Research into ageing in rural communities
Second Edition APRIL 2019
MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
Welcome to the second edition of our newsletter. As we celebrate the first anniversary of the John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research, we reflect on our interdisciplinary and diverse team of researchers that strive to make a difference to the lives of older people in rural communities.
Ageing and aged care has been in the spotlight lately. The Royal Aged Care Commission on Safety and Quality in Aged Care is in full swing. At the hearings many stories from older people, families, service providers and the wider community were told about gaps in care provision. From 1 July 2019, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will begin assessment and monitoring against the new Aged Care Quality Standards. The John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research plays a critical role in improving policy and practice by undertaking high quality research. Learn more about our research and we welcome feedback for future research and collaboration.
2018 Annual Report
Staff News
Congratulations to Dr Marita Chisholm, who has been successful in securing a Fellow position with Capacity Building in Care Research Program (CBCR).
The program is managed by the Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC) and the NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research (NNIDR). Fellows receive mentorship from experienced dementia researchers, training and skills development, the opportunity to connect with Australian and international researchers and multidisciplinary teams, and increase competitiveness in external funding schemes. The program will run for 2.5 years and conclude in June 2021.
His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd) and Her Excellency Lady Cosgrove invited Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) representatives for morning tea at the Langham, Melbourne on Monday 25th of February.
As the AAG Victorian Division Chair, Professor Irene Blackberry heard the Governor-General speak about the joy he receives from being a patron of over 200 organisations, including AAG.
The AAG hopes to continue the patronage with the designate Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) from 1 July 2019.
New resource for teaching Teaching why (and how) you should use evidence in your practice just got a lot easier, thanks to a cross-disciplinary team at La Trobe.
The new eBUREAU (think rich media eTextbook) housed at the LTU library, makes this sometimes dry subject accessible, engaging and looks thoroughly modern. This eBUREAU is based on an LMS module that had been used since 2010, but the team ended up reshuffling the modules, rewriting some of the sections.
A/Professor Suzanne Hodgkin, Deputy Director of the JRC, is strong in qualitative research and mixed methods, and wrote several chapters for the book.
Student News
From left: Dr Belinda Cash, Associate Professor Suzanne Hodgkin, Dr Samantha Clune and Dr Rachel Winterton at the Albury-Wodonga Graduation ceremony.
Congratulations to Samantha Clune on completion of her PhD. Sam’s thesis, Who cares about culture? The impact of health organisations on the health related culture and outcomes of rural individuals and communities. Sam’s supervisors were Dr Rachel Winterton, Professor Tim Marjoribanks and Professor Jane Farmer.
Also congratulations to Belinda Cash on completion of her PhD. Belinda’s thesis, In sickness and in health: The experience of choice for older spousal caregivers in rural communities. Belinda’s supervisors were A/Professor Suzanne Hodgkin and Professor Jeni Warburton.
We welcome Carmela Leone, who has commenced a PhD as a Webster project scholarship recipient. Carmela’s supervisors are Professor Irene Blackberry and Dr Rachel Winterton. Carmela will be based in Bendigo.
Also, we welcome He Fan, Masters student, supervised by Professor Irene Blackberry and Dr George Mnatzaganian. He Fan will examine stroke patients' clinical data from Kunming Second Affiliated Hospital in the Yunnan Province in China.
RECENT EVENTS
Virtual Dementia Friendly Rural Communities (VERILY) Launch
At the launch of our VERILY project, Vice-Chancellor John Dewar spoke of La Trobe University’s commitment to rural communities and expertise in ageing research. Professor John Dewar acknowledged that Verily Connect involves partnerships with University of Newcastle, Flinders University, Swinburne University, and University of Saskatchewan, Canada, and partnerships with 12 rural health services. He congratulated Professor Irene Blackberry and the team on its world-first trial of a virtual dementia friendly community to support rural carers.
The Hon. Ken Wyatt AM, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care (pictured), provided a video message of support for the project. Minister Wyatt noted that the role of informal carers is vital for helping people living with memory loss and dementia to age well in place, and that Verily Connect could help to overcome challenges of distance and isolation by linking rural carers through online technologies.
Webster Launch
The Webster Rural and Regional Dementia Care project was launched on March 12, 2019 at the La Trobe Art Institute in Bendigo. The project is funded through the bequest of Mr Gordon Webster and aims to facilitate access to dementia care and support services within the City of Greater Bendigo region. Community members, service providers and La Trobe University staff from Bendigo, Albury-Wodonga, and Bundoora, attended the launch to hear about the project from Dr Rachel Winterton (pictured), and from guest speaker Simone Hoffman (Dementia Consultant, Dementia Australia), as well as access information from local service providers who had information stalls at the launch. Special thanks to Mr John Richards, OAM, for travelling to attend the launch.
Current Projects
DEFINING SCOPE OF VOLUNTEER PRACTICE WITHIN HEALTH AND HEALTH AND AGED CARE SERVICES
This project identifies how volunteers can be managed and supported more effectively within health organisations in Victoria. Volunteers play a key role in providing care within health and aged care services, as a consequence of continued resource constraints within the health system.
SCOPING THE SKILLS AND TRAINING NEEDS OF COMMUNITY CARE WORKERS IN RURAL LOCATIONS (STAR)
The demand for an appropriately skilled and committed aged care workforce in rural areas has escalated over several decades. Community based care provision is reportedly more complex given the prevalence of chronic health conditions among this population. This project seeks to profile how this problem is experienced within the rural context of the East Hume region, and to develop training and fundamental skills appropriate to address client complexity.
DEVELOPING AN INDIGO AGE-FRIENDLY HEALTH SYSTEM MODEL
To address the considerable challenge facing health services to provide an effective, safe, quality care to older people that enhances their quality of life, this project seeks to undertake a systematic analysis of models of health care delivery which contribute to aged-friendly health care systems.
UPCOMING EVENTS
SAVE THE DATE
August 14, 2019 - La Trobe University.
2019 JRC Oration
Beyond the Royal Commission. An aged care workforce for the future.
Former head of the Aged Care Workforce Taskforce, Professor John Pollaers, Chancellor of Swinburne University of Technology will be the guest speaker.
Launch of STAR report
The STAR report (Scoping the skills and training needs of community care workers in rural locations) will also be officially launched on this date.
Recent Publications
Mason, N. & Hodgkin, S.
A phenomenological study of the experiences of rural Australian family caregivers.
Blackberry, I., Wilding, C., Perkins, D., Greenhill, J., Farmer, J., Bauer, M., Winbolt, M., Morley, C., O’Connell, M. &
Morgan, D.
Virtual dementia-friendly rural communities.
Cheng, Y., Rosenberg, M., Winterton, R.,
Blackberry, I. & Gao, S.
Mobilities of older Chinese rural-urban migrants: A case study in Beijing.
Be involved in our research
Do you have any ideas or suggestions for research? Please contact us.
Phone: (02) 6024 9718
Email: jrc@latrobe.edu.au
READ MORE ABOUT JOHN RICHARDS CENTRE FOR RURAL AGEING RESEARCH >
