The CRE in Telehealth will advance knowledge and research capacity in telehealth to increase the availability of healthcare to all Australians. Modern communication technologies used in telehealth have the potential to revolutionise healthcare delivery. The CRE will focus on health service settings where access is currently challenging: Small rural hospitals; residential aged care facilities; people’s homes (particularly for disabled and older people); and indigenous communities.
Preventing Hospital Readmission In A Regional Australian Hospital Setting
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$565,695.00
Summary
Hospitals face high levels of emergency presentations and demand for inpatient care particularly for Aboriginal Australian people from remote communities. Readmissions lead to overcrowded emergency departments and poorer patient outcomes. We will evaluate the efficacy of a multidimensional case-based management intervention linking hospital and primary health in a regional Australian hospital with the aim of reducing hospital readmission and improving patient outcomes.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100095
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$378,920.00
Summary
Using systems science to secure the health workforce against climate change. The widespread maldistribution of the Australian health workforce is creating significant health human resource shortages in non-urban areas of need. Climate-related extreme weather events (i.e., heat, droughts, fires, floods) are projected to exacerbate workforce deficiencies in rural regions. This project aims to explore how climate change will impact the future of the rural health workforce through a novel integratio ....Using systems science to secure the health workforce against climate change. The widespread maldistribution of the Australian health workforce is creating significant health human resource shortages in non-urban areas of need. Climate-related extreme weather events (i.e., heat, droughts, fires, floods) are projected to exacerbate workforce deficiencies in rural regions. This project aims to explore how climate change will impact the future of the rural health workforce through a novel integration of computational systems science methods. The project expects to discover new policies to correct the maldistribution and strengthen the resilience of the rural health workforce against climate change impacts. Benefits include a sustained and more adaptable workforce leading to improved health for vulnerable communities.Read moreRead less
Pandemic Influenza Containment Strategies In Aboriginal Communities: What Is Acceptable And Feasible?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,056,688.00
Summary
Influenza is a serious disease with a much greater impact in Indigenous communities. This project will work with Aboriginal communities in NSW, north Qld and WA on modifying the national pandemic influenza plan to develop control strategies that are acceptable to the culture and circumstances of those communities. A template and acceptable process will then be offered to other Indigenous communities, finally leading to negotiation to modify implementation of pandemic influenza plans.
Exploring The Value Of Telehealth In Primary Care: A Controlled Trial Within The Royal Flying Doctor Service
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$465,165.00
Summary
This project will evaluate how telehealth services can partially replace expensive fly-in fly-out primary care services for people living in remote communities through reduced waiting times for appointments and significant savings related to the use of aeroplane and staff travel. The study will examine the patient and staff experiences of the change, providing important lessons to guide future development of telehealth not only for rural communities but also for primary health care in general.
Home-based Speech Treatment For Parkinsons Disease Via Telerehabilitation : Clinical And Economic Outcomes.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$485,793.00
Summary
Parkinson's Disease affects a person's ability to speak clearly. Speech pathologists can provide effective treatment for this speech disorder. Access to a speech pathologist, however, is difficult for many people with Parkinson's Disease due to their physical difficulties and the limited availability of speech pathology services in rural areas. This study demonstrates the use of telerehabilitation to deliver speech treatment to people with Parkinson's Disease in their own homes via the Internet.
Telerehabilitation: Assessing Acquired Neurogenic Communication Disorders Online.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$172,446.00
Summary
People who suffer brain damage as a result of a stroke, head injury, or a disorder such as Parkinson's disease frequently develop difficulty in either speaking, writing, reading, or understanding the spoken language. As a result, the person's ability to communicate with his or her family and friends, and the community in general is seriously affected. Individuals who experience these speech and language disorders are treated by a speech pathologist who focuses on improving the person's ability t ....People who suffer brain damage as a result of a stroke, head injury, or a disorder such as Parkinson's disease frequently develop difficulty in either speaking, writing, reading, or understanding the spoken language. As a result, the person's ability to communicate with his or her family and friends, and the community in general is seriously affected. Individuals who experience these speech and language disorders are treated by a speech pathologist who focuses on improving the person's ability to communicate. The treatment of these disorders is frequently long-term requiring speech pathology management beyond existing hospital care. For many people with these communication disorders, accessing speech pathology services after their discharge from hospital may be very difficult due to their physical difficulties, the distances they are required to travel, and the limited availability of speech pathologists in their local community. This project aims to overcome these access issues through the development of a telerehabilitation system that will enable speech pathologists to assess people with these speech and language difficulties across the Internet using videoconferencing. It is intended that this research will ultimately enable people with these types of communication difficulties to be assessed and treated within their own home or local community.Read moreRead less
Validation Of Cognitive Assessments Using Telecommunication
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$257,261.00
Summary
This project will assess the use of video conferencing to enable geriatricians to assess and diagnose memory problems including dementia. Establishing the reliability of diagnosis and other related assessments, and identifying which functions can confidently be carried out via video conferencing, is one step towards extending the availability of this service to rural and remote communities. Access to accurate diagnosis and assessment of cognitive impairment is an important step in the management ....This project will assess the use of video conferencing to enable geriatricians to assess and diagnose memory problems including dementia. Establishing the reliability of diagnosis and other related assessments, and identifying which functions can confidently be carried out via video conferencing, is one step towards extending the availability of this service to rural and remote communities. Access to accurate diagnosis and assessment of cognitive impairment is an important step in the management of dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other associated disorders. High level expertise, such as that offered by a specialist Memory Disorder Clinic, is particularly important if there is uncertainty about the diagnosis, or if the prescription of cholinesterase inhibitors and associated medications are being considered. It was estimated that in 2005 there were 52,000 people diagnosed with dementia in Australia and by 2050 there will be an additional 175,000 cases each year. For the vast number of people who will be affected by dementia, early detection and intervention will play an important role in their healthy ageing experience. Access to accurate diagnosis and advice as a function of detection and intervention is often not as freely available to people in rural areas. The experience of travelling long distances for assessment can be detrimental to the emotional well being of people who may have dementia. Access to geriatrician services in a local rural area is an important element to maintaining their sense of well being. Geriatricians are not commonly available in rural areas which means current access to specialist diagnosis and assessment is either a missed opportunity or involves extensive travel. Internationally, there are many individuals living in remote regions with no access to geriatrician services, or reliable cognitive assessment. This study will inform similar experiments in other cultural settings.Read moreRead less
Next-generation ocean current forecasting to improve maritime safety . This project aims to measure upper ocean currents at scales of 10-100 km in Australia's marine estate using pioneering satellite radar technology. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will map currents at 10 times the resolution of present-day satellites and revolutionise our understanding of ocean dynamics. Expected outcomes include validation of SWOT data in Australian waters and merging this data into Bure ....Next-generation ocean current forecasting to improve maritime safety . This project aims to measure upper ocean currents at scales of 10-100 km in Australia's marine estate using pioneering satellite radar technology. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will map currents at 10 times the resolution of present-day satellites and revolutionise our understanding of ocean dynamics. Expected outcomes include validation of SWOT data in Australian waters and merging this data into Bureau of Meteorology ocean models. Downstream benefits include improved ocean forecasts for maritime safety, search-and-rescue, spill modelling, and marine conservation. At the same time, the project will build sovereign capability in emerging remote sensing technology with a legacy beyond the life of the SWOT mission.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560920
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$129,800.00
Summary
Field spectroradiometer and associated equipment for quantitative measurement and characterization of biophysical features and calibration of remotely sensed imagery. This set of equipment will improve and extend existing research capabilities in the field of in-situ remote sensing research and applications, for both aquatic and terrestrial environments. It will contribute to knowledge regarding terrestrial, coastal and estuarine vegetation and linkages to environmental change and will assist in ....Field spectroradiometer and associated equipment for quantitative measurement and characterization of biophysical features and calibration of remotely sensed imagery. This set of equipment will improve and extend existing research capabilities in the field of in-situ remote sensing research and applications, for both aquatic and terrestrial environments. It will contribute to knowledge regarding terrestrial, coastal and estuarine vegetation and linkages to environmental change and will assist in the development of new algorithms, indices and techniques of vegetation discrimination from remotely sensed imagery. It will help in the understanding of reflectance in plants under stress or pest damage. The spectroradiometer will enable the group to expand applications in the field of urban fire hazard mapping, precision agriculture, crop physiology, species mapping, viticulture and canopy modelling.Read moreRead less