Investigating consumer partnerships in the context of complex health service delivery. Whilst increased consumer participation has been demonstrated to improve health outcomes, there has been no translation to people with chronic illness using acute care services. People with chronic conditions represent an increasing proportion of health care consumers and due to the existence of co-morbidities their needs are usually complex. Despite this, they have been marginalised in the current development ....Investigating consumer partnerships in the context of complex health service delivery. Whilst increased consumer participation has been demonstrated to improve health outcomes, there has been no translation to people with chronic illness using acute care services. People with chronic conditions represent an increasing proportion of health care consumers and due to the existence of co-morbidities their needs are usually complex. Despite this, they have been marginalised in the current development of participatory models of service delivery. This project will investigate the determinants of participation for consumers during episodes of acute health care, identify barriers to their participation, and develop testable strategies for increasing effective consumer participation in acute health care services.Read moreRead less
Making nursing work: Developing a national framework for advanced practice in nursing. Advanced practice nursing (APN) is closing service gaps in delivery of health care across a range of settings for an aging population that is increasingly chronically ill. Development of APN has been rapid, resulting in confusion about the role and service potential. The lack of a common meaning of APN is prohibiting effective utilisation of the nursing workforce and causing confusion within nursing, the healt ....Making nursing work: Developing a national framework for advanced practice in nursing. Advanced practice nursing (APN) is closing service gaps in delivery of health care across a range of settings for an aging population that is increasingly chronically ill. Development of APN has been rapid, resulting in confusion about the role and service potential. The lack of a common meaning of APN is prohibiting effective utilisation of the nursing workforce and causing confusion within nursing, the health care industry and the community. The project aims to conduct the first nationwide study of advanced practice nurses, their clinical activities and service patterns. The research aims to develop new knowledge and professional tools and provide an evidence base for nursing workforce reform to meet the imperatives of contemporary health services.Read moreRead less
Translation of evidence into pain management practices in acute care environments. This project addresses the urgent need to reduce the substantial pain experienced by patients following surgery by improving the clinical processes associated with the treatment of pain. Each year in Australia, six million people are admitted to hospital for surgery. A recent review of Australian research has shown that up to 40% of hospitalised surgical patients experience significant pain. Despite the availabili ....Translation of evidence into pain management practices in acute care environments. This project addresses the urgent need to reduce the substantial pain experienced by patients following surgery by improving the clinical processes associated with the treatment of pain. Each year in Australia, six million people are admitted to hospital for surgery. A recent review of Australian research has shown that up to 40% of hospitalised surgical patients experience significant pain. Despite the availability of effective treatment, pain after surgery is often under-treated and is one of the main postoperative adverse outcomes. A consequence of poor pain management is that patients experience unnecessary suffering, higher incidence of postoperative complications significant risk of developing chronic post-surgical pain.Read moreRead less
Improving maternal and child health care for women experiencing violence: collaborative development, implementation and effectiveness of a good practice model. Maternal and child health services are universal community-based national services for Australia's mothers and babies. However, they are poorly researched, supported, resourced and lack evidence for managing the challenges of addressing intimate partner violence among their client populations. Partner violence is prevalent in early parent ....Improving maternal and child health care for women experiencing violence: collaborative development, implementation and effectiveness of a good practice model. Maternal and child health services are universal community-based national services for Australia's mothers and babies. However, they are poorly researched, supported, resourced and lack evidence for managing the challenges of addressing intimate partner violence among their client populations. Partner violence is prevalent in early parenthood and imposes a heavy health burden on victims and infants and a significant cost to society. If effective, this innovative model of maternal child health nursing care for abused mothers and infants will inform the enhanced provision of early intervention services nationwide, contribute to community nursing scholarship and give children a healthier start to life.Read moreRead less
Improving patient health outcomes in acute care hospital settings using mobile wireless technology and handheld computers. This project will investigate the use of wireless handheld computers, in three acute care clinical units located at Southern Health and the Royal Women's Hospital, to determine the impact on patient safety and quality of care. There is a need for real time point-of-care access (and input) to patient information, nursing reference information, and drug information for nurses ....Improving patient health outcomes in acute care hospital settings using mobile wireless technology and handheld computers. This project will investigate the use of wireless handheld computers, in three acute care clinical units located at Southern Health and the Royal Women's Hospital, to determine the impact on patient safety and quality of care. There is a need for real time point-of-care access (and input) to patient information, nursing reference information, and drug information for nurses in Australian hospitals. This project aims to address this need by providing nurses with wireless handheld access to such resources. This project is extremely significant, as the outcomes will provide nurses, in Australia and overseas, a set of guidelines for managing wireless handheld computers in clinical units, to enhance patient safety and quality of care.Read moreRead less
Examining the complexity of communication processes across transition points from the emergency department to improve medication safety. Problems in communication contribute significantly to adverse events that lead to serious harm for Australian consumers. Recent data show medication errors account for over 25% of all adverse events, while over 50% of consumers who move across transition points have medication errors relating to their treatment regimen. Financial costs from adverse events are e ....Examining the complexity of communication processes across transition points from the emergency department to improve medication safety. Problems in communication contribute significantly to adverse events that lead to serious harm for Australian consumers. Recent data show medication errors account for over 25% of all adverse events, while over 50% of consumers who move across transition points have medication errors relating to their treatment regimen. Financial costs from adverse events are estimated at around $A2billion/year, which are likely to increase with further complexities involving consumer care. This study will result in new knowledge about communication processes to inform the development of reporting methods and strategies, which positively influence the practices of health professionals in managing medications as consumers move across different environments.Read moreRead less
Patients' preference for participation in patient safety activities. This study will identify patient and nurse perceptions of involving patients in patient safety activities. Priorities for implementing strategies to support patient participation in patient safety activities will be identified, which will influence both health policy and practice.
Listen to me, I really am sick! Understanding patient and family perspectives in triggering responses to medical emergencies. This project investigates whether patient and family perspectives are treated as evidence of a deteriorating health state whilst in hospital. Recommendations from this study will inform the development of patient centred strategies to reduce delays in clinician response to physiological deterioration and improve patient safety in hospitals.
A prospective evaluation of the impact of the nurse practitioner role on emergency department service and outcomes. The local hospital emergency department (ED) is a prominent and highly utilised service in Australian communities but demand on EDs is increasing, resulting in significant service delays. This project will study the composition of ED clinical teams around Australia and their impact on improving the timeliness and quality of emergency clinical care.
Developing nurses' work as a learning practice. Innovative models of clinical experience are required to enhance the professional learning, ongoing development and retention of nursing students and experienced nurses who support their development. This project directly addresses this need through developing and appraising a model of practice-based learning and participation that reciprocally develops both novice and experienced nurses' capacities and identities. The project can potentially infor ....Developing nurses' work as a learning practice. Innovative models of clinical experience are required to enhance the professional learning, ongoing development and retention of nursing students and experienced nurses who support their development. This project directly addresses this need through developing and appraising a model of practice-based learning and participation that reciprocally develops both novice and experienced nurses' capacities and identities. The project can potentially inform the practices within both tertiary and healthcare organizations about an innovative approach to address issues impacting on the national workforce of nursing and provide a significant contribution to enhancing the knowledge and understanding of the nursing practices within healthcare. Read moreRead less