Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354803
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Interdisciplinary Network for Research into the Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of Health (ELSAH). Australia lacks a national academic forum to consider issues involving biotechnology, health resource allocation, (bio)ethics and citizenship. This project will
- establish an interdisciplinary network for research into the social, legal and ethical dimensions of healthcare, biotechnology and medical science;
- co-ordinate this expertise in the national interest;
- assist policy makers, resear ....Interdisciplinary Network for Research into the Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of Health (ELSAH). Australia lacks a national academic forum to consider issues involving biotechnology, health resource allocation, (bio)ethics and citizenship. This project will
- establish an interdisciplinary network for research into the social, legal and ethical dimensions of healthcare, biotechnology and medical science;
- co-ordinate this expertise in the national interest;
- assist policy makers, researchers, technology developers and communities to make informed decisions, and
- make health systems more equitable and socially acceptable.
This in turn will build trust, foster informed debate, increase community input into health policy, and help us understand complex social systems and examine the values embedded in them.
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Knowledge and attitudes about life extension technology: public and stakeholder perspectives. This comprehensive investigation will contribute new knowledge that will help Australians to better cope with the social and economic consequences of an ageing population. New developments in the biosciences promise the possibility of extending human life past 120 years. This study will assist government, healthcare providers and researchers to understand the public reaction to such developments and en ....Knowledge and attitudes about life extension technology: public and stakeholder perspectives. This comprehensive investigation will contribute new knowledge that will help Australians to better cope with the social and economic consequences of an ageing population. New developments in the biosciences promise the possibility of extending human life past 120 years. This study will assist government, healthcare providers and researchers to understand the public reaction to such developments and enable them to plan for the future. The study will contribute to future strategic research and train a future researcher in the priority health goal of ageing well, ageing productively.Read moreRead less
Big-Picture Bioethics: policy-making and liberal democracy. We live an era of rapid growth in biotechnology generating new and difficult ethical questions that need to be tackled by bioethicists and politicians. This project goes beyond typical approaches in bioethics to explore the "big picture": how policies are generated in ethically-contentious domains. It is important to examine how the values of different stakeholders are reflected in such processes to ensure that they are in accordance wi ....Big-Picture Bioethics: policy-making and liberal democracy. We live an era of rapid growth in biotechnology generating new and difficult ethical questions that need to be tackled by bioethicists and politicians. This project goes beyond typical approaches in bioethics to explore the "big picture": how policies are generated in ethically-contentious domains. It is important to examine how the values of different stakeholders are reflected in such processes to ensure that they are in accordance with Australia's commitment to fostering a multicultural, pluralistic, democratic society. This project will produce practical recommendations for refining public consultation in healthcare policy-making through an examination of three relevant contentious case studies in Australia with comparison to Canada.Read moreRead less
Consent in the void: moral, legal and community values in decisions about human biological donations. This project will improve consent procedures for embryo and organ donation. This will increase the autonomy of those consenting, the quality of consent that is given, and increase public trust in the processes of embryo and organ donation. The legal and moral status of the wishes of the newly dead or embryo donors and will be clarified thereby increasing the quality of consent processes for all ....Consent in the void: moral, legal and community values in decisions about human biological donations. This project will improve consent procedures for embryo and organ donation. This will increase the autonomy of those consenting, the quality of consent that is given, and increase public trust in the processes of embryo and organ donation. The legal and moral status of the wishes of the newly dead or embryo donors and will be clarified thereby increasing the quality of consent processes for all involved. By including community values in addition to the legal and moral issues, this project will make well-founded recommendations for the development of laws, policies and guidelines in relation to decisions about frozen embryos and the newly dead.Read moreRead less
Can and should we link data at a national level? Vaccine safety surveillance: A case study. This project provides many benefits for the community, exploring the legal and ethical issues around consent for data linkage, convening Citizens' Juries to weigh the evidence and make recommendations. It addresses National Research Priorities: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and Safeguarding Australia as well as National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy priorities. It uses vaccine sa ....Can and should we link data at a national level? Vaccine safety surveillance: A case study. This project provides many benefits for the community, exploring the legal and ethical issues around consent for data linkage, convening Citizens' Juries to weigh the evidence and make recommendations. It addresses National Research Priorities: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and Safeguarding Australia as well as National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy priorities. It uses vaccine safety surveillance as a case study to evaluate the effectiveness of data linkage (through linking Commonwealth immunisation data to state hospital data) and the methodologies and lessons learnt from cross jurisdictional data linkage can be transferred to other areas. Read moreRead less
When informed consent goes poorly: A descriptive study of health care complaints and medical negligence claims. To correct process failures effectively, one must understand them. This project will improve knowledge of problems and disputes that arise when patients are 'consented' for medical treatment -- an enterprise in which thousands of Australians, many at very vulnerable stages of their lives, are engaged daily. Study findings will advance understanding of breakdowns in the informed conse ....When informed consent goes poorly: A descriptive study of health care complaints and medical negligence claims. To correct process failures effectively, one must understand them. This project will improve knowledge of problems and disputes that arise when patients are 'consented' for medical treatment -- an enterprise in which thousands of Australians, many at very vulnerable stages of their lives, are engaged daily. Study findings will advance understanding of breakdowns in the informed consent process and help shape strategies for reducing them. Our partner organisations are extraordinarily well-placed to carry insights from this work to health professionals in the field, enhancing opportunities for real benefits to patients from the research. The project fits with the national research priority of promoting and maintaining good health.Read moreRead less
Addiction, moral identity and moral agency: Integrating theoretical and empirical approaches. By clarifying and evaluating scientific claims about the moral impacts of addiction on the judgment and practices of drug addicted persons and by investigating the perspectives of users and treatment professionals, our project will contribute to the development of ethical and effective public policy, treatment and education programs in the addictions area, thus helping to address the causes and reduce t ....Addiction, moral identity and moral agency: Integrating theoretical and empirical approaches. By clarifying and evaluating scientific claims about the moral impacts of addiction on the judgment and practices of drug addicted persons and by investigating the perspectives of users and treatment professionals, our project will contribute to the development of ethical and effective public policy, treatment and education programs in the addictions area, thus helping to address the causes and reduce the impact of biological, social and environmental factors which diminish life potential in drug addicted persons. The innovative features of this project will enhance Australia's international reputation in bioethics and moral psychology, extend the reach of experimental philosophy, and facilitate future interdisciplinary work.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354508
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
A collaboration to study organisational and social factors of work practice change to reduce risk of harm in healthcare. Preventing harm is a national priority in healthcare and research. Recent studies that quantified the extent of healthcare error has focussed policy attention on technical solutions to manage risk. This focus has not brought hoped-for sustainable improvement because the often-invisible environmental barriers to change have not been identified and addressed. A cross-disciplin ....A collaboration to study organisational and social factors of work practice change to reduce risk of harm in healthcare. Preventing harm is a national priority in healthcare and research. Recent studies that quantified the extent of healthcare error has focussed policy attention on technical solutions to manage risk. This focus has not brought hoped-for sustainable improvement because the often-invisible environmental barriers to change have not been identified and addressed. A cross-disciplinary collaboration of academics, consumers and industry partners will link to investigate the organisational, social and psychological factors that facilitate or impede change and the conditions under which sustainable improvement can be achieved. The collaboration is unique. Economic, industrial, societal and professional outcomes with international implications are expected.Read moreRead less
Human Oöcytes for Stem Cell Research: donation and regulation in Australia. This study will contribute to the development of workable, ethical guidelines and practices for Australian research oöcyte donation. It will contribute to the protection of women's health and autonomy and the design of sound donation practices and support services. It will contribute to the national and international debate about the ethics of stem cell research, and improve the knowledge base available to regulators and ....Human Oöcytes for Stem Cell Research: donation and regulation in Australia. This study will contribute to the development of workable, ethical guidelines and practices for Australian research oöcyte donation. It will contribute to the protection of women's health and autonomy and the design of sound donation practices and support services. It will contribute to the national and international debate about the ethics of stem cell research, and improve the knowledge base available to regulators and other stakeholders to frame adequate and comprehensive regulation.Read moreRead less
Caring for Asylum Seekers in Australia: Bioethics and Human Rights. Australia's policy of mandatory detention has been criticised at home and abroad. This research will bring together both empirical and reflective material about that policy by those who have seen its effects first hand, which will make an important contribution to national self-definition. The research process itself will bring together practitioners who have worked in the field, many of whom have expressed the need for recordin ....Caring for Asylum Seekers in Australia: Bioethics and Human Rights. Australia's policy of mandatory detention has been criticised at home and abroad. This research will bring together both empirical and reflective material about that policy by those who have seen its effects first hand, which will make an important contribution to national self-definition. The research process itself will bring together practitioners who have worked in the field, many of whom have expressed the need for recording their experiences, and guidelines as to how to practice in the future when human rights issues form a part of clinical practice. As such, the project will contribute to other areas of healthcare where such issues are present, such as indigenous health, mental health, and the care of other vulnerable populations. Read moreRead less