Community events provide great opportunities to be with our community

The Pasifika Fusion and Children’s Day events hosted in Whangārei last weekend provided local public health teams an opportunity to get amongst the community sharing information and offer services. 

Public Health, Manawa Ora, the Mobile Ear Clinic, and Rheumatic Fever teams attended the weekend events, thoroughly enjoying the experiences.  

“We were allocated excellent sites on both days and were highly visible with lots of foot traffic,” noted Dean Barber, Manawa Ora/Healthy Homes Initiative Kaiwhakarite. 

The cervical screening team offered HPV screening at the Pasifika Festival, and 14 people took up the opportunity to have the health check. 

“It was also inspiring that thirty more people checked in on when their next screening date was due.” 

Manawa Ora, a free service supporting whānau with tamariki to create warmer, drier, healthier homes, also successfully engaged with whānau. 

“We processed 16 Manawa Ora referrals at the Pasifika Fusion Festival and 29 at Children’s’ Day,” Dean said. 

“Given we did four referrals in January and 12 in February, it proves that being in the community, at events where whānau are, improves access and connects with people closer to home.” 

Many spoke about their desperation for assistance, difficulty managing their finances, and keeping their homes properly maintained, warm, and dry. 

“The whānau we engaged were so grateful for the support we offered, and there was lots of interest on our services on both days,” Dean said. 

Rheumatic fever is a preventable severe disease which may cause permanent heart damage. 

The Public Health Nurses spent time helping whānau understand what Rheumatic Fever is and explaining the signs and symptoms to look out for. 

“We were able to let whānau know about the Pharmacy Throat Swabbing service available throughout Te Tai Tokerau and help them understand which tamariki are eligible,” said Nurse Coordinator - Rheumatic Fever Niki Springfield. 

“More than 95% of the Rheumatic Fever cases in Te Tai Tokerau are Māori and Pacifica tamariki, so the throat swabbing programme focuses on Māori and Pacific people 4–19-year-olds and provides a free service at the Pharmacy.”  

Throat Swabbing in Pharmacy for Eligible Māori or Pacific Peoples - 4-19 years old 

Rheumatic fever often starts with a sore throat (a streptococcal infection).  A few weeks later, the following symptoms may develop:

• sore or swollen joints
• a skin rash
• a fever
• stomach pain
• jerky movements

By taking sore throats seriously, we can help prevent lifelong illness and suffering for our tamariki.

• Stop sore throats hurting hearts. An untreated sore throat (‘strep throat’) can lead to rheumatic fever, or rheumatic heart disease which can cause serious heart problems.
• If a child complains of a sore throat, make sure they are checked by a doctor.
• If a ‘strep throat’ is diagnosed, the doctor will usually prescribe a 10-day course of antibiotics.
• It is important to complete the whole 10-day course to prevent rheumatic fever from developing.
   

Photos

We hosted a draw at the Pasifika Fusion event where anyone who completed a referral went into the draw for the hamper.

The winner was Waimania Rikihana pictured with Manawa Ora administrator Lisa Hemara.

At Children’s Day anyone who came and talked with our teams went into the draw for one of two hampers.

The first hamper was won by the Kavea whānau, and the second hamper was won by Saige Tuhiwai.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

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