CareSearch updates

The National COVID-19 Bereavement Project, funded by the Medical Research Future Fund is looking at the mental health outcomes and service needs of over 2,000 Australians bereaved from any cause during 2020. If you are willing to participate,  the study involves a 30-minute anonymous online survey that asks about your experience of bereavement, the kind of support (if any) you have received and wanted, what has been most helpful and least helpful for you, and any other comments you would like to make.

Complete the survey

CareSearch Director, Jennifer Tieman has recently co-authored an article outlining development of the Engagement Framework which will be used to guide and deliver an Engagement Project which will actively seek feedback and insights from intended users in a structured process. For more see: Tieman J, Lewis V. Benefits of Structured Engagement with Target Audiences of a Health Website: Study Design for a Multi-Case Study. Healthcare. 2021;9(5):600. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9050600

Work is progressing quickly on the CareSearch Portal development. Last month, the GP/Primary Health Care Review group met to discuss what the sector needs to support and encourage engagement with palliative care. A proposal is now being developed with draft content being prepared for review later this month.

The Community Centre review group met back in March 2021, and again in May to ‘test drive’ some of the new sections and content. Based on all the feedback received, the Community Centre will be refined and finalised prior to user testing. If you would like to be involved, please visit our portal page and sign up.

Providing palliative care is an essential part of quality aged care. To support aged care nurses with the basics of palliative care, palliAGED will soon release online introductory modules to complement the highly successful evidence-based Practice Tip Sheets.

A new palliAGED page has been developed to outline the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, including how these relate to addressing the end-of-life care needs of older Australians.

palliAGED has released new pages to support pharmacists in caring for older Australians. The pages feature information and resources on the important role of pharmacists, managing medications, dosing guides, supporting caregivers, education and professional development, and more.