The Heart of Health Care: Advancing Emotional Well-being, Engagement and Performance in Hospitals. This research will improve our understanding of the drivers of effective health care delivery and will identify practical ways to improve the well-being, performance, retention and engagement of health care professionals and improve patient care, satisfaction and safety. In light of significant staffing shortages of health care professionals, the knowledge created will have substantial benefits in ....The Heart of Health Care: Advancing Emotional Well-being, Engagement and Performance in Hospitals. This research will improve our understanding of the drivers of effective health care delivery and will identify practical ways to improve the well-being, performance, retention and engagement of health care professionals and improve patient care, satisfaction and safety. In light of significant staffing shortages of health care professionals, the knowledge created will have substantial benefits in developing more effective models of quality care. In addition this research will enable health care professionals to build holistic, adaptable and multidisciplinary approaches to patient care in order to ensure a sustainable health care system for the future.Read moreRead less
A critical psychological investigation of nurses' experiences, understandings and perceptions of nursing eating disordered patients. This innovative project will investigate the experiences, understandings and perceptions of nurses working with eating disordered patients in hospital contexts. Nurses currently nursing eating disordered patients will be interviewed in depth using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed verbatum. The interview transcr ....A critical psychological investigation of nurses' experiences, understandings and perceptions of nursing eating disordered patients. This innovative project will investigate the experiences, understandings and perceptions of nurses working with eating disordered patients in hospital contexts. Nurses currently nursing eating disordered patients will be interviewed in depth using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed verbatum. The interview transcripts will then be systematically analysed using a qualitative discourse analytic methodology. The aim will be to identify the specific discursive resources that nurses use to frame and make sense of their experiences, understandings and perceptions of nursing eating disordered patients. The project has clinical and social scientific significance, and will contribute to improved treatment outcomes.Read moreRead less
Delivering Better Patient Care: Promoting Well-Being and Performance of Health Care Professionals. The research offers three broad benefits. First, given the serious challenges currently facing the Australian health care system, the research addresses a national research priority and will have significant policy implications. Second, it will improve our understanding of how to enhance health care professionals' performance and well-being, and thereby increasing staff retention, organisational ef ....Delivering Better Patient Care: Promoting Well-Being and Performance of Health Care Professionals. The research offers three broad benefits. First, given the serious challenges currently facing the Australian health care system, the research addresses a national research priority and will have significant policy implications. Second, it will improve our understanding of how to enhance health care professionals' performance and well-being, and thereby increasing staff retention, organisational effectiveness, and improving the quality and efficiency of health care delivery. Third, the knowledge generated will be a valuable input into development programs aimed at improving managerial practices within Australian health care organisations.Read moreRead less
Developing a novel method for delivering a behavioral intervention for decreasing morbidity in women with a chronic disease: a randomized controlled trial. Currently there are 209.8 deaths from heart, stroke and vascular diseases per 100 000 of the Australian female population each year, with the rates being considerably high in the elderly female population. Despite the potential benefits of behavioural strategies to prevent morbidity in women with chronic disease, studies to date have not targ ....Developing a novel method for delivering a behavioral intervention for decreasing morbidity in women with a chronic disease: a randomized controlled trial. Currently there are 209.8 deaths from heart, stroke and vascular diseases per 100 000 of the Australian female population each year, with the rates being considerably high in the elderly female population. Despite the potential benefits of behavioural strategies to prevent morbidity in women with chronic disease, studies to date have not targeted women who already have a chronic disease in a clinical setting. This research study will address this, helping postmenopausal women who have chronic disease change negative health behaviours and increase physical activity and self efficacy, improve quality of life and decrease blood pressure, obesity and tobacco use.Read moreRead less
The efficacy of a referral and physical activity program for survivors of prostate cancer. Although survival rates of prostate cancer are approximately 83 per cent with earlier detection and improved treatment modalities, prostate cancer survivors are at an increased risk of dying from co-morbidities, which may be prevented or ameliorated through participation in physical activity. This project aims to establish an effective and sustainable referral and physical activity program to improve the ....The efficacy of a referral and physical activity program for survivors of prostate cancer. Although survival rates of prostate cancer are approximately 83 per cent with earlier detection and improved treatment modalities, prostate cancer survivors are at an increased risk of dying from co-morbidities, which may be prevented or ameliorated through participation in physical activity. This project aims to establish an effective and sustainable referral and physical activity program to improve the health outcomes of prostate cancer survivors by utilising the influence of clinicians in their delivery of information to patients. This concept of a referral and physical activity program has the potential to translate across all cancer tumour streams to reduce the physiological and psychological burden associated with living with cancer.Read moreRead less
Wellbeing in the elderly: the role of respect. Due to advances in health care, many more Australians are living to old age. It is important to ensure that older people, who comprise a significant proportion of the population, maintain high levels of quality of life (QOL). One of the factors that impact on QOL of older people is the respect afforded to them. This project will determine the issues related to respect for older people in Australia, and produce an evidence-based strategy for encoura ....Wellbeing in the elderly: the role of respect. Due to advances in health care, many more Australians are living to old age. It is important to ensure that older people, who comprise a significant proportion of the population, maintain high levels of quality of life (QOL). One of the factors that impact on QOL of older people is the respect afforded to them. This project will determine the issues related to respect for older people in Australia, and produce an evidence-based strategy for encouraging Australians to adopt more positive attitudes and behaviours related to increasing levels of respect for older people. It is expected that the project will reduce the level of ageism and enhance the status of older people in Australia.Read moreRead less
Burnt out and worn out or engaged and energised? Exploring the antecedents and consequences of burnout and engagement in drug-treatment specialists. This project will have significant social benefits in regard to the health and well being of workers in the health and human services sector. The results and outcomes of this project will contribute to the National Research Priority of "Promoting and Maintaining Good Health" by (1) contributing to the design of workplace interventions to facilitate ....Burnt out and worn out or engaged and energised? Exploring the antecedents and consequences of burnout and engagement in drug-treatment specialists. This project will have significant social benefits in regard to the health and well being of workers in the health and human services sector. The results and outcomes of this project will contribute to the National Research Priority of "Promoting and Maintaining Good Health" by (1) contributing to the design of workplace interventions to facilitate health and wellbeing in the workplace, (2) contributing to the policies designed to address problems with worker retention in the AOD workforce, and (3) contributing to the development of strategies and interventions which are likely to benefit a key disadvantage group - individuals with alcohol or other drug problems.Read moreRead less
Diverse Teams and Health Care - Problem or Cure? Research that is able to improve the quality of work life and patient care of health care professionals is vital to communities around Australia where work pressures placed on healthcare professionals are at an all time high as are shortages of qualified personnel. The research team brings together leading edge researchers in healthcare management, diversity, teamwork and workplace management. The project will result in a comprehensive descripti ....Diverse Teams and Health Care - Problem or Cure? Research that is able to improve the quality of work life and patient care of health care professionals is vital to communities around Australia where work pressures placed on healthcare professionals are at an all time high as are shortages of qualified personnel. The research team brings together leading edge researchers in healthcare management, diversity, teamwork and workplace management. The project will result in a comprehensive description of the types of diverse teams working in hospitals, policy and practice and will make recommendations for diversity management in the healthcare system, and the development of new international research collaborations in hospital research and development.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of a Training Program for Staff to Recognize Depression Among Aged People Living in Residential and Community Care. Depression is a significant problem among older people, and is likely to increase in prevalence with the aging of the population. A large percentage of depressed older people fail to receive treatment because their depression is not diagnosed. This illness leads to high economic and social costs if it is not diagnosed and treated. This project will evaluate the effective ....Evaluation of a Training Program for Staff to Recognize Depression Among Aged People Living in Residential and Community Care. Depression is a significant problem among older people, and is likely to increase in prevalence with the aging of the population. A large percentage of depressed older people fail to receive treatment because their depression is not diagnosed. This illness leads to high economic and social costs if it is not diagnosed and treated. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of a training program to assist carers to detect depression, and so refer older people for treatment of this condition. Read moreRead less
Promoting high-performing multidisciplinary health care teams: An examination of the antecedents and consequences of psychological safety. Australian health care services are faced with an increasing burden of complex disease and changing demographics which require identification of new models of care. By promoting effective teams, this research aims to empower both organisations and their employees to contribute to a process of continuous improvement that identifies best-practice solutions for ....Promoting high-performing multidisciplinary health care teams: An examination of the antecedents and consequences of psychological safety. Australian health care services are faced with an increasing burden of complex disease and changing demographics which require identification of new models of care. By promoting effective teams, this research aims to empower both organisations and their employees to contribute to a process of continuous improvement that identifies best-practice solutions for all Australian hospitals. Overall, findings will help strengthen Australia's social and economic fabric by providing reliable and valid research evidence regarding ways to promote effective health care teams.Read moreRead less