Integrated Kids Hubs - Ensuring Equity of Access for Children. The Integrated Kids Hubs - Ensuring Equity of Access for Children project aims to determine if integrated Hubs are effective in increasing access to child and family services for disadvantaged urban and regional families with children aged 3 years and under, thus improving early identification of developmental vulnerability, parental wellbeing and capacity, and addressing unmet psychosocial needs. If these issues are not identified a ....Integrated Kids Hubs - Ensuring Equity of Access for Children. The Integrated Kids Hubs - Ensuring Equity of Access for Children project aims to determine if integrated Hubs are effective in increasing access to child and family services for disadvantaged urban and regional families with children aged 3 years and under, thus improving early identification of developmental vulnerability, parental wellbeing and capacity, and addressing unmet psychosocial needs. If these issues are not identified and addressed early, these children will go on to struggle in school and life. We will use a pragmatic trial design (meaning the research is embedded in our usual practice), determine the social return on investment, and establish what is needed to scale up the Hubs across NSW and Australia.Read moreRead less
Improving outcomes for young people transitioning from out-of-home care. The central aim of this project is to generate the new knowledge needed to support the development, implementation, and diffusion of evidence-based innovations for young people as they transition from out-of-home care to adulthood. The project is significant because young people living in out-of-home care are more likely to enter juvenile justice, become a teenage parent, be socially excluded, have mental and physical healt ....Improving outcomes for young people transitioning from out-of-home care. The central aim of this project is to generate the new knowledge needed to support the development, implementation, and diffusion of evidence-based innovations for young people as they transition from out-of-home care to adulthood. The project is significant because young people living in out-of-home care are more likely to enter juvenile justice, become a teenage parent, be socially excluded, have mental and physical health problems and addictions. Outcomes include a world first longitudinal data evidence base, exemplars of best practice, and guidance to advance the application of transition pathways and plans to inform future innovations in Victoria and across Australia for improving transition from care with, by, and for young people. Read moreRead less
Meals on Wheels: building towards a new social experiment for our times. This project contributes directly to the National Research Priority, promoting and maintaining good health: ageing well, ageing productively, through developing evidence-based knowledge on which to build future volunteer business models. With the rapid ageing of the Australian population, it is imperative that volunteer-based organisations, such as Meals on Wheels, innovate to continue to deliver essential community service ....Meals on Wheels: building towards a new social experiment for our times. This project contributes directly to the National Research Priority, promoting and maintaining good health: ageing well, ageing productively, through developing evidence-based knowledge on which to build future volunteer business models. With the rapid ageing of the Australian population, it is imperative that volunteer-based organisations, such as Meals on Wheels, innovate to continue to deliver essential community services in a sustainable and cost-effective way. Meals on Wheels is integral within community care for frail, older people and those with disabilities, keeping people in their own homes and out of institutional care. Using national and international examples, the research has the potential to be adopted by the broad community services sector in Australia.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.
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
Substance Use in Prisons and Other Closed Settings: Identifying appropriate and effective legislative frameworks for a harm reduction approach. Influencing laws on drugs in closed settings to reflect public health approaches will directly benefit incarcerated individuals and wider communities in Cambodia and in Australia. Australian Red Cross has a long-standing commitment to improving vulnerable peoples' lives as well as a deep-seated community identity; it will facilitate the implementation o ....Substance Use in Prisons and Other Closed Settings: Identifying appropriate and effective legislative frameworks for a harm reduction approach. Influencing laws on drugs in closed settings to reflect public health approaches will directly benefit incarcerated individuals and wider communities in Cambodia and in Australia. Australian Red Cross has a long-standing commitment to improving vulnerable peoples' lives as well as a deep-seated community identity; it will facilitate the implementation of its research findings through its prisons programs. Collaborations with AusAID-funded HIV prevention, substance abuse and criminal justice reform initiatives (including HIV/AIDS Asia Regional Program (HAARP) and Cambodia Criminal Justice Assistance Program (CCJAP)) will strengthen Australia's contribution to civil society and public health in Cambodia, and simultaneously reinforce Australia's reputation as a leader on substance use and harm reduction issues.Read moreRead less
Fathers, family violence and intervention challenges. Men who use family violence remain a strong presence in the lives of their children. In this project, a research consortium of government, Indigenous organisations, and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) will identify the fathering issues and develop standards for practice interventions in this contentious area in which the need is great and the evidence is partial.
Disaster risk reduction practices that leave nobody behind. This project aims to answer critical questions about how to assist people with disabilities (PWD) in disasters, what their support needs are and how they might help themselves to better prepare for disasters. Significance includes coupling a person-centred emergency preparedness tool with cross-sectoral processes to collect and use data about the support needs of PWD in emergencies, increase cross-sector communication and collaboration ....Disaster risk reduction practices that leave nobody behind. This project aims to answer critical questions about how to assist people with disabilities (PWD) in disasters, what their support needs are and how they might help themselves to better prepare for disasters. Significance includes coupling a person-centred emergency preparedness tool with cross-sectoral processes to collect and use data about the support needs of PWD in emergencies, increase cross-sector communication and collaboration between emergency managers and community services, and improve equitable access for PWD to community-level disaster risk reduction (DRR). The expected outcome will be the co-design of effective mechanisms that state & federal decision makers can use to scale-up disability-inclusive DRR across Australia.Read moreRead less
Optimising intersectoral collaboration between the health and education sectors. The Australian Government has a clear commitment to improving the health of all Australians. In the face of rising rates of chronic illness and attendant unsustainable high medical costs, optimising outcomes for public health initiatives, such as school based immunisation programs, is of the utmost importance. The recent H1N1 (Swine Flu) epidemic school closures highlight the need for a more effective, efficient and ....Optimising intersectoral collaboration between the health and education sectors. The Australian Government has a clear commitment to improving the health of all Australians. In the face of rising rates of chronic illness and attendant unsustainable high medical costs, optimising outcomes for public health initiatives, such as school based immunisation programs, is of the utmost importance. The recent H1N1 (Swine Flu) epidemic school closures highlight the need for a more effective, efficient and flexible intersection between education and health. This project offers the opportunity for the public health and education sectors to work closely together to identify how they can best configure future collaborations to maximise outcomes for all Australians.Read moreRead less
Creating and sustaining a strong future for volunteering in Australia. This project seeks to answer the question of how to increase social participation by converting non-volunteers to the benefits of volunteering. In Australia today, communities and governments are increasingly dependent on volunteers to build social capital and deliver an increasing range of services. A world first, this project aims to create new theory by examining three levels of analysis: the micro level of the individual ....Creating and sustaining a strong future for volunteering in Australia. This project seeks to answer the question of how to increase social participation by converting non-volunteers to the benefits of volunteering. In Australia today, communities and governments are increasingly dependent on volunteers to build social capital and deliver an increasing range of services. A world first, this project aims to create new theory by examining three levels of analysis: the micro level of the individual volunteer or non-volunteer; the mezzo level of the volunteer-involving organisation; and the macro level of society. This innovative approach aims to identify, analyse and develop a tool to help organisations build Australia’s civil society and develop policy to create a sustainable volunteer sector into the future.Read moreRead less