New funding to improve care for people living with intellectual disability
New MRFF project to improve care for people living with intellectual disability co-led with consumers
People living with intellectual disability experience poorer healthcare quality and outcomes than the general population but have been mostly excluded from contributing their views on their hospital experience, until now.
Together with a team of consumers and health service providers, Professor Reema Harrison at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, has been awarded $1.499m from the National Health and Medical Research Council Medical Research Future Fund to improve care in hospital among people living with intellectual disability by co-creating and using digitally enabled patient feedback tools that are designed to meet their needs.
By collaborating in co-design together, researchers, consumers, clinicians and health system providers will co-create Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) that are suitable for use among people with a diverse range of abilities, Professor Harrison said.
This project is important because people living with intellectual disability often have poor experiences of healthcare that lead to worse outcomes than other patients, she said.
The resulting patient-reported experience data collected by the research will be applied to quality improvement endeavours across more than 20 hospitals nationwide, including project partner St. Vincent's Health Australia.
By working closely with consumers, health services, and state-wide surveying teams, the project aims to not only to create tools, but to embed the necessary capabilities within health systems to make use of the tools to improve care.
This strategic approach is to ensure the continued implementation and effectiveness of PREMs for people with intellectual disabilities even after the project's conclusion, Professor Harrison said.
“This initiative marks a significant step towards fostering inclusivity and improving healthcare delivery for individuals with intellectual disability,” Professor Harrison said.
Professor Harrison is available for interview, please contact Chrissy Clay chrissy.clay@mq.edu.au
CENTRES RELATED TO THIS NEWS
Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Chrissy Clay, Media and Research Outreach Coordinator
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