Graduate Research
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Student and graduate research
Research undertaken by our students in the Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) and graduate research programs is focused on evidence based research which can impact on nursing and/or midwifery practice and policy.
Jiaziao (Lucas) Li
HONOURS RESEARCHGraduate nurses’ experiences and perspectives of caring for patients with dementia in the acute hospital setting
Dementia is a major health concern affecting between 386,200 and 472,000 people in Australia (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2021). Age above 65 years is the greatest risk factor for dementia. With continued growth in the number of people 65 years and over in Australia, it is estimated there will be an increase in the number of older people living with dementia to reach over 849,300 by 2058 (AIHW, 2021). The number of graduate nurses is also increasing every year in Australia. With numbers of both patients with dementia and graduate nurses increasing, graduate nurses will be more likely to provide care for patients with dementia in the acute hospital setting. These patients may require more physical and psychological care support, but dementia care is not always optimal in this setting. Caring for patients with dementia can be challenging especially for graduate nurses due to the lack of experience, support and education. This research aims to explore the experience and perspectives of graduate nurses caring for patients with dementia in the acute hospital setting.
Made Rini Damayanti S
PhD RESEARCHDelineating the “nurse self-care” practice within the Indonesian nursing education context and its implication for future caring practice: a mixed-method study
This study focusses on investigating the self-care practices among nursing students in universities in Indonesia and simultaneously obtain an understanding of how they view, experience and integrate their personal and professional self-care practices to assume their future caring role. It will also identify the current state of nurse self-care in the nursing program curricula in some major universities in Indonesia. The results of the study will provide information on nursing students’ self-care practices from an Indonesian standpoint and provide some insight into the degree of dominance of self-care in the Indonesian nursing education. Having a sound understanding of this aspect will help nursing institutions, educators and any relevant stakeholders or policy makers with valuable information gathered from the field on how best to structure the current education system. It is anticipated that this will foster the adoption of a nurse self-care culture in Indonesia that will facilitate students’ capacity to undertake their future caring practices.
Cameron Marshman
PhD RESEARCHA narrative inquiry into mental health nurses lived experience of working with compassion
The use of compassion within mental healthcare is an essential component of nursing practice and vital for the delivery of quality healthcare to consumers. However, there is limited qualitative research on compassion within mental healthcare. Understanding compassion within mental health nursing is essential in order to develop and provide interventions that support and increase the capability for compassionate practice. The aim of this research project is to examine the meaning of compassion in mental health nursing. This includes exploring how the concept of compassion is defined, the beliefs and perceptions of compassionate practice, how compassion is demonstrated, and perceived barriers and facilitators to compassionate practice.
Arti Padiyachi
HONOURS RESEARCHExploring the contributing and mitigating factors of burnout among emergency department nurses
The aim of the systematic review was to synthesise primary research evidence regarding the contributing and mitigating factors of burnout in emergency nurses. Nurse burnout is a debilitating condition caused by chronic overwork and a sustained lack of job fulfilment and support. Burnout among emergency department nurses is a major problem globally and has many negative implications both personally and professionally, affecting the health and well-being of nurses and the quality of patient care. Thirteen themes for contributing and 4 themes for mitigating factors of burnout were highlighted including workplace and staff cohesion issues, patient aggression and personal problems. Gaps were highlighted that might provide good places to start to help address this important issue.