Austin Health

The partnership between Austin Health and La Trobe University produces research and education that is innovative, collaborative and fosters evidence-based practice.

The partnership between Austin Health and La Trobe University produces research and education that is innovative, collaborative and fosters evidence-based practice.

It is creating a vibrant research, education and learning precinct in Melbourne's northeast.

Led by Professor Kristina Edvardsson, the Austin Health ARCH promotes a research culture through local and national industry partnerships and international collaborations. Nursing and allied health leaders, in partnership with consumers, also provide workforce training to build knowledge and capability in evidence-based practice. It is a hub for information, coordination and advocacy for clinical and health services research at Austin Health and beyond.

The partnership embodies Austin Health’s vision: to shape the future through exceptional care, discovery and learning. Through this partnership we’re openly working with staff and the community to achieve great outcomes. Through research, education and learning, we are exploring new opportunities that will change healthcare for the better.

About Austin Health

Austin Health is a leading specialist tertiary and quaternary health service. It is recognised for its high quality, safe, person-centred care, leading teaching and research, and as a place where staff and volunteers are proud to work.

Austin Health is renowned for its specialist work in infectious diseases, obesity, sleep medicine, intensive care medicine, neurology, endocrinology, mental health and rehabilitation, and is an internationally-recognised Centre of Excellence in Hospital-based Research.

It is the largest Victorian provider of training for specialist physicians and surgeons.

Austin Health’s state-wide services include the Victorian Spinal Cord Service; Victorian Respiratory Support Services; Victorian Liver Transplant Unit; Acquired Brain Injury Unit; Austin Toxicology Service; Victorian Poisons Information Centre; and Psychological Trauma and Recovery Service.

In collaboration with its affiliated research centres, independent medical research institutes and partnerships, Austin Health delivers ground-breaking discoveries that benefit patients worldwide.

Austin LifeSciences brings together almost 1,000 researchers and several research institutes to achieve better health outcomes for our local, national and international communities.

Research

The ARCH partnership between Austin Health and La Trobe University aims to strengthen the evidence base of nursing, allied health, psychology, public health and life sciences research, education and practice.

There is a focus on person-centred care, health outcomes for older people and people with dementia, stroke, cardiology, and those in ICU and rehabilitation. Health workforce education and training also feature strongly.

The ARCH encourages and facilitates clinicians and researchers to translate findings into policies and practice. Activities are consumer-oriented and co-produced with stakeholders.

Current areas of priority include aging and aged care; managing dementia and cognitive impairment; rehabilitation in people with chronic diseases, such as stroke.

Some examples of research at Austin Health include:

Education

The partnership between Austin Health and La Trobe University provides clinical education placements to undergraduate and postgraduate allied health and nursing students, and research students in the Schools of Nursing and Midwifery, Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, Psychology and Public Health.

This bridges the gap between theory, research and practice at all levels of tertiary education, from entry to practice degrees, through to postgraduate training and doctoral research supervision.

  • Johnston, J., McKenna, L. Malik, G., Reisenhofer, S. Reported outcomes of nursing or midwifery students participating in international educational programs in their pre-registration education: A narrative systematic review. Nurse Education Today, 2022; 11. Read the paper
  • Edvardsson K, Hughes E, Copnell B, Mogren I, Vicendese D, Gray R Severe mental illness and pregnancy outcomes in Australia. A population-based study of 595 792 singleton births 2009-2016. PLOS ONE, 2022, Feb 28;17(2):e0264512. Read the paper
  • O’Neill A, Edvardsson K, Hooker L. Clinical supervision practice by community-based child and family health nurses: A mixed method systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, accepted for publication, January 31, 2022. Read the paper
  • Holmlund S, Lan PT, Edvardsson K, Ntaganira N, Graner S, Small S, Mogren I. Vietnamese midwives' experiences of working in maternity care - A qualitative study in the Hanoi region. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, Sex Reprod Healthc, 2022 Mar;31:100695. Read the paper
  • Vemuri, S., Butler, AE., Brown, K., Wray, J., Bluebond-Langner, M. (2021) Providing palliative care for children with complex cardiac conditions: Results of a national survey of paediatric palliative care and cardiac care professionals. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 105(3). Read the paper
  • Bloomer, M.J., Ranse, K., Butler, A., Brooks, L. (2021) A national Position Statement on Adult End-of-Life Care in Critical Care. Australian Critical Care. DOI: 10.1016/j.aucc.2021.06.006. Read the paper
  • Connor S, Edvardsson K, Fisher C, Spelten E. Perceptions and interpretation of contemporary masculinities in Western Culture: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Men’s Health, 2021, Nov 29;15(6). Read the paper
  • Mogren I, Ntaganira J, Semasaka Sengoma JP, Holmlund S, Small R, Lan PT, Kidanto HL, Ngarina M, Bergström C, Edvardsson K. Maternal health care professionals’ experiences and views on the use of obstetric ultrasound in Rwanda: A cross-sectional study. BMC Health Services Research, 2021, Aug 10;21(1):789. Read the paper
  • Edvardsson K, Davey MA, Powell R, Axmon A. Sex ratios at birth in Australia according to mother’s country of birth: A national study of all 5 614 847 reported live births 1997-2016. PLOS ONE, 2021, Jun 25;16(6):e0251588. Read the paper
  • Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 Collaborators. Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of chewing tobacco use in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet Public Health, 2021 Jul;6(7)e482-e499.  Read the paper
  • Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 Collaborators. Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet, 2021 Jun 19;397(10292):2337-2360. Read the paper
  • Abdulghani N, Cooklin A, Edvardsson K, Amir L. Mothers’ perceptions and experiences of skin-to-skin contact after vaginal birth in Saudia Arabia. A cross-sectional study. Women and Birth, 2021, Feb 16;S1871-5192(21)00028-7. Read the paper
  • Thomas B, McGillion A, Edvardsson K, O’Meara P, Van Vuuren J, Spelten E. Barriers, enablers, and opportunities for organisational follow-up of workplace violence from the perspective of emergency department nurses: a qualitative study. BMC Emergency Medicine, 2021, 21(19). Read the paper
  • McLeod C, Jokwiro Y, Gong Y, Irvine S, Edvardson K. Undergraduate Nursing Student and Preceptors’ Experiences of Clinical Placement through an Innovative Clinical School Supervision Model. Nurse Education in Practice, 2021, 102986. Read the paper
  • Murphy M., McKenna L. Double the possibilities with a double degree. Australian Nursing & Midwifery Journal, 2021, 27(2),43. Read the paper
  • Murphy M., MacDonald L., Johnston J., George M. Clinical Schools: the university away from the university.  Australian Nursing & Midwifery Journal, 2021, 27(2),54. Read the paper
  • McGillion A., Zarb,L., Ryu H., Hoang C., Cross R., Lawrence K., Murphy M., Adams C., Campbell F., McKenzie G., Walter R., Johnston J., Austerberry J. Collaboration-the key to success in transitioning to online learning. Australian Nursing & Midwifery Journal, 2021, 27(2),47. Read the paper
  • Millar, CJ., Carey, L., Hill, A., Hill, A., Johnston, J., Mathisen, B & Fortune, T.  Health professionals, global citizenship and its relevance to employability: Speech-language pathology, nursing and midwifery.  Internationalisation of Higher Education - Policy and Practice, 2021. Read the paper
  • McGilton KS, Escrig-Pinol A, Gordon A, Chu CH, Zúñiga F… Edvardsson D, et al. (2020) Uncovering the Devaluation of Nursing Home Staff During COVID-19: Are We Fuelling the Next Health Care Crisis? Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA): Long-term Care: Management, Applied Research and Clinical Issues, 21: 962-965. Read the paper
  • Rushton C and Edvardsson D (2020) Reconciling Economic Concepts and Person‐centred Care of the Older Person with Cognitive Impairment in the Acute Care Setting, Nursing Philosophy, doi: 10.1111/nup.12298. Read the paper
  • Simpson M, Churilov L, Bardsley B, Dimovitis J, Heriot E, Carey L and Macdonell R (2020) Effects of Modified-release Fampridine on Upper Limb Impairment in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 40: 01971. Read the paper
  • Sewell K, Tse T, Harris E, Matyas T, Churilov L, Ma H, Davis SM, Donnan GA and Carey L (2020) Pre-existing Comorbidity Burden and Patient Perceived Stroke Impact, International Journal of Stroke, doi: 10.1177/1747493020920838. Read the paper