Project Lead

Dr Ashley McAllister

Lead partner

The University of Melbourne

MACH PARTNERS

Northern Health, Royal Melbourne Hospital

Project summary

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The study will provide information about how recent increases in the availability of care workers has led to changes in the health outcomes of people with disabilities. In addition, the research will also provide an in-depth exploration of how healthcare workers can facilitate improved health, economic and social outcomes of PWD.

The project will also address the capacity and production gap in primary care studies by developing a partnership between general and allied health practice and researchers, which will contribute to new service models benefitting both healthcare workers and PWD. This scoping study will strengthen community participation by working with key consumer groups such as PWD, hospitals, other health service providers, and Universities.

 

This project is supported by the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) as part of the Rapid Applied Research Translation program.

This study will provide information on the quality of work experienced by the healthcare workforce over time, as well as an understanding of how the nature of this employment may be related to outcomes for both healthcare workers and PWD. This is important information for the training of the workforce and for increasing knowledge about the impacts of care on the wellbeing of PWD and inform improvements in service delivery.

To explore how the NDIS has impacted hospital staff we conducted a mixed methods study using semi-structured qualitative interviews and hospital wide surveys with hospital staff. This factsheets provides preliminary results from both methods explaining in more detail what we did and what we found.

Preliminary results from interviews and surveys found that the study participants find navigating the NDIS extremely complex and inconsistent. The additional challenges and administrative burden associated with engaging with the NDIS led to the study participants feeling frustrated and, in some instances, burned out to the point that they have or are considering leaving their jobs. Overall, the study participants agreed that the NDIS – access provides positive outcomes for their patients. But the process of getting their patients connected or plans updated is presenting significant challenges.