The secret ingredient in aged care: powerful partnerships

When it comes to care for older people, working together proves to be a key factor to improving services for our older population.

Flinders University is dedicated to bringing together government, industry and community alongside diverse groups of researchers from across the university to tackle society’s most pressing issues and find real-world solutions to change people’s lives for the better. 

Alongside the Federally funded Aged Care Research & Industry Innovation Australia (ARIIA), and a large body of research in ageing, aged care and palliative care, Flinders have committed to a number of critical partnerships with Adelaide’s health networks to develop evidence and drive change through deeper collaboration. 

There are a number of dual-funded research positions embedded within both the University and the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NAHLN), the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN), Adelaide Primary Health Network (PHN) and others. These collaborations are aiding in the identification of real-world problems in the aged-care sector and are providing a mechanism to develop evidence around innovative approaches to solve them. The sharing of resources such as funding, facilities and expertise amplifies the quality and scope of these innovations driving change more quickly and effectively for the communities they serve.  

Keeping people well and out of hospital

“If we can really strengthen the community care, then we are able to support people to only go to hospital when the level of care that needs to be provided can’t be delivered elsewhere,” says Professor Stacey George, Professor of healthy ageing support and care and an occupational therapist.

This is the basis of the important work that Flinders University and the Adelaide Primary Healthcare Network (PHN) are driving in their partnership. 

One crucial project has seen Professor George, and others, work to train general practitioners (GP's) on how to facilitate team care arrangments and 'case conferencing', where different health professionals in a patient's care team come together to discuss their care and the next bests steps in their health journey. They are also developing evidence of the difference this model makes to patients through important research.

“These research projects are a wonderful opportunity for different professions to be involved more ... GPs do such a fantastic job, but they can’t do it all alone so it’s about building other networks and teams around that to support them,” Professor George explains.

“It’s all about the translation of research into practice.”

Adelaide Primary Health Network (PHN), a not-for-profit organisation, was established by the Commonwealth to help improve how primary health care is delivered across the Adelaide region. The activities that come from Adelaide PHN are aimed at improving health outcomes to vulnerable people in our community, keeping people well and out of hospital.

Access to research leads to better care for patients and families

When a person is in need of palliative care, suddenly their families and friends are thrust into a world where unimaginable grief and crucial decision making must go hand in hand. It’s a world that those unfamiliar with can feel lost in as they grapple with the complexities and realities of the situation. 

It's the support of these informal carers that was just one focus for a partnership between Flinders University and the NAHLN.

With the support of Dr Aileen Collier, Associate Professor of aged care and palliative care nursing, NALHN were able to direct informal carers to the Flinders CareSearch Project and Carer Help which brings together online palliative care knowledge for health professionals, people needing palliative care and their families, and for the general community. 

In a bid to build on research in this space, Flinders’ Research Centre for Palliative Care Death and Dying, and NALHN, were also able to investigative the experiences of these informal carers to drive future initiatives aimed at supporting them.

Having someone such as Associate Professor Collier in the role aids in “supporting and joining the dots between the two organisations.”  

“From the health side of it, we know that because this joint role exists, we see greater access to research in terms of the population NALHN serves, and when patients and families have greater access to research, they get better care,” Associate Professor Collier explains. 

NALHN provides short-term and community health services for older people to northern metropolitan Adelaide as well as tertiary services to a wider catchment area.

Independence and quality of life key in older years

Aged care facilities are no longer a place people are placed in to simply wait out their days. Today people want to maintain a quality of life at the same time as receiving top quality care.

Professor Kate Laver is an occupational therapist and professor of allied health and active ageing. She has spent her career focusing on independence and quality of life in older people and people with disabilities.

Since 2023, Professor Laver has been in the joint appointment role with Flinders and the SALHN. She says a crucial part of her role involves “knowledge brokering” which sees her keep up to date on new evidence and new journal articles which are relevant to how care is provided at SALHN. Professor Laver makes sure staff are across this latest research which means patients are being delivered best practice, up to date care.

“Ultimately we’re developing a culture which will improve health outcomes for older people because we’re generating evidence, we’re using evidence, and we’re translating evidence into practice faster.”

SALHN provide care for more than 350,000 people living in the southern metropolitan area of Adelaide, as well as providing a number of statewide services to those in regional areas.