Nursing and midwifery research grants to drive innovation

Published Wednesday, 06 July, 2022 at 12:30 PM

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services
The Honourable Yvette D'Ath

Ten Queensland nurses and midwives will share in $580,000 to conduct research ranging from preventing bed sores to providing better care for cognitively impaired patients.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath today announced the successful recipients of the latest round of Nursing and Midwifery Research Fellowship grants.

“Queensland is brimming with skilled nurses and midwives, many of whom have an interest in research that improves health outcomes for their patients,” Minister D’Ath said.

“They are on the frontline of healthcare and, as such, ideally placed to find solutions to the problems they face.

“The Nursing and Midwifery Research Fellowship programs taps into this well, offering financial support for the clinicians who have the compassion and curiosity to undertake important research.

“I congratulate the 10 recipients of the latest round of grants, which range from $20,000 to $120,000. They have embarked on a diverse and exciting range of projects and I wish them all well.”

Griffith University’s Dr Sharon Latimer was awarded $117,081 to lead a pilot study on pressure injuries, or bed sores, in intensive care unit patients in Gold Coast University Hospital.

The research team will test the effectiveness of two specialised sacral dressings in preventing pressure injuries.

“Pressure injuries are preventable skin injuries that are painful, costly and can increase a patient’s hospital stay,” Dr Latimer said.

“ICU patients are extremely sick, placing them at higher risk of developing sacral (tailbone) pressure injuries.

“Several specialised dressings prevent sacral pressure injuries however comparative evidence on their performance is limited resulting in clinicians asking, ‘which dressing is better’?

“Our research will help answer this important question.”

Dr Frederick Graham, the clinical lead of Princess Alexandra Hospital’s Delirium and Dementia Nursing Service (DDNS), has received $49,200 for a research project aimed at improving outcomes for hospitalised people with cognitive impairment and reduce patient-to-staff violence.

“When person-centred, biopsychosocial care is provided, many troubling responsive behaviours are prevented or reduced,” Dr Graham said.

“Because hospital wards are busy settings, subject to multiple divergent demands, they struggle to provide this required care.

“A process for providing a multidisciplinary focus on early biopsychosocial care planning in hospital wards could help.”

 

Novice Researcher Category

NAME

PROJECT TITLE

AMOUNT

ADMINISTERING ORGANISATION

Judith Macey

 

Prevalence of new-born skin injuries at birth

$19,993

 

Queensland University of Technology

 

Yashni Kander

Improving access to tertiary and quaternary health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients by addressing their social and emotional wellbeing

$20,000

 

Metro North HHS

 

Mari Takashima

Paediatric Invasive Device Utility and Harm: A Point Prevalence Survey

$19,799

 

The University of Queensland

 

Amanda Balmer

Exploring the context for introducing nurse-led satellite clinics to increase testing and surveillance for sexually transmitted infections in incarcerated populations

$19,988

University of Southern Queensland

 

Early Career Researcher Category

NAME

PROJECT TITLE

AMOUNT

ADMINISTERING ORGANISATION

Dr Frederick Graham

 

The Cognition Support Planning (CSP) protocol – a multicomponent ward-based protocol for early provision of biopsychosocial care for cognitively impaired patients

$49,200

 

Metro South HHS

 

Dr Claudia Virdun

Strengthening inpatient palliative care based on what matters most for patients and carers: co-designed intervention development and pilot testing

$46,176

 

Queensland University of Technology

 

Dr Andrea Taylor

Post-operative functional recovery in older adults who have undergone elective non-cardiac surgery – a prospective longitudinal cohort study

$49,117

 

Metro North HHS

 

 

Experienced Researcher Category

NAME

PROJECT TITLE

AMOUNT

ADMINISTERING ORGANISATION

Dr Sharon Latimer

Testing the efficacy of two sacral dressings in preventing pressure injuries in adult intensive care population: TOWARDS ZERO pilot study

$117,081

Griffith University

 

Research Implementation Category

NAME

PROJECT TITLE

AMOUNT

ADMINISTERING ORGANISATION

Dr Alison Craswell

Improving access to primary care for older adults in rural aged care homes: implementation of a nurse practitioner role

$119,552

The University of the Sunshine Coast

Dr Md Abu Hasnat Zamil Choudhury

Implementation of 1-2-7 Safety Planning for Suicide Risk Management in Inpatient Mental Health Care

$120,000

Metro South HHS

 

Media contact: Martin Philip – 0407 675 008