Are you and your patient's measles immunsations up to date?

How to check your immunistaion status in Australia.

Adults in Australia can access their Immunisation History Statment through myGov, the Express Medicare mobile app, or by contacting the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). Parents can check for their children.

The AIR is a national register that records vaccines given to people of all ages in Australia. 

Accessing Your Immunisation History Statement:

myGov: Link your Medicare online account to your myGov account and access your immunisation history statement. 

Express Plus Medicare mobile app: Use the app to access your immunisation history statement. 

AIR Enquiries Line: Call the AIR enquiries line at 1800 653 809. 

Ask your Doctor or Immunisation Provider: They can access the AIR and print a copy for you.

What if you can't find records?

If you cannot find records of past vaccinations, it's generally safe to restart vaccinations from scratch. 

Blood Tests: Your GP may also perform blood tests to check for immunity to certain diseases, including measles, mumps, and rubella. 

Measles vaccines given before 1994 are less likely to be recorded on the AIR, so you may need to check with your vaccination provider or parents for records. 

Health professionals working in the community can remind their clients to check their immunisation history as measles has once again become an issue in the community. Measles is one of the most contagious viral illnesses. It spreads through the air when a person breathes, coughs or sneezes. On average, one person can infect 12 to 18 others who are not immune.

Measles is severe in around one in ten children. Complications can include ear infection, diarrhoea and pneumonia, and, more rarely, encephalitis (brain swelling).

However, adults can also catch and spread the disease, making up 10–20% of measles cases during outbreaks.

On March 26 NSW Health issued an alert advising people to be vigilant for signs of measles after an infectious person visited Sydney Airport and two locations in western New South Wales. Download a NSW Health Measles fact sheet here.

There are active measles outbreaks in several countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia. If you are traveling, ensure you are vaccinated.

Vaccination has saved millions of lives

The measles vaccine has changed the trajectory of this disease. In the 21st century alone, measles vaccination is thought to have saved more than 60 million lives globally.

The measles vaccine is free through Australia’s National Immunisation Program. It’s routinely given at 12 and 18 months of age. The first dose is combined with mumps and rubella (the MMR vaccine) and the second adds protection against chickenpox, or varicella (MMRV).

False suggestions that the measles vaccination is linked with disorders such as autism have been thoroughly disproven. The vaccine is very safe and highly effective.

This is for informational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional.

 Library Resources: Spotlight on Physiotherapy!

Books:

Essential skills for physiotherapists : a personal and professional development framework / edited by David Clancy, Stuart Porter, Jeff Konin, Amelia J. H. Arundale, Grant Downie, Ciaran Dunne.

Practical evidence-based physiotherapy / Rob Herbert, Gro Jamtvedt, Kåre Birger Hagen, Mark R. Elkins.

Brukner & Kahn's clinical sports medicine : foundations of clinical practice / Peter Brukner et al.

Respiratory physiotherapy pocketbook : an on-call survival guide / [edited by] Jane Cross, Mary Ann Broad, Matthew Quint, Paul Ritson and Sandy Thomas.

Manual therapy for musculoskeletal pain syndromes César Fernández-de-las-Peñas, Joshua A. Cleland, Jan Dommerholt ; forewords by Ola Grimsby, Rob A.B. Oostendorp, Prof. Dr. Andry Vleeming.

Pocketbook of taping techniques / edited by Rose Macdonald.

Guccione's geriatric physical therapy / edited by Dale Avers and Rita A. Wong

Essentials of cardiopulmonary physical therapy [edited by] Ellen Hillegass.

Campbell's physical therapy for children / Robert J. Palisano

Neurologic rehabilitation : neuroscience and neuroplasticity in physical therapy practice / Deborah S. Nichols Larsen, Deborah Kegelmeyer, John Buford, Anne Kloos, Jill Heathcock, D. Michele Basso.

Evidence-based physical therapy for the pelvic floor : bridging science and clinical practice / edited by Kari B, Bary Berghmans, Siv Mrkved, Marijke Van Kampen.

Manual therapy : NAGS, SNAGS, MWMs etc. / Brian R. Mulligan

eBooks:

Therapeutic Exercise: Foundations and Techniques -8th ed

Rehabilitation of the Spine: A Patient-Centered Approach-3rd ed

Journals:

Archives of Physiotherapy (2015 to current)

JOSPT: The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy (1979 to current)

British Journal of Sports Medicine (1970 to 90 days ago)

Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy Journal (1999 to current)

Databases:

PEDro (via CiAP)

Contact the library or visit our website if you would like to access any of these resources.

RR-Clan Rural Research Collaborative Learning Network - Education Opportunity

Please use this link - Click here to register  OR the QR code above.

Who are the Rural Research Collaborative Learning Network (RR-CLaN)?

The RR-CLaN is a rural led initiative that aims to provide high-quality research education and training to healthcare staff working in rural, regional and remote areas. Our aim is to provide you with the education and training opportunities to build key skills in how to use and undertake research to improve healthcare delivery.

RR-CLaN collaborators:

NSW: Central Coast Local Health District; Far West Local Health District; Hunter New England Local Health District; Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District; Mid North Coast Local Health District; Murrumbidgee Local Health District; Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District; Northern New South Wales Local Health District; Southern New South Wales Local Health District; Western New South Wales Local Health District; Health Education and Training Institute (HETI).

QLD: Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre (supporting Townsville Hospital and Health Service; Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service; Mackay Hospital and Health Service; North West Hospital and Health Service; Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service); Darling Downs Health Innovation and Research Collaborative; Darling Downs, South West Hospital and Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service.

 Proceed with Caution: AI as a Search Tool

Are you using AI to conduct academic research?  Or maybe just to find out about a topic relevant to your practice?

You’re not the only one!  Coffey (2024) reports some kind of AI is being used by 75% of researchers….even though 92% of them don’t trust it.

This distrust is not without reason, and its good to see.  There are some serious pitfalls to using AI to find factual information or even to find research articles.  However, there are also some helpful AI based tools that may support your information seeking.

Traditionally, academic databases and more recently, institution-hosted discovery tools have been the way to find published, peer-reviewed information.  However, since the development of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT and CoPilot, information seeking in all its forms has evolved (Ayre et al, 2025).

Some major issues with AI generated search results are bias and misinformation.  Bias can occur due to the fact that generative AI learns from previous data (Williamson & Fernandez, 2025) and anyone, anywhere can be inputting that data.  A major source of misinformation are hallucinations, where AI conjures up information that is inaccurate or false or a citation that does not exist (Williamson & Fernandez, 2025).  Here at District Library Services, we have been asked to retrieve articles generated by AI searches which we have found to be a hallucinations, despite how real they look!

Along with these issues, many AI search tools do not make it simple to retrieve the citations you need to then locate the articles (Williamson & Fernandez, 2025).

Its good to remember that those traditional old academic databases are more complex for a reason.  They have boundaries around what they search so that the results they retrieve are of higher quality and more easily analysed for relevance (Williamson & Fernandez, 2025) having been mapped to subject headings.

So why then do people use AI for these type of searches?

Part of the reason is NLP or Natural Language Processing.  Developing a search strategy for an academic database can be time consuming and if you are not skilled in this area, lead to less than desirable results.  But AI tools allow you to search in natural language which means you can type in a whole question or sentence and it will bring up relevant results (Gorton, 2025).

One of the positive aspects of AI’s ability to learn is that it can provide results more tailored to the individual user (Gorton, 2025).  Some tools will even provide suggestions of additional searches you could undertake!

So what next?  Do we throw the baby out with the bathwater? AI is here to stay and there are some tools that have a reduced risk of use.

Monash Health have helpfully analysed these tools for you and even provide a handy matrix for you to use to decide which to use (Gorton, 2025).

Each tool has its pluses and minuses and its individual characteristics may influence which you choose, but Monash recommend Consensus.app and Semantic Scholar and suggest you steer clear of Copilot and ChatGPT amongst others (Gorton, 2025).

If you choose to use AI for your searching, please keep this sage advice from Williamson & Fernandez (2025) in mind "It should be emphasized that while AI search may function as a valuable time saver, for high-stakes searchers, it remains unreliable enough that it is inherently problematic if it is to be used as the only method of research."

So while it can be a useful tool, it is no replacement for a thorough search strategy put through a variety of academic databases.  Reach out to the library for assistance with this.  We can undertake a literature search for you or provide training so that you are more equipped to undertake your own.  You can contact us here.

Monash Health’s fantastic Literature Searching Guide can be accessed here.  Look for the AI search tools section at the bottom.

Ayre, J., Cvejic, E. & McCaffery, K. J., (2025). Use of ChatGPT to obtain health information in Australia, 2024: insights from a nationally representative survey. Medical Journal of Australia, 222(4), 210-212. https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52598

Coffey, L. (2024). Most researchers use AI-Powered tools despite distrust. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/05/24/report-most-researchers-use-ai-tools-despite-distrusting-it

Gorton, C. (2025). Tech Showdown – AI Search Tools Special Issue. Journal of Health Information and Libraries Australia, 5(1), 5-8.

Williamson, J. M. & Fernandez, P. (2025). “Through the looking glass: envisioning new library technologies” academic search using artificial intelligence tools. Library Hi Tech News, 42(2), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-01-2024-0014.

 CiAP Online Training

Need to brush up on your database searching skills? Sign up today!

 Happy Mardi Gras!

Spotlight on LGBTQIA+ Health Resources

Resources held by District Library Services - MNCLHD:

Visit or contact the Library to borrow.

Fast facts about LGBTQ+ care for nurses : How to deliver culturally competent and inclusive care by Tyler Traister

"I wrote this book to provide nurses from all practice settings and experience levels the knowledge and understanding of how to care for the LGBTQ population. The first of its kind, this book offers the nurse concise and pragmatic information to deliver culturally competent and inclusive care. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other gender minorities (LGBTQ) face unique challenges and barriers to accessing healthcare, resulting in poor health outcomes. Studies have consistently shown the greater risk for poor health outcomes due to fear or mistrust of healthcare providers, such as nurses, because of past discrimination and refusal of care and acceptance, which have created systemic health disparities. Nursing textbooks and education predominantly focus on cisgender heteronormative populations - leaving the nurse without the knowledge and information needed to care for this diverse population" – Tyler Traister

You be you! : the kid's guide to gender, sexuality, and family by Jonathan Branfman ; illustrated by Julie Benbassat

This is an illustrated children's book that makes gender identity, sexual orientation and family diversity easy to explain to children. Throughout the book kids learn that there are many kinds of people in the world and that diversity is something to be celebrated. It covers gender, romantic orientation, discrimination, intersectionality, privilege, and how to stand up for what's right. With charming illustrations, clear explanations, and short sections that can be dipped in and out of, this book helps children think about how to create a kinder, more tolerant world.

Transgender health : a practitioner's guide to binary and non-binary trans patient care by Ben Vincent (available in hardcopy or eBook)

This guide shows how to sensitively treat and care for transgender patients in healthcare settings. Distilling cutting edge research into practical advice, it covers everything from referral procedures to respectful language and insights on the wider social and ethical issues experienced by this growing client group

Other Resources:

Rainbow Resource for Mental Health Care from NSW Health's Agency for Clinical Innovation

"A toolkit for child and adolescent mental health clinicians supporting LGBTIQ+ young people and their families.  This resource offers guidance for mental health clinicians to understand the needs of LGBTIQ+ young people and effectively support their mental health and wellbeing through affirming, best-practice care."

ACON

ACON is an LGBTQIA+ Community Organisation that focuses on the health of its community.  They have metropolitan and regional branches as well as many online resources.