The Centre for Clinical Change and Health Care Research has a number of members who are currently Higher Degree Research Students.  Our student members are actively involved in research projects in their areas of specialty and contribute a great deal to the success of the centre. 

The Centre is focused on supporting research opportunities for Higher Degree Research Students and maintains strong ties with graduates as they become early career researchers and as they take further steps in their research careers.

For more information about Higher Research Degree students or about becoming a member of the Centre for Clinical Change and Health Care Research please contact Kathryn Thompson on (08) 8404 2677 or email kathryn.thompson@flinders.edu.au.

Higher Research Degree student profiles

 

Carolyn Astley

Carolyn Astley was awarded the 2009 Florence Nightingale Memorial Scholarship for doctoral studies from the Australian College of Nursing. This $10,000 scholarship supports research for her Doctor of Public Health dissertation entitled Health service variability as determinants of achievement of superior performance indicators and outcomes. Carolyn's supervisors are Associate Professor Colin MacDougall, Southgate Institute and Professor Derek Chew, Cardiology, in the School of Medicine at Flinders University. Her research will contribute to a portfolio of clinical effectiveness tools and strategies to assist the application of evidence-based care.

Research focus

Carolyn's research hypothesises that specific contextual factors in the acute care setting are associated with superior performance and clinical outcomes for patients with acute coronary syndromes. A contextual factor is a characteristic that may be related to more effective delivery of optimal care. For instance, it has been shown that for myocardial infarction patients, instituting a system of ambulance activation of the angiography laboratory (contextual factor), can help reduce door to balloon time to 90 minutes or less (performance indicator) and potentially reduce patient mortality (clinical outcome).

The study population comprises hospital sites that previously participated in a related study, the Acute Coronary Syndromes Prospective Audit (ACACIA), by Professor Chew and colleagues. Thirty-four sites were assessed for the existence of certain contextual factors during the time of patient enrolment into the ACACIA study.

Carolyn's scholarship is enabling her to visit hospitals around Australia to assess the use of contextual factors in acute cardiac units.

 

Sandra Bradley

Sandra Bradley is a Research Associate at Flinders University, a Registered Nurse, Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing Australia, and has qualifications in Nursing, Arts and Science. Sandy is currently studying toward a Masters of Science by Research in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Flinders University.  

Key roles

  • Student Representative, Executive Committee, Flinders Centre for Clinical Change and Health Care Research 2010-2011

Research Focus

Sandra currently pursues research into advance directive decision-making by Baby Boomers.  Her focus is specifically on this group because of their unique historical perspective in defining personal autonomy as evidenced by the sexual, feminist, financial, and educational revolutions, just to name a few, that have occurred during the maturation of the Boomers.

Sandra has both Quantitative and Qualitative research experience.  Her past quantitative experience includes cell biology in the fields of oncology and immunology both in the United States and Australia.  Her current qualitative experience is in Classical Grounded Theory which underpins her thesis research on advance directives

Other previous research focus areas include:

  • generating nursing research from acute care ward environments
  • undergraduate student education on person-centred care practices for the person who has dementia.

Contact sandra.bradley@flinders.edu.au

 

Leah Couzner

Leah Couzner is a PhD student in the Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care.

Research focus

The first component of her research focuses on the application of DCE methodology to assess patient and health professional preferences for rehabilitation and transition care services and to indicate which characteristics of rehabilitation and transition care are most highly valued. The second component of this project focuses upon the health and quality of life of rehabilitation and transition care recipients and how this compares to that of the South Australian general population through the application of the ICECAP capability index and the EQ-5D health status instrument. She is also employed as a Research Assistant in the Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care.

 

 

 

 

Nicola McCaffrey

Nikki McCaffrey is a health economist and has a strong background in pharmaceutical evaluation and health technology assessment and qualifications in clinical pharmacy, prescribing sciences, epidemiology, health economics and health policy.

Nikki's early career as a pharmacist in the UK focused on the provision of community pharmaceutical services, guidance on the evidence-based cost-effective use of medicines to over 40 general practitioners and allied professionals; expertise in health economic models and evaluations to promote branded pharmaceutical products for the world’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer; project management skills to implement the heart failure and revascularisation standards in the National Services Framework for Coronary Heart Disease; and adult learning training workshops to hundreds of health care professionals within the National Health Service.

Since moving to Australia in 2004 Nikki has worked for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) evaluating submissions by the pharmaceutical industry seeking reimbursement for pharmaceuticals through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, until commencing her candidature with Flinders University in July 2008. 

Research focus

Nikki McCaffrey is currently undertaking a doctoral thesis in economic evaluation of interventions in palliative care and expects to complete her thesis in 2011. She has conducted and published qualitative and quantitative research into: the clinical and statistical rationale for non-inferiority margins in randomised controlled trials; media presentation of PBAC decisions; and health beliefs associated with medication concordance in heart failure patients.

"As a PhD student, being a member of the Flinders Centre for Clinical Change and Health Care Research ASRI has provided invaluable access to senior experienced researchers across multiple disciplines, further expanding my knowledge of research conduct, design and funding. As I near the end of my candidature and consider my next career steps collaborations fostered by Flinders Centre for Clinical Change and Health Care Research provide the promise of future opportunities to apply my health economic expertise to evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of health care interventions, particularly in palliative care."

 

Alison Yaxley

Alison Yaxley graduated with a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics from Flinders University in 2005. Since then she has worked part-time as a research dietitian and casual tutor providing research support to a number of projects in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, delivering lectures and tutorials, and undertaking assessment, as required.

In mid 2006 Alison commenced a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in the Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care at Flinders University, investigating the validity of methods of assessing body composition in older adults, graduating with first class honours.

Research focus

In 2008, Alison began a PhD full-time with the Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care in the area of geriatric cachexia. In 2009, she also completed the Flinders University Internship Program for Academics which is a competitive entry program for doctoral students. Alison is also a licensed Clinical Bone Densitometrist who conducts research scans for a number of research trials within the university.

 

 

 

Carolyn Petersons

Dr Carolyn Petersons is an endocrinologist, having completed advanced training and has been admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians in 2010. She commenced her PhD candidacy within the School of Medicine, Flinders University in 2010. Carolyn was the recipient of an Australian Postgraduate Award in 2010 and has subsequently been awarded a top-up scholarship by the Flinders Centre for Clinical Change and Health Care Research in 2011. Her PhD is supervised by Professor Campbell Thompson and Dr Morton Burt.

Research Focus

Carolyn's PhD is investigating the metabolic and cardiovascular effects of long-term low dose glucocorticoid use. The studies forming her PhD examine these effects in two common chronic medical conditions - inflammatory rheumatologic disease and hypopituitarism.

The results of these studies will be relevant not only to patients with the above-mentioned chronic diseases, but also to patients across the broad range of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions managed with long-term low dose glucocorticoids. An enhanced understanding of the metabolic effects of low dose glucocorticoids will enable the development of targeted therapeutic approaches to better manage complications of chronic glucocorticoid therapy such as diabetes. Defining whether low dose glucocorticoids increase cardiovascular risk will affect glucocorticoid dosing in patients with hypopituitarism and influence assessment and management of cardiovascular risk factors to reduce premature mortality from cardiovascular disease in patients with chronic inflammatory disease. In addition, identification of markers of cardiovascular risk associated with glucocorticoids will allow early assessment of the effect of hypoglycaemic therapies on risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with glucocorticoid-induced diabetes.


Brenton Hordacre

Brenton Hordacre is a research higher degrees student in the School of Medicine. He is based in the Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care at the Repatriation General Hospital. In 2010 he graduated from UniSA with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours first class). His honours project at UniSA investigated the effects of stress on motor learning. He currently works one day a week clinically at the Repatriation General Hospital as a physiotherapist.

Research Focus

Brenton's research at the Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care focuses on lower limb amputee rehabilitation. The first component of his research will be to determine what is current practice in amputee rehabilitation across various locations within Australia. He will then be examining evidence in the literature to determine best practice for amputee rehabilitation. The final component will be a multi-site randomised controlled trial investigating the use of virtual reality for amputee rehabilitation and how it compares to standard practice both in rehabilitation outcomes and patient and therapist acceptability. This research will be closely associated with the South Australian Movement Analysis Centre, the Orthotics and Prosthetics Department of South Australia and the Physiotherapy Department at the Repatriation General Hospital.

 

 

Annabel McNamara

Annabel McNamara is an occupational therapist who has worked in a variety of settings, around Australia, mainly in the Acute Hospital system. Her areas of clinical experience are in management as a head of department, staff training, hand therapy, scar management and acute ward work. She is currently working at Flinders Medical Centre as a senior hand therapist. Annabel has completed a Masters of Health Science an MBA and is currently studying for her PhD. She supports evidence based practice and is always keen to continue learning.

Research Focus

Annabel's PhD is looking at the attitudes, perceptions and process of assessment for people who want to either return to driving post stroke or are considering relinquishing their drivers license. She is currently focusing on a study looking at driving habits in stroke survivors who have recently been assessed at the driver assessment clinic at the Repatriation General Hospital.