Research leads to better patient care

3 May 2016

At the symposium, St John of God Murdoch Hospital’s Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Research and the University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, launched an inaugural research report that documents their collaborative research undertaken from 2011 to 2015.

Research completed to date included understanding the perceptions and needs of caregivers regarding palliative care provision which has since been replicated in the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital’s emergency department and with paramedics in the St John Ambulance Service.

Professor Leanne Monterosso, Dr Gail Ross-Adjie and Alexis Cranfield.

The Centre has also researched the incidence, risk factors and healthcare cost of falls after major joint replacement surgery and been involved in a collaborative study on women’s wellness after cancer care.

Professor Leanne Monterosso, the Chair of Nursing Research, said St John of God Murdoch Hospital’s partnership with the University of Notre Dame has enabled the Centre to promote evidence-based and leading edge clinical practice.

“The primary aim of our research is to continuously improve the quality and safety of care we provide our patients, as well as contribute the body of research that exists in health care globally,” Professor Monterosso said.

“We have also been investigating the hospital’s workforce and how employee engagement and intergenerational tension in the nursing workforce play a part in delivering excellent care.”
“We are very proud of our achievements over the past five years, and thankful to Notre Dame for their ongoing support.”

Professor Elaine Pavlos, Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Notre Dame, welcomed the launch of the research report and praised the ongoing collaboration between the two institutions.
“The University of Notre Dame Australia is committed to the Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Research and the existing collaboration we share with St John of God,” Professor Pavlos said.

“This Centre is the only one of its kind in the private health care sector in Western Australia of which the University is proud to be associated.”

Prospective new studies for 2016 at the Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Research include survivorship after cancer care and the identification of patients with palliative care needs in the hospital's emergency department.