Ageing Research Group
The University of Canberra’s Ageing Research Group draws together researchers from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, whose interests and activities coincide through a shared focus on ageing research as it relates to health and wellbeing. In keeping with the University of Canberra focus on research which makes a difference to society, our research targets the evidence base underpinning practices, programs and policies that impact older people wherever they live, including community, residential and a range of health service settings.
Our research collaborations include the disciplinary areas of epidemiology, nursing, economics, social science, public health policy analysis, dietetics, food and nutrition science, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and exercise science. Our collaborations are local, interstate and international with partnerships involving other universities, local and federal government, national institutions and health, aged care and technology industries.
Our core areas of activity are:
- aged care
- nutrition and physical activity
- healthy ageing and preventive health
- chronic disease and chronic disease management
- nursing
- dementia
- health services and older people
- mental health and social wellbeing
- digital health and assistive technology.
Projects
| Name | Contact | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Assistive technology and older people | Assoc Prof Stephen Isbel | This project explores the value and feasibility of assistive technology in enabling older people to maintain and enhance their health and wellbeing. |
| Older people and semi-autonomous vehicles | Assoc Prof Stephen Isbel | UC researchers Stephen Isbel and Diane Gibson have partnered with the ACT government and Canberra-based company Seeing Machines to explore the potential of semi-autonomous cars in enabling older people to keep driving and maintain social engagement. |
| Virtual cycling experiences with aged care residents | Assoc Prof Jane Frost | UC researchers Jane Frost, Nathan D’Cunha, Stephen Isbel, Angie Fearon and Jane Kellett are developing and evaluating virtual cycling experiences for people living in residential aged care |
| Intergenerational virtual cycling project | Assoc Prof Jane Frost | UC researchers Jane Frost, Stephen Isbel, Nathan D’Cunha, Angie Fearon and Jane Kellett have partnered with Banksia House and St Peters Anglican College in Broulee to create individualised virtual cycling experiences for residents (subject to ethics approval). |
| Better quality health information to provide better quality aged care | Assoc Prof Kasia Bail | In the Ageo Project, the UC team is working with an innovative local industry partner, undertaking formative and summative evaluations of their pilot implementation of a digital health solution focused on providing better and more accessible patient-centred information to residential aged care staff. |
| Evaluation of quality of care in a four bed aged care ward | Prof Jennie Scarvell | UC staff Jennie Scarvell, Kasia Bail, Stephen Isbel, Jane Kellett in collaboration with Canberra Health Services staff explored quality of care in a four bed geriatric ward in an acute care hospital as part of developing new models of care. |
| Older people, dementia and hospital care (Completed 2017) | Prof Diane Gibson | The Hospital Dementia Services project explored service delivery factors that influenced outcomes in hospital for people with dementia. The project was funded by NHMRC and involved colleagues from the University of Sydney and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Completed 2017. |
| Arts-based discussion groups for people living with dementia | Mr Nathan D’Cunha | Undertaken in collaboration with the National Gallery of Australia, the research is an important contribution as to whether art therapy does ‘make a difference’. The project included cognitive testing, carer reports, lifestyle and measures and bio-markers to measure stress and inflammatory responses. |
| Pharmacists in residential aged care facilities study. | Dr Sam Kosari | The aim of the study is to develop, implement and evaluate a model that integrates on-site pharmacists into residential aged care facilities (RACFs) as part of the care team to improve quality use of medicines. The project is funded by the CHN through the ACT’s Primary Health Program. The UC research team is Sam Kosari, Mark Naunton, Rachel Davey. |
| Medication management and dementia in acute care | Prof Diane Gibson | People with dementia often have complex medication regimens and are at risk of medication problems during multiple transitions of care. This project explored medication processes in acute care episodes and care transitions in order to make recommendations to improve practice. |
| The National Evaluation of the Nurse Practitioners Models of Practice in Aged Care Program | Prof Rachel Davey | This evaluation project was undertaken to test the efficacy and feasibility of the pilot program of nurse practitioners in residential aged care. |
Cognitive impairment and complex behaviour in a purpose built acute care ward | UC staff in collaboration with Canberra Health Services explored improving care of people with cognitive impairment and complex behavioural needs in purpose-built acute care ward | |
| Transitioning from hospital to residential aged care | Assoc Prof Kasia Bail | UC staff and students (Kasia Bail, Daisy Azmi, Todd Kaye, Chrysta Bridge) in collaboration with Canberra Health Services explored barriers to people transitioning from hospital to residential aged care |
| Dementia Care in Hospitals | Assoc Prof Kasia Bail | UC staff, Canberra Health Services, and a national team led by Mark Yates and funded by the Commonwealth of Australia implemented the Dementia Care in Hospitals Program (DCH). This study is the largest prospective hospital-based study of cognitive impairment in Australia. The DCH program is unique as it links clinical and non-clinical staff education to an over bedside alert the Cognitive Impairment Identifier (CII). |
| Aged care services and policy | Prof Diane Gibson | This project examines current patterns of aged care services from the perspective of policy and practice. |
| Ageism in healthcare students at UC | Dr Daniela Castro De Jong | Co-designed educational package to address ageism in healthcare students at UC. The project team is Daniela Castro de Jong, Jane Frost, Jane Kellett and Nathan D’Cunha. |
| Nutrition and Healthy Ageing Trajectories in Retirement Living (NutriHAT-RL) | Dr Jane Kellett | The overarching aim of the NutriHAT-RL study is to identify nutrition-led effects associated with the healthy ageing trajectories that can potentially pose an impact on the onset and development of chronic disease starting with a detailed assessment of nutritional status, dietary intake and behaviours, physical function, cognitive performance and social determinants and quality of life in 2,500 individuals aged 55 years of age and over residing in the retirement villages in the ACT region. The research team is Jane Kellett, Nenad Naumovski, Stephen Isbel, and Nathan D’Cunha. Project Website: https://www.nutrihatrl.org/ |
| Dance for Wellbeing – More than the Movement | Dr Suzanne Carroll | The Dance for Wellbeing program provides dance classes for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease and their carers at the Belconnen Arts Centre and Tuggeranong Arts Centre as well as dance performance opportunities. This research project is a qualitative exploration of the experiences of Dance for Wellbeing participants with a focus on wellbeing aspects related to participating in the classes and related dance performances. The project team is Suzanne Carroll and Kasia Bail. |
| UC CARE (Understanding Compassionate care awareness respect and empathy) | Assoc Prof Jane Frost | With Jane Kellett and Stephen Isbel, the UCCARE program involves a partnership with Warrigal Aged Care, employing and evaluating an innovative education module targeting care staff with the aim of increasing empathetic, compassionate and respectful interactions. |
| Supported decision-making and individual advocacy as tools to assist older persons experiencing elder abuse | Prof Karen Strickland, Assoc Prof Kasia Bail | UC researchers Professor Karen Strickland, Dr Kasia Bail, Dr Sarah Cope, and Mr Murrray Turner are reviewing Supported decision-making and individual advocacy as tools to assist older persons experiencing elder abuse. The project is funded by ADACA.S. |
Staff
| Name | Discipline | Research interest |
|---|---|---|
| Assoc Prof Rachel Bacon | Nutrition and Dietetics | Nutrition, aged care, digital health, palliative care, mental health |
| Assoc Prof Kasia Bail | Nursing | Nursing, quality of care, aged care, dementia, digital health |
| Prof Nick Brown | UC Clinical School | Movement and motor control |
| Assoc Prof Tricia Brown | Psychology | Mental health and social wellbeing |
| Dr Suzanne Carroll | Public Health | Epidemiology, physical activity, chronic disease, mental health |
| Dr Daniela Castro De Jong | Occupational Therapy | Ageism, dementia, rehabilitation |
| Dr Dimity Crisp | Psychology | Mental health and social wellbeing |
| Prof Rachel Davey | Public Health | Preventive health, physical activity, chronic disease, health services, digital health |
| Adjunct Prof Paresh Dawda | Medicine | Primary care, chronic and complex care, multi-disciplinary care |
| Mr Nathan D’Cunha | Nutrition and Dietetics | Dementia, carers, art therapy, bio-markers, nutrition, assistive technology |
| Dr Angie Fearon | Physiotherapy | Rehabilitation, healthy ageing, hip pain, patient reported outcome measures |
| Assoc Prof Jane Frost | Nursing | Aged care, dementia, assistive technology |
| Prof Diane Gibson | Ageing and social policy | Aged care, dementia, health services, digital health, assistive technology |
| Ms Jo Gibson | Nursing | nursing, palliative care, ageism and clinical leadership and followership |
| Adjunct Assoc Prof John Goss | Economics | Health services, chronic disease, health economics |
| Ms Alicia Hind | Nursing | Nursing, aged care, sexuality and gender diversity |
| Assoc Prof Stephen Isbel | Occupational Therapy | Assistive technology, dementia, rehabilitation, aged care, health services |
| Dr Jane Kellett | Nutrition and Dietetics | Nutrition, healthy ageing , palliative care, mental health, malnutrition |
| Dr Sam Kosari | Pharmacy | Aged care, pharmacy |
| Assoc Prof Tanya Lawlis | Nutrition and Dietetics | Nutrition, food security and social inequality |
| Mr. Vincent Learnihan | Public Health | Spatial epidemiology, built/social environments, mental health and wellbeing |
| Dr Chandra Makanjee | Medical imaging | Health services, medical imaging |
| Assoc Prof Nenad Naumovski | Nutrition and Dietetics | Nutrition, bio-markers, healthy ageing trajectories and preventive health |
| Dr James Neill | Psychology | Green space, physical activity, mental health and social wellbeing |
| Dr Holly Northam | Nursing | Health services, social justice in health care, end of life care |
| Dr Joe Northey | Sports and Exercise Science | physical activity and neuro-cognition, exercise and the ageing brain |
| Prof Mark Naunton | Pharmacy | Medicine safety (national health priority) Pharmacoeconomics, quality use of medicines, Gender and ethnicity, Physical activity, Infectious Disease |
| Assoc Prof Catherine Paterson | Nursing | Nursing, cancer care |
| Assoc Prof Ben Rattray | Exercise physiology | Physical activity, cognition, brain, health ageing |
| Prof Jennie Scarvell | Physiotherapy | Rehabilitation, chronic disease, health services |
| Assoc Prof Helen Southwood | Speech Pathology | Rehabilitation, communication and neurological problems, dementia |
| Prof Karen Strickland | Nursing | Nursing, cancer, chronic illness and end of life care, health services, aged care |
| Dr Kellie Toohey | Exercise science | Physical activity, chronic disease |
| Ms Emily Wallis | Nursing | Nursing, aged care |
HDR Students
| Name | Project description |
|---|---|
| Elizabeth Low | Dietary inflammatory index score (DII) in people aged 55 years and over living independently in the Australian Capital Territory – a mixed methods study. Panel: Primary Supervisor: Dr Jane Kellett, Secondary Supervisors: Assoc Prof Stephen Isbel, Assoc Prof Rachel Bacon |
| Georgina Britton | Effect of nutritional interventions on quality of life (QoL) in patients with advanced head and neck cancer receiving no anti-cancer treatments Panel: Primary Supervisor: Dr Jane Kellett, Secondary Supervisors: Assoc Prof Rachel Bacon, Dr Jodie Ellis |
| Peta Harbour | Social group influences on self-management of chronic illness in the baby boomer generation Panel: Assoc Prof Kasia Bail, Prof Diane Gibson, Dr Mary-Ellen Hooper |
| Brittany Harriden | The effects of processed food consumption on mental health and cognition in people living in retirement villages. Supervisory Panel; A/Prof Nenad Naumovski, Dr Jane Kellett, A/Prof Stephen Isbel, Prof Demosthenes Panagiotakos |
| Alicia Hind – PhD student | Rainbow Ready? A Qualitative Study of Residential Aged Care and the LGBTIQ Community Panel: Prof Patrick Crookes, Prof Karen Strickland |
Vincent Learnihan | Neighbourhood risk conditions for mental health and wellbeing: A case study of mid to older aged Australians. Panel: Primary Supervisor: Associate Professor Yohannes Kinfu Secondary Supervisor: Professor Gavin Turre |
| Nathan D'Cunha | Engaging Activities for People Living with Dementia in Residential Aged Care Panel: Assoc Prof Nenad Naumovski, Assoc Prof Andrew McKune, Assoc Prof Stephen Isbel |
| Amanda Bulman | The effects of L-theanine as a functional ingredient on quality of sleep Supervisory Panel; Assoc Prof Nenad Naumovski, Assoc Prof Andrew McKune, Dr Wolfgang Marx (Deakin University) |
| Chun Pong Liu (Felix) | Prevalence and Predictors of Malnutrition in People Living in Retirement Village Environment - Canberra ACT Cross-Sectional Study Supervisory Panel; Dr jane Kellett, Assoc Prof Nenad Naumovski, Assoc Prof Stephen Isbel, Prof Demosthenes Panagiotakos |
Completed PhD
| Name | Project description |
|---|---|
| Nicole Derby | Proximity and partnerships: embedding pharmacists in Australian aged care homes to improve quality use of medicines. Professor Mark Naunton, Assistant Professor Sam Kosari, Associate Professor Kasia Bail and Associate Professor Alison Shield Completed 2020 |
| Jennifer Hutchinson (Honours) | The dietary patterns of older people living in retirement villages and associations with anxiety and depression Panel: Dr Jane Kellett, Assoc Prof Stephen Isbel, Assoc Prof Nenad Naumovski, Mr Nathan D’Cunha |