Pictured above: Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective—a man who has never let a box (or a socially acceptable approach to problem-solving) contain him. And honestly? It’s a pretty accurate metaphor for what happens in health and social care every single day. The Great Box Dilemma Health and social care systems love boxes. We’ve […]
Thinking Outside the Box (Because, honestly, we don’t fit in one anyway) Read More »
A while back, I finished reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. One chapter, in particular, left me reflecting deeply—it explored the idea of tracking habits and how metrics shape behaviour. Naturally, it got me thinking about Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in community-based health and social care organisations. How Do Your KPIs Reflect Your Purpose? We’ve
Balancing KPIs with Purpose in Community Health and Social Care Read More »
When I was 23, I fell in love with a Russian. And in my infinite wisdom (and clearly, undying optimism), I decided to learn Russian and trek across China and Russia to meet up with him. A grand romantic gesture, right? Sadly, or perhaps thankfully (?!), it was a story of unrequited love. But what
Rural healthcare in Australia faces persistent inequities due to an inadequate and poorly distributed workforce. This study explored the roles and challenges faced by healthcare professionals in rural settings, particularly highlighting the under-recognised contributions of nurses and allied health professionals. The analysis reviewed existing policies, workforce training programs, and structural barriers impacting rural healthcare delivery.
Challenging the Dominant Rural Health Workforce ‘Problem’ in Australia Read More »
Support workers constitute the largest group of staff involved in delivering health and social care in the UK, yet their roles vary widely and are shaped by various contextual factors. This study aimed to clarify the contributions and context of support workers’ roles in health and social care settings. The study involved a thematic review
This research investigated how support workers’ utilisation in community rehabilitation teams for older people relates to patient and team characteristics. Conducted from January to September 2009, the study involved 462 staff and 1913 patients, collecting data on patient dependency, health status (using tools like Therapy Outcome Measures, EQ-5D, and Levels of Care), and staff activity.
This study aimed to assess patient preferences for various models of community-based care for older people, focusing on the location of care, frequency, and type of principal carer. Conducted through face-to-face interviews with 77 patients recently discharged from hospital and receiving short-term care at home, we used a discrete choice experiment to evaluate preferences for
Health workforce training is still largely rooted in outdated 20th-century paradigms that prioritise professionalisation over patient-focused care. This is evident in the paradox of longer training times coinciding with workforce shortages, limited career paths for paraprofessionals, and inefficient training models that reduce service capacity. The proposed model for 21st-century health workforce training includes: Clinical Setting-Based
This study examines the large-scale workforce redesign program implemented by Queensland Health across 13 healthcare disciplines over five years. The aim was to identify mechanisms that contribute to successful workforce redesign and to codify these findings to guide future projects. The research used Inductive Logic Reasoning (ILR) to develop and test theories of change. Initial
The objective of this research was to identify mechanisms that lead to the successful implementation of support strategies for healthcare practitioners in rural and remote areas. This study conducted an integrative review and thematic synthesis of 43 empirical studies that evaluated support interventions in these contexts. The majority of the interventions reviewed were training and
