To complain or not to complain-That is the question! Does under-representation of rural complaints compromise quality of rural healthcare? Pro-rata, rural residents make fewer formal complaints about health care services than do metropolitan residents. This research investigates the reasons why, and the implications for quality improvement of rural health services. The research will also identify the most appropriate ways of engaging rural consumer participation in monitoring the quality of t ....To complain or not to complain-That is the question! Does under-representation of rural complaints compromise quality of rural healthcare? Pro-rata, rural residents make fewer formal complaints about health care services than do metropolitan residents. This research investigates the reasons why, and the implications for quality improvement of rural health services. The research will also identify the most appropriate ways of engaging rural consumer participation in monitoring the quality of their health services. Based on improved indicators, the Health Services Commission and health providers will have access to a better evidence base for maximising the quality of health care and services available in rural areas.Read moreRead less
Five Year Outcomes Of Care For Prostate Cancer In New South Wales
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$388,773.00
Summary
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Australian males after non-melanocytic skin cancer. Each year more than 10,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and over 2,500 die from it. While the issue of early detection of prostate cancer through the use of Prostate Specific Antigen test continues to raise debate, the longer term quality of life outcomes after treatment for this disease remain of great interest to patients, clinicians and health planners. The Prostate Cancer Outcomes Stud ....Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Australian males after non-melanocytic skin cancer. Each year more than 10,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and over 2,500 die from it. While the issue of early detection of prostate cancer through the use of Prostate Specific Antigen test continues to raise debate, the longer term quality of life outcomes after treatment for this disease remain of great interest to patients, clinicians and health planners. The Prostate Cancer Outcomes Study is an already established research project that was established in 2000 with the aim of documenting the quality of life outcomes of 2000 men with prostate cancer to five years after diagnosis. The Department of Veterans Affairs funded the study between 2000 and 2005, to establish the cohort, collect patterns of care information from clinicians and quality of life information from participants to 3 years post diagnosis. We are now seeking funds to complete the quality of life follow up for each surviving participant at five years after diagnosis. We also will assess rate of recurrence of prostate cancer to five years and seek support to be able to undertake linkage with death certificate information to determine the vital status of each study subject and begin analysis of five-year survival rates. Five-year quality of life information will be the main endpoint for this part of the study. Initial analysis of the three-year data showed a continued improvement in outcomes related to urinary and sexual function. We wish to determine whether these improvements continue to five years and the extent of the difference, at that time, between men with prostate cancer and men without prostate cancer (controls), whom we are also studying. This information will be uniquely useful in helping men make decisions about treatment options when diagnosed with prostate cancer.Read moreRead less
Domestic air quality: towards the setting of guidelines. Air quality standards have been developed to protect human health. Although people spend most of their time indoors there are no standards and only a few guidelines for indoor air pollution (IAP). The aim of this study is to investigate the levels of IAP that may worsen asthma in children. Childhood asthma will be used as a health indicator due to its high prevalence, cost to the healthcare system and implications for respiratory morbidity ....Domestic air quality: towards the setting of guidelines. Air quality standards have been developed to protect human health. Although people spend most of their time indoors there are no standards and only a few guidelines for indoor air pollution (IAP). The aim of this study is to investigate the levels of IAP that may worsen asthma in children. Childhood asthma will be used as a health indicator due to its high prevalence, cost to the healthcare system and implications for respiratory morbidity in adult life. We expect to identify levels of IAP that will represent a health risk as well as the factors that may contribute to increased IAP in homes.Read moreRead less
From Compliance to Mindfulness. Safety in hazardous organisations does not simply depend on compliance with safety rules. It depends on a more elusive quality, organisational mindfulness. The aim of this project wil be to identify ways in which rule based culture can be transformed into a culture of mindfulness.The focus will be on a power station which is seeking to trasform a rule-based culture into a culture of mindfulness. If this can be done it will not only enhance safety at this po ....From Compliance to Mindfulness. Safety in hazardous organisations does not simply depend on compliance with safety rules. It depends on a more elusive quality, organisational mindfulness. The aim of this project wil be to identify ways in which rule based culture can be transformed into a culture of mindfulness.The focus will be on a power station which is seeking to trasform a rule-based culture into a culture of mindfulness. If this can be done it will not only enhance safety at this power station but it will identify the way other organisations can make the same transition.
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High Reliability Organisations. Organisations which operate risky technologies with few if any major incidents - High Reliability Organisations - exhibit a distinctive charactertistic - mindfulness. This study looks at a particular organisation - Airservices Australia - which aspires to this ideal, and examines how it measures up. It will also demonstrate how other organisations which aspire to be HROs can move towards this ideal. The study also examines how Airservice Australia and another simi ....High Reliability Organisations. Organisations which operate risky technologies with few if any major incidents - High Reliability Organisations - exhibit a distinctive charactertistic - mindfulness. This study looks at a particular organisation - Airservices Australia - which aspires to this ideal, and examines how it measures up. It will also demonstrate how other organisations which aspire to be HROs can move towards this ideal. The study also examines how Airservice Australia and another similarly mindful organisation identify warnings of danger and act on them before it is too late. This will again provide a model for other organisations.Read moreRead less
Improving Medication Safety In Seniors: A Cross-Jurisdictional Linkage Project
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$636,717.00
Summary
The project will identify priorities for tackling the current epidemic of hospitalisation of Australians aged 65+ years due to side effects of their medications. Two different groups of medications will be investigated. The first will be the prescribed drugs most often recorded as causes of hospital stay, including those taken to stop blood clotting, for high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems, for rheumatism or strong pain relief, anti-cancer drugs and steroids. The study will exa ....The project will identify priorities for tackling the current epidemic of hospitalisation of Australians aged 65+ years due to side effects of their medications. Two different groups of medications will be investigated. The first will be the prescribed drugs most often recorded as causes of hospital stay, including those taken to stop blood clotting, for high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems, for rheumatism or strong pain relief, anti-cancer drugs and steroids. The study will examine which of these drugs taken under what circumstances has the highest risk, so prevention can be better targeted. The study will investigate if adequate laboratory monitoring of the anti- clotting drugs is taking place and whether the guidelines should be updated. The second group will be 68 medications that should be avoided in seniors according to an international expert panel. The research will see how often these 'inappropriate medications' are still prescribed in the Australian setting, and the size of their contributions to unplanned hospital stays. The researchers suspect that this problem is much larger than immediately apparent from routine statistics, because many of the side effects of inappropriate medications are non-specific, such as confusion, drowsiness or difficulty standing up, thus putting seniors at risk of falls and neglect of other aspects of their health. The study will use a unique and new Australian research facility, which has brought together health data on the entire population of WA from both the State and Commonwealth levels, including information on pharmaceuticals, Medicare use, hospital stays and deaths. The facility works in such a way as to preserve patient and GP privacy. A strong feature of this research will be the degree of involvement of a representative and voluntary group of older Australian patients who attend GP clinics, and the GPs themselves, in advising the researchers on what's important to consumers and GPs.Read moreRead less
Risk assessment for environmental health in Adelaide based on weather, air pollution and population health outcomes. This is the first systematic assessment of the effect of climate variation and air pollution on population health in an Australian temperate region. It is one of the ARC's research priorities (PG 7: Responding to climate change and variability). The results will provide a more complete picture of association among air pollution, climate variability and population health in Austral ....Risk assessment for environmental health in Adelaide based on weather, air pollution and population health outcomes. This is the first systematic assessment of the effect of climate variation and air pollution on population health in an Australian temperate region. It is one of the ARC's research priorities (PG 7: Responding to climate change and variability). The results will provide a more complete picture of association among air pollution, climate variability and population health in Australia. They will also provide important information to policy-makers and communities for their relevant actions, including changes in resource management systems and the operation of these systems, a range of socioeconomic actions, infrastructure establishment, disaster prevention and emergency events response regulation, and health education and promotion campaigns.Read moreRead less
A screening tool to identify safer biodiesels. This project aims to identify what makes an optimal biodiesel in terms of minimising toxic exhaust outputs (environmental effects) and effects on health. Biodiesel, which can be made from virtually any natural oil, is seen as a healthier, environmentally friendly alternative to mineral diesel, but some biodiesels are worse than others. By studying exposure and analysing biodiesel exhaust, this project will develop a screening algorithm to assess bio ....A screening tool to identify safer biodiesels. This project aims to identify what makes an optimal biodiesel in terms of minimising toxic exhaust outputs (environmental effects) and effects on health. Biodiesel, which can be made from virtually any natural oil, is seen as a healthier, environmentally friendly alternative to mineral diesel, but some biodiesels are worse than others. By studying exposure and analysing biodiesel exhaust, this project will develop a screening algorithm to assess biodiesels for their environmental effects and their risk to health. Outcomes are expected to guide industry in producing an alternative fuel.Read moreRead less
Can technology make communication in complex systems safer and more efficient? Evaluation of an electronic test management system in health care. In many industries poor communication has a major impact on safety; in health, missed test results have impacts ranging from inappropriate antibiotic therapy to missed cancer diagnoses. This research will evaluate new information technology which can improve health outcomes and communication between clinicians, laboratories and patients.