Dignity Therapy: A Novel Psychotherapeutic Intervention for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Patients near the End of Life. Considering the scarcity of effective interventions for the kinds of distress and suffering that so commonly occur amongst MND dying patients, this novel therapeutic intervention could become a very easy, practical intervention adopted within palliative care facilities and MND organisations. Unlike most palliative care interventions, this approach, leading to the production of a ....Dignity Therapy: A Novel Psychotherapeutic Intervention for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Patients near the End of Life. Considering the scarcity of effective interventions for the kinds of distress and suffering that so commonly occur amongst MND dying patients, this novel therapeutic intervention could become a very easy, practical intervention adopted within palliative care facilities and MND organisations. Unlike most palliative care interventions, this approach, leading to the production of a generativity document, has the important added potential benefit of being a powerful bereavement intervention for carers. The potential benefits of this intervention could lead to a reduction in in-patient admissions and a reduced need for respite for both the person with MND and the family carer.Read moreRead less
To implement and evaluate flexible models of palliative care service delivery for terminally ill people living alone at home. Provision of evaluated services for this growing population group will lead to better planning and implementation of care being delivered at home, improved quality of life, increased capacity to die at home, and a reduction in hospitalisations and other health care costs.
Safety and resiliency at home: voices of children who live with fear. Finding out what can help children feel safer who are currently living in households where there is family violence will enable early intervention for better outcomes for such children. This research is significant because it will focus on targeting appropriate responses by listening to the views of children themselves and hence finding out what is really helpful for them to build resiliency. This is important to the work of a ....Safety and resiliency at home: voices of children who live with fear. Finding out what can help children feel safer who are currently living in households where there is family violence will enable early intervention for better outcomes for such children. This research is significant because it will focus on targeting appropriate responses by listening to the views of children themselves and hence finding out what is really helpful for them to build resiliency. This is important to the work of a key family welfare agency (Berry St) but it also has benefit for health and welfare workers throughout Australia. Appropriate early intervention will not only help the families concerned but will strengthen Australia's economic and social fabric, a priority goal of the national research agenda.Read moreRead less
The emotional and social burden of caring for a young child with complex health needs. The National Agenda for Early Childhood and the Stronger Families and Community Strategy provide a framework for achieving efficient and effective outcomes in early childhood. This project will contribute to those strategies by gaining an understanding of the currently unknown issues faced by the group of families of young infants and children with complex health needs in a variety of geographic, community and ....The emotional and social burden of caring for a young child with complex health needs. The National Agenda for Early Childhood and the Stronger Families and Community Strategy provide a framework for achieving efficient and effective outcomes in early childhood. This project will contribute to those strategies by gaining an understanding of the currently unknown issues faced by the group of families of young infants and children with complex health needs in a variety of geographic, community and service settings, and the government supported services required. The identification of risk and resilience factors will enable the early detection of children at 'high-risk' and provide the opportunity to implement preventative and early intervention programs.Read moreRead less
Model of care: A family focussed approach to promote child protection. Childhood neglect and abuse is an issue for all Australians. Models of best practice for child protection services are essential to protect the well-being of these children. This project will draw upon information from consumers and workers to provide a framework for a sustainable model of best practice for child protection that is transferable to other settings. A further benefit of this study is that it will provide insight ....Model of care: A family focussed approach to promote child protection. Childhood neglect and abuse is an issue for all Australians. Models of best practice for child protection services are essential to protect the well-being of these children. This project will draw upon information from consumers and workers to provide a framework for a sustainable model of best practice for child protection that is transferable to other settings. A further benefit of this study is that it will provide insight into occupation health and safety issues associated with working in long term relationships with vulnerable families. Read moreRead less
Staff communication in aged care facilities: a key factor in delivering resident-focused care. Australia's ageing population makes quality of aged care a national priority. This study examines the proposed crux of quality care: communication structures and processes between staff. In collaboration with our industry partners, Blue Care, TriCare and Aged Care Queensland, the first phase of the study describes the structures and processes for effective communication in Aged Care Facilities (ACF's). ....Staff communication in aged care facilities: a key factor in delivering resident-focused care. Australia's ageing population makes quality of aged care a national priority. This study examines the proposed crux of quality care: communication structures and processes between staff. In collaboration with our industry partners, Blue Care, TriCare and Aged Care Queensland, the first phase of the study describes the structures and processes for effective communication in Aged Care Facilities (ACF's). A process of analysis will synthesize the results of Phase 1 to propose key communication-related indicators of quality care in ACF's. This model is tested in Phase 2 by examining the association between key communication-related indicators and accreditation outcomes. Read moreRead less
I am a clinical health researcher who combines the principles of public health and multidisciplinary research (from the “platelet to population”) in order to: 1. Identify key issues arising from an evolving epidemic of cardiovascular disease within our ag
Post retirement support solutions for people with intellectual disabilities and their parents/carers. The current generation is the first to contain a substantial number of people with intellectual disabilities who have survived to old age. Policy makers have yet to focus on their wellbeing following retirement from supported employment. Evidence cited by agencies such as Centacare, the Industry Partner, indicates that these older people and their ageing parents experience severe disadvantage an ....Post retirement support solutions for people with intellectual disabilities and their parents/carers. The current generation is the first to contain a substantial number of people with intellectual disabilities who have survived to old age. Policy makers have yet to focus on their wellbeing following retirement from supported employment. Evidence cited by agencies such as Centacare, the Industry Partner, indicates that these older people and their ageing parents experience severe disadvantage and worry about retirement. The project aims to redress this situation by investigating ways of preparing people for retirement and mechanisms for enabling supported employment agencies to provide services and supports that optimise post retirement wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Towards Community Aged Care Reform: Design and evaluation of a seamless, flexible service model. The project will develop and test a seamless and flexible community aged care model that is more responsive to consumer needs. To be rolled out by Uniting Care Community Options in its community aged care operations, it is expected that the project will raise consumer satisfaction, service quality, and health outcomes. The project will also explore the potential of pooled funding focusing on its pote ....Towards Community Aged Care Reform: Design and evaluation of a seamless, flexible service model. The project will develop and test a seamless and flexible community aged care model that is more responsive to consumer needs. To be rolled out by Uniting Care Community Options in its community aged care operations, it is expected that the project will raise consumer satisfaction, service quality, and health outcomes. The project will also explore the potential of pooled funding focusing on its potential to resolve major service gaps that result from the complexity of current funding arrangements. Moreover, the project will generate new scientific evidence regarding the viability of consumer-directed community aged care in Australia and establish an ongoing research program.Read moreRead less
A Model of Integrated Care for Dependant Older People Living in the Community. This research offers significant economic, health and social benefits. Promoting and maintaining good health and ageing well, ageing productively are national priority areas. Case management and telemedicine are both recognised strategies to support chronic disease self-management. Early intervention can offer significant benefits in morbidity and mortality. Enhanced service delivery using an integrated model encompas ....A Model of Integrated Care for Dependant Older People Living in the Community. This research offers significant economic, health and social benefits. Promoting and maintaining good health and ageing well, ageing productively are national priority areas. Case management and telemedicine are both recognised strategies to support chronic disease self-management. Early intervention can offer significant benefits in morbidity and mortality. Enhanced service delivery using an integrated model encompassing general practitioners, practice nurses and community carers, could improve chronic and complex disease management and reduce health costs.Read moreRead less