Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research

The Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research (QPS) focuses on quality of care and patient safety.

Established in 2009 as a leading strategic research centre, QPS integrates public and private health services with one of Australia’s largest Schools of Nursing and Midwifery. Our partners govern 37 acute and subacute care hospitals and 12 residential aged care facilities, employ approximately 33,000 nurses and midwives, and provide care for in excess of 3 million Victorians annually. Our research pillars of patient safety, patient experience, and health workforce span the whole patient journey, and encompass residential, community, subacute and acute care settings.

Annual reports

• 2022 annual report
• 2021 annual report
• 2020 annual report
• 2019 annual report
• 2018 annual report
• 2017 annual report

A founding member of the Institute for Health Transformation and based in Deakin University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery in the Faculty of Health, QPS is a pioneering academic-industry partnership, embedding Chairs in Nursing and Midwifery within six major Victorian health services.

The first partnership collaboration between Deakin’s School of Nursing and Epworth Hospital, Richmond was established in 1998 with the appointment of a Clinical Chair in Nursing. Since then 5 other health services have joined the partnership collaboration, forming an innovative academic-industry partnership network.

Directors

Co-Director and Chair in Nursing, Barwon Health
Deakin Distinguished Professor Alison Hutchinson

Co-Director and Chair in Nursing, Alfred Health
Deakin Distinguished Professor Tracey Bucknall

Members

The QPS partnership network is the first fully coordinated collaboration of its kind in Australia. The goal of this innovative network is to facilitate applied multidisciplinary and multi-site research.

Improving patient care

Our research is based on improving patient care and meeting the needs of healthcare organisations. We do this through our rigorous programs of research and clinical education relationships.

Our partnerships are committed to developing a strong interface between research, education and practice. They have a direct impact on the quality of patient care, as well as building capacity in the health workforce.

Partnering with six major health services

The partnership network is a unique and fully integrated model. It connects QPS and Deakin’s School of Nursing and Midwifery to six major health services in the public and private sector in metropolitan and regional areas of Victoria.

Each partner organisation has joint appointments with the School of Nursing and Midwifery, all with a Professor in Nursing and other joint appointments, including associate professors, senior research fellows, research fellows, and research assistants. Our Alfred Health, Barwon Health, Eastern Health, Epworth HealthCare, Monash Health and Western Health partnerships all have a jointly appointed Chair in Midwifery and researchers. These joint positions ensure curricula are evidence-based and the research is specific to the health care needs of the community.

Our students and their topics

Our current students

• Beyene Meressa Adhena Preconception folic acid supplementation model development for reproductive age women.
• Mohammed Amin Effectiveness of a physical activity intervention program to modify cardiovascular risk factors in Ghanian adults with T2 DM.
• Tarryn Armour Nurse preparedness for postgraduate study in perioperative nursing.
• Jennifer Barr Empowerment and shared decision making in patient experience in health care when living with multimorbidities.
• Pataporn Bawornthip Improving health literacy and reducing the risk of hypertension in Chiang Mai province, Thailand: A mixed method study.
• Melissa Blake Breastfeeding a late preterm infant within a Special Care Nursery.
• Laura Brooks Culturally sensitive communication at the end of life in the intensive care unit.
• Kathryn Brundell Rural safety in Victorian maternity care.
• Deana Copley Communication processes when commencing a new medication in patients with a chronic illness.
• Tendayi Bruce Dziruni Recognition and response to behaviours of concern in medical wards at The Alfred Hospital.
• Abdul-Ganiyu Fuseini Development and psychometric validation of a patient reported outcome measurement tool for dignified care during acute hospitalisation of older adults in Ghana.
• Madeline Hawke Shared decision-making with pregnant women with high body mass index.
• Monina Hernandez Impact of UTI and ARI bundle on the infection rate, health workers’ knowledge and practices, and older adults’ quality of care.
• Hannah Jongebloed Increasing consumer knowledge of the benefits and risks of lung cancer screening.
• Sabine Kleissl-Muir Effects of a low carbohydrate diet on heart failure symptoms and quality of life in patients with diabetic cardiomyopathy.
• Mataya Kilpatrick Antimicrobial stewardship activities in an acute paediatric setting.
• Nat Kondos What influence does stand down decision making at the end of a medical emergency team call have on patient outcomes?
• Apinya Koontalay Codesign of Thai-based heart failure program to improve patient outcomes.
• Elyse Ladbrook Impact of acute intercurrent illness on patients admitted to subacute care.
• Lysha Lee An exploration of intergenerational programs in residential aged care facilities in Australia.
• Jess Lees Exploring how health professional students learn technology mediated physical examination.
• Michael Le Grande Screening for obstructive sleep apnoea in cardiac rehabilitation patients.
• Michele McGrath The intersection between nursing students’ clinical assessment and workforce readiness.
• Karen McKenna Evaluation of the organisational response to COVID-19 pandemic. An organisational case study.
• Rachel McKittrick Improving care for older people through innovative nurse-led, patient-centred workforce models.
• Paula Medway Policy to practice: Exploring the implementation and impact of maternity policy in Australia.
• Dr Atefeh Mehrabifar Examination of medication errors in the perioperative setting.
• Birye Dessalegn Mekonnen Effect of pregnancy intention on completing the continuum of care for maternal, neonatal, and infant health in Ethiopia.
• Dr Luis Meave Mendoza Identifying adverse events using the Global Trigger Tool method in central-north Mexico.
• Sharyn Milnes How do doctors construct and operationalise patient-centred care?
• Samira Mokhlesi Breastfeeding experience of mothers who have undergone bariatric surgery: A qualitative study.
• Israel Bekele Molla Improving Diabetic social support through chronic care model in Ethiopia: Cluster randomized controlled trials.
• Britt O’Keefe The cost of doing nothing. Building resilience in Australia’s personal care workforce employed within a residential aged care setting.
• Amanda Pereira-Salgado Quantifying the clinical and economic implications of acute heart failure.
• Meg Pollock How to fix a broken heart: A guide for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation patients.
• Kerry Rigby Introducing a digital enhanced living technology into the home: The impact on older people and their direct partners-in-care.
• Andrea Russell How can consumers and aged care staff contribute to falls prevention in residential aged care?
• Annie Tan A mixed methods study of the impact of COVID-19 to the maternity care services in Australia.
• Olivia Tierney Continuity of Care Experience models in midwifery degrees: identifying the learning outcomes and understanding its impact on professional behaviours.
• Monique Vermeulen Transition of registered nurses to postgraduate student midwives- A mixed method study.
• Catherine Williams Education and training needs of allied health professionals in clinical trials.
• Vicky Yuan Engaging with electronic medical records.

Our recent Graduates

• Dr Rami Aldwikat Delirium in the Post Anaesthetic Care Unit: Prevalence, incidence, determinants and outcomes.
• Dr Afizu Alhassan Influence of a preceptorship training programme on the perceived competence of nurse preceptors and the quality of clinical placement of nursing students.
• Dr Josh Allen Anticipating clinical deterioration: Patient characteristics and system factors.
• Dr Theodora Dedo Azu Maternal and neonatal birth outcomes associated with anaemia in pregnancy in Ghana
• Dr Gabrielle Burdeu Acute care nurses’ decision making in recognising and responding to changes in patients’ clinical states.
• Dr Tigestu Alemu Desse Development of a complex intervention for effective management of type 2 diabetes in a developing country.
• Dr Stephanie Hunter Vasoactive medications and nurse decision making.
• Dr Rebecca Jedwab Nurses’ experiences of an electronic medical record implementation: A mixed-methods study.
• Dr Guncag Ozavci Communicating about managing medications by older patients across transitions of care.
• Dr Monica Schoch Point of care ultrasound in haemodialysis vascular access.
• Dr Stephanie Sprogis Evaluating the pre-Medical Emergency Team tier of Rapid Response Systems.