Current projects

Rainbow-Inclusive Aged Care

Co-creating rainbow inclusive care for gender and sexually diverse people in residential aged care

Chief Investigators: Prof Mark Hughes (SCU), Dr Andrea Waling (La Trobe), Prof Limin Mao (UNSW), Prof Ruth Hubbard (UQ), Dr Lukasz Krzyowski (ECU), Dr Craig Sinclair (UNSW), Dr Kristiana Ludlow (UQ), Dr Benignus Logan (UQ), Prof Adam Bourne (La Trobe).

Associate Investigators: Samantha Edmonds (Older Persons Advocacy Network), Dr Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli (GSE Tapestry Consulting), Dr Amber Mills (Australian Association of Gerontology), Jami Jones (Rainbow Health Australia), Pauline Crameri (Val's LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care).

Industry/community partners: Wesley Mission Queensland, Amana Living (WA), Older Persons Advocacy Network, Australian Association of Gerontology, Aged and Community Care Providers Association, LGBTIQ+ Health Australia, GLBTI Rights In Ageing Inc.

Grant Scheme:  Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) - 2023 MRFF Models of Care for Sexuality and Gender Diverse People & People with Innate Variations of Sex Characteristics - Stream 2.

Project Summary:  This project will explore inclusive care for gender and sexually diverse people in residential aged care. It will follow an Appreciative Inquiry approach and utilise practice theory to identify what enables and constrains inclusive care. Co-creation, co-design, and co-research methods with LGBTQ+ individuals as active participants will shape the project and its outcomes. It will involve a national survey of residential aged care workers and field research in two project sites (Queensland and Western Australia), involving two aged care providers and up to 19 residential care homes.

Communities of practice will be established in both states to bring together stakeholders, people with lived experience expertise, and researchers. A national survey, observations in residential homes, and interviews with residents, staff, and other stakeholders will be conducted to investigate the constraints on and enablers of inclusive care. These findings will be interpreted in the communities of practice and a shared vision for a rainbow-inclusive model of care will be created through focus groups and organisational summits. A series of co-design workshops will develop resources and guidelines to support implementation. The model will then be implemented and evaluated in partner residential homes, with the learning and resources refined and disseminated to the aged care sector.

The study aims to provide evidence-based recommendations and resources to promote the inclusion of gender and sexually diverse people in residential aged care and provide a foundation for improving their health outcomes. By involving LGBTQ+ people as co-researchers and utilising a collaborative approach, the project will ensure the rainbow-inclusive model will be effective in achieving the goal of inclusive care. Incorporation of implementation science will facilitate translation of research findings into practice and minimise the lag between generating knowledge and its application in the aged care sector.

Grant Amount: $999,533 over 5 years (2024 to 2028).

Rainbow Inclusive Aged Care Website

WISECARER

Lead Investigator: Dr Felicity Walker.

Co-Investigators: Associate Professor Christina Aggar, Associate Professor Michelle Bissett.

Industry/community partners: Primary and Community Care Services.

Grant Scheme:  Queensland Mental Health Commission with Better Futures Grant.

Project Summary:  The WISECARER initiative is designed to improve health and wellbeing across healthcare systems while enhancing the involvement and wellbeing of carers. By using social prescribing and integrating carers within care teams, the initiative empowers carers and promotes preventive, holistic care.  WISECARER improves outcomes for both consumers and their carers by creating a more integrated, supportive carer environment.  When carers are supported and empowered, consumers receive more consistent, informed, and personalised care in their preferred environment.  Carers are people who provide unpaid care and support to family members and friends who have a disability, mental illness, chronic condition, terminal illness, an alcohol or other drug issue or who are frail aged.

To improve integration and support of carers a digital toolkit will be co-designed with the aim to enhance carers' health literacy and knowledge, enabling them to participate more effectively in carer decisions and transitions.

The aim of this research is to conduct a Delphi study to validate and refine the Carer Digital Toolkit for carers of people with mental health conditions.

Grant Amount: $50,000.

A chair-based exercise program to reduce deconditioning and maintain ADL function in older adults

Lead Investigator: Dr Jodie Cochrane Wilkie.

Co-Investigators: Dr Luke Del Vecchio, Dr Siri Szlezak, Associate Professor Kellie Toohey, Associate Professor Christina Aggar, Karen Bowen (NNSW LHD), Judy Thomas (NNSW LHD), Genevieve McKinnon (NNSW LHD).

Grant Scheme:  Southern Cross University Faculty of Health, Pilot Investigation Grant.

Project Summary:  Older adults in hospital are at high risk of deconditioning due to prolonged inactivity.  This decline can affect strength, balance, mobility, and the ability to perform everyday tasks (Activities of Daily Living, or ADLs), such as dressing, toileting, and transferring from bed to chair, ultimately reducing independence and delaying recovery.

This study will evaluate the feasibility and impact of a structured chair-based exercise program for older hospitalised patients. Designed using current evidence, the program includes chair-based exercises that support physical function and ADL performance. All sessions are delivered by an Accredited Exercise Physiologist, supported by clinical exercise physiology students, and tailored to individual needs.

The program was initiated by nurses from the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) and co-developed with staff from Southern Cross University’s Faculty of Health. It was created in response to concerns about deconditioning in hospitalised older patients and the need for structured, safe movement options during extended hospital stays. The project is jointly funded by the NNSWLHD Nursing and Midwifery Department and Southern Cross University.

Findings will inform the design of a larger trial and support the integration of early, chair-based exercise into routine hospital care for older adults.

Grant Amount: SCU Faculty of Health Pilot Investigation Grant $9,891.13.  Co-funding for Accredited Exercise Physiologist, NNSWLHD Nursing and Midwifery Department and Southern Cross University, Faculty of Health $24,274.