang out and talk to others with similar conditions. This is a big plus for those kids who live out of the city."

"I think being a member of livewire is like being a member of a huge family in which everyone has had similar experiences and you can easily relate to some things. It is great to be a member of this large family."

"I like Livewire a lot because it is a bit of a family. There's an immediate sense of togetherness because even if we don't say it, we all have something in common. That means you don't have to hide anything and aren't alienated like you are around other kids."

"I want to make friends with kids with similar experiences. My friends don't fully understand" more

Xndo

Xndo is a science-based Weight Management Program that incorporates the 3 important fundamentals of weight management; Dietary Intervention, Behavioural Modification and Exercise, we can achieve life long weight goals.

"Living in a country region, I didn't want to travel to attend a weight loss program, so for many years, I continued to slowly but surely put on weight. When Xndo arrived at my local pharmacy - something I could attend during my weekly shopping trip - I was there! After my first meeting, I went home equipped with my diary and guidelines and I was off and running" - Elizabeth more

Surgical Multimedia Services

Surgical Multimedia Services is a medical animation production company specializing in validated multimedia consumer health information and clinical education. The multimedia content is developed in partnership with clinical experts and the target audience to provide an evidence-based, relevant and accessible information/knowledge resource.

Multimedia health information and knowledge resources - a powerful tool:

1. An adjunct to the informed consent process
2. Patient education
3. Clinical education

Informed Consent Technology (ICT) modules for major joint surgery.

Major joint surgery patient feedback following viewing of the module content in 2007 prior to surgery *

Come Early...Stay late - Win great Nintendo prizes!
As an incentive to get everyone to see our great opening speakers and our sparkling closing presentations we will be putting all those who are at the first session or the last session of the program into a draw to win either a Nintendo WII Sports or a Nintendo DS. These are great prizes, so don't miss the opportunity to to take away your own game for health.