Associate Professor Margaret MacAndrew has received a $960,323.95 grant from the Medical Research Futures Fund Dementia Ageing and Aged Care Mission for the project, Identify, Report and Respond to Acute Deterioration (IRRAD) intervention bundle for Aged Care Homes: Co-design and Feasibility Pilot Trial.
Associate Professor Margaret MacAndrew has received a $960,323.95 grant from the Medical Research Futures Fund Dementia Ageing and Aged Care Mission for the project,
Professor MacAndrew, from the School of Nursing, said early and appropriate management of acute deterioration could halve hospital admissions for residents in aged care facilities.
Her previous research had produced the Identify, Report, and Respond to Acute Deterioration (IRRAD) Program in collaboration with families of people living in residential aged care and aged care providers.
"Building on this research, this implementation research project will co-design with key stakeholders to co-create implementation strategies to suit the local context and conduct a six-month pilot trial to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of this solution for vulnerable older Australians," Professor MacAndrew said.
"By detecting the signs of acute deterioration early and initiation of a comprehensive assessment to guide management of the underlying cause could prevent further deterioration of the person and avoid transfer to hospital.
"Potentially preventable hospitalisation of older people comes with some risks such as falls, medication errors, pressure injuries, delirium and premature death.
"We have identified some of the barriers to detecting acute deterioration in residential aged care including that the staff who spend the most time with people in residential aged care are untrained care staff with limited medical literacy, knowledge and skills to report and manage acute deterioration.
"High staff turnover can also lead to subtle changes in residents' condition being missed, and aged care organisational policies that limit nurses' scope of practice are also barriers to early identification."
The research team comprises chief investigators Professor MacAndrew, Associate Professor Christina Parker, Distinguished Professor Patsy Yates, Dr Linda Schnitker, Professor Jed Duff, Dr Hannah Carter, Dr Amy Spooner, Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Beattie, Dr Wei Hong Liu, Adjunct Associate Professor Nicole Gavin, all from QUT; Dr Leanne Jack from Central Queensland University; and Dr Caroline Grogan from Wesley Research Institute.
Associate investigators are Dr Shirley Chambers and Dr Jane O'Brien from QUT; Dr Claire O'Connor from The University of New South Wales; Victoria Cain from Anglicare; Professor Andrew Teodorczuk from The University of Queensland; Desma-Ann van Rosendal from Rockpool Residential Aged Care; and Belinda Sawtell from Queensland Health.
Main photo (clockwise from top left): Dr Hannah Carter, Dr Amy Spooner, Associate Professor Margaret MacAndrew, Dr Linda Schnitker, Dr Wei Hong Liu, Dr Jane O'Brien, Professor Jed Duff, Dr Shirley Chambers, Distinguished Professor Patsy Yates, Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Beattie, Adjunct Associate Professor Nicole Gavin and Associate Professor Christina Parker.
