Future proofing

An important aspect of the health and wellbeing of bleeding disorders community members? 

PREETHA JAYARAM

Preetha Jayaram is the Haemophilia Foundation Australia Getting Older Project Officer

I took up the position of Project Officer at HFA in February 2019 and, as a first step in the project, have been looking into the needs of people with bleeding disorders in the future. This has involved consulting with community members, state and territory foundations, medical specialists, haemophilia nurses, psychosocial workers and physiotherapists to explore current issues and how to ‘future proof’ as people grow older.

Getting Older is a priority project of HFA. The project aims to identify, understand and respond to the range of needs people with bleeding disorders may have as they are getting older and help find appropriate solutions for them and their partner/family or friends/carers. 

In the second stage of the project we will look at some solutions to enable people in the bleeding disorders community and their partner/family to manage their health and wellbeing into the future as they grow older. These will be taken from the recommendations in the needs assessment. To reach the community in this digital age, this will include online options for community members to inform themselves and connect with each other. This may involve, for example, expert information about exercise with arthritis or travelling as you get older. It will be important to give a voice to men and women – both people with bleeding disorders and partners/family or carers – so that they can share thoughts about what is needed and the strategies and services they have found useful. It may also involve strengthening current peer support groups.

I am looking forward to speaking with bleeding disorders community members and their partners/family around Australia to hear the issues they see around ‘future proofing’ their lives. 

If you are interested in sharing your thoughts about ‘future proofing’ and getting older with a bleeding disorder, please contact Preetha Jayaram at HFA to talk about your availability. Partners/family also welcome.

Phone: 1800 807 173 (tollfree)
Email: PJayaram@haemophilia.org.au