Surviving and thriving in the face of workplace adversity: An intervention to develop personal resilience in nurses and midwives. This project will provide evidence about resilience as a strategy to enhance the ability of nurses and midwives to thrive in climates of rapid organisational change. Findings of this study will provide information about the value of initiating sustainable strategies that can support nurses and midwives to develop their personal resilience. Australia is currently exper ....Surviving and thriving in the face of workplace adversity: An intervention to develop personal resilience in nurses and midwives. This project will provide evidence about resilience as a strategy to enhance the ability of nurses and midwives to thrive in climates of rapid organisational change. Findings of this study will provide information about the value of initiating sustainable strategies that can support nurses and midwives to develop their personal resilience. Australia is currently experiencing an acute and chronic shortage of nurses and midwives, and findings of this study will assist organisations by providing a validated and sensitive model to develop resilience in staff. This may reduce staff turnover and contribute to the retention of nurses and midwives.
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Bullying in the workplace: A study of Australian Nurses. Improving the work life of nurses is an emerging issue in the international media, for the nursing profession and health managers. Bullying has been identified as a significant workplace issue for nurses and links to workplace retention inferred. This timely study, through a process of in-depth interview, expert consultation and national survey will differentiate the extent, nature and sequelae of bullying in the Australian nursing contex ....Bullying in the workplace: A study of Australian Nurses. Improving the work life of nurses is an emerging issue in the international media, for the nursing profession and health managers. Bullying has been identified as a significant workplace issue for nurses and links to workplace retention inferred. This timely study, through a process of in-depth interview, expert consultation and national survey will differentiate the extent, nature and sequelae of bullying in the Australian nursing context. The results will provide a framework for policy makers and health professionals to explore proactive approaches to bullying and provide a validated tool that can be used to explore bullying in other workplace settings.Read moreRead less
Improving mental health nurses’ retention and quality of nursing practice. This project aims to improve mental health nurses’ resilience, retention and quality of practice through implementation of a resilience-building program. There is a critical national shortage of nurses in mental health, and attrition of the mental health nursing workforce is due in large part to workplace stressors. As a world-first in the field, the study will compare outcomes for mental health nurses who participate in ....Improving mental health nurses’ retention and quality of nursing practice. This project aims to improve mental health nurses’ resilience, retention and quality of practice through implementation of a resilience-building program. There is a critical national shortage of nurses in mental health, and attrition of the mental health nursing workforce is due in large part to workplace stressors. As a world-first in the field, the study will compare outcomes for mental health nurses who participate in the resilience program with a group of nurses who do not. Extending on a successful pilot, we expect the outcomes to be improved nurse resilience, turnover intention, and quality of nursing practice, and reduced negative psychological impacts of workplace stress. Read moreRead less
Patient and nurse outcomes and the cost of nurses' turnover in Australian hospitals. An adequate supply of nurses is fundamental to all of the National Health Priority disease areas where quality care cannot be delivered without an adequate number of motivated nurses. Designing cost-effective methods of retaining nurses requires understanding reasons why they leave the workforce and the impact this has on patient care and system costs. The findings will assist policy makers and workforce planner ....Patient and nurse outcomes and the cost of nurses' turnover in Australian hospitals. An adequate supply of nurses is fundamental to all of the National Health Priority disease areas where quality care cannot be delivered without an adequate number of motivated nurses. Designing cost-effective methods of retaining nurses requires understanding reasons why they leave the workforce and the impact this has on patient care and system costs. The findings will assist policy makers and workforce planners at both local and national levels, to design strategies to effectively recruit and retain nurses as demands for health care and market competition for staff both increase.Read moreRead less
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.
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
Fit for the future: safeguarding the health and wellbeing of the Australian nursing workforce to sustain future healthcare service delivery. Nursing shortages, occupational pressures, ageing and associated chronic ill health of the Australian nursing workforce threaten the ability of health services to meet Australia's health needs. This project will provide new information on nurses' health to support policy and practice intervention, increase capability and enhance workforce retention.
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
Improving the quality of nursing care and health outcomes for elderly patients during acute hospitalisation. This study aims to compare the perceptions of nurses, elderly patients and their carers in terms of the nursing needs of elderly hospitalised patients'. It will also investigate reasons for any differences found between expectations and reality of care provided. The significance is that the elderly are the largest consumers of health care yet this is the first collaborative Australian ....Improving the quality of nursing care and health outcomes for elderly patients during acute hospitalisation. This study aims to compare the perceptions of nurses, elderly patients and their carers in terms of the nursing needs of elderly hospitalised patients'. It will also investigate reasons for any differences found between expectations and reality of care provided. The significance is that the elderly are the largest consumers of health care yet this is the first collaborative Australian study to investigate the needs of elderly patients. Expected outcomes are an education program for nurses and the development of evidence-based models of nursing care for elderly patients, increased patient satisfaction and health outcomes. Hospitals ultimately benefit in cost-effectiveness and efficiency.Read moreRead less
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.