Skip to content

Our research

The School of Nursing and Midwifery is dedicated to cultivating a vibrant research culture. Our staff strives to improve health outcomes through high-quality nursing and midwifery research.

Research is essential to health care and delivery to inform innovation and change at the practice level, the health services and systems level, and the health policy level. In Australia, the landscape of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research has changed significantly, alongside a developing understanding of how to appropriately conduct research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Furthermore, there is an increasing number of Indigenous peoples undertaking research within and about their communities.

Our aim

We aim to:

  • undertake Indigenous nurse/led research projects that focus on Indigenous Health and Wellbeing
  • establish a team under ‘Indigenous Research Theme’
  • identify potential research projects
  • identify, develop and implement Indigenous nurse/led research projects
  • identify ‘targeted research’ funding opportunities.

Our researchers

Areas of inquiry

First Nations health, Indigenous nurse history, Indigenous workforce development.

Core research programs

  • Indigenous Health and Wellbeing
  • Suicide and Mental Health
  • Historical Perspectives
  • Indigenous Health Workforce
  • Cultural Safety

Critical and acute care nursing plays a pivotal role in ensuring patients’ safety. Reducing errors and adverse events depends on accurate and timely evaluation of patients and intervention. This includes assessing the patient’s risk of both preventable and nonpreventable complications developing. The process of evaluating the patient and assessing risk is often challenging because of the nature of an acutely or critically ill patient’s illness and condition, combined with the hectic hospital environment.

Our aim

We aim to:

  • undertake nurse-led research projects that focus on acute and critical care as well as on patient safety
  • support our industry partners in nurse-led projects on improving clinical practice and patient safety
  • identify and mentor potential HDR students interested in research that aligns with this theme.

Our researchers

Areas of inquiry

Acute and critical care outcomes, patient safety, simulation-based learning, and digital health literacy.

Core research programs

  • Acute and critical care inquiry
  • Digital health literacy
  • Simulation
  • Assessment planning and evaluation of care

Cancer is a leading cause of death in Australia and one in two Australian men and women will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85. Cancer survivors live with, live through, and live beyond cancer. While living with a history of cancer is different for each person, a common belief among most is that life is different after cancer.

Our aim

The Cancer Survivorship research program is aimed at transforming nurse-initiated survivorship care by conducting research to understand the experiences of people living with the effects of cancer and to identify effective and novel supportive care interventions.

Our researchers

  • Associate Professor Nicholas Ralph (Theme lead)

Areas of inquiry

Needs and symptoms of cancer survivorship in regional Australians, and survivorship interventions.

Core research programs

  • NICER Cancer Survivorship Research Program

Half of all Australians have at least one of the major eight chronic conditions and chronic conditions are the leading cause of illness, disability and death in Australia. Despite this, there is a dearth of research on symptom management for some of these chronic conditions

Our aim

Our research aims to:

  • understand the experiences of people living with Chronic Health Conditions
  • identify effective and novel hospital avoidance strategies that enable good self-management
  • understand health economics as a driver for change
  • assist with the diagnosis and management of people with Chronic Health Conditions.

Our researchers

Areas of inquiry

Health optimisation, hospital avoidance, health economics, symptom experiences, management of persons with acute on chronic conditions, and cardiovascular health. 

Core research programs

  • Cardiac symptom inventory
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

There continues to be inequity in health care and outcomes for diverse populations in Australia and across the world. Communities that have social, cultural, commercial and environmental determinants influencing communicable and non-communicable disease rates often also have difficulty accessing culturally safe health care.

Emissions reductions are also essential to decrease the impact on the health and wellbeing of our most vulnerable citizens.

Compassionate, empowering and self-determined frameworks have the ability to support vulnerable populations to meet their own health aspirations. Digital literacy and resources are imperative to closing the gap in health outcomes. 

Our aim

With an increasingly culturally and geographically diverse ageing population, there is need to address these issues and support communities to develop and enhance strengths that enable improved health outcomes and improved overall wellbeing across the lifespan. Our research aims to:

  • identify cultural, social, commercial and environmental determinants that impact health equity
  • develop and implement frameworks and strategies that empower communities to meet their own health aspirations
  • mitigate health care inequity in our communities.

Our researchers

Areas of inquiry

Food security, health literacy, cultural safety, Maori and Pasifika health, rural and remote health, emissions reduction, and telehealth and digital health.

Core research programs

  • Health Service Inequity
    • Communicable and non-communicable disease and health inequity
    • Technology (Telehealth) and equity
    • Social and cultural determinants and food system inequity
    • Social return on investment and social determinants
  • Cultural Safety and Healthcare
    • Cultural safety for nurses within the workplace
  • Environmental Impacts on Health
    • Nurses role in emissions reduction in health care
    • Workforce mobility and climate change
  • Maori and Pasifika research
    • Health and Type 2 Diabetes

How we educate nurses of the future needs to be responsive to changes in the ever evolving landscape of health care. This includes changes in professional practice, in the way services are delivered, in the health policies that govern the decisions, in the plans and actions to achieve health care goals, and in changes needed to ensure a sustainable workforce.

Our aim

Our Nursing and Midwifery Education research aims to address the clinical education experiences of nursing and midwifery students, and the implementation and evaluation of supports, to enhance clinical education including evidence-based learning and teaching approaches.

Our Nursing and Midwifery Workforce Development research is aimed at partnering with professional nursing bodies, other universities, industry, student nurses, recent graduates and experienced nurses, to determine contemporary nursing workforce needs and identify sustainable solutions for supporting the nursing workforce into the future.

To achieve our aims, we will:

  • engage with industry partners to enhance the clinical experiences and range of opportunities for students and support industry in the supervision and preparedness of students
  • work with industry and key peak bodies to ensure that students' knowledge, skills and experiences meet expectations of beginning health care professionals within a contemporary health care system
  • engage in educational research that focuses on approaches to learning and teaching that best enhance students learning
  • support the nursing workforce to be able to deliver safe, quality quality care
  • support the nursing workforce to develop knowledge and skills that support their ongoing personal and professional development.

Our researchers

Areas of inquiry

Work-integrated learning and clinical placements, online teaching and simulation, preparedness for practice, interprofessional education, psychosocial factors influencing student learning (mood, expectations, motivations), gender in nursing, graduate nurse experiences, workforce retention policies, workforce career planning, workforce support programs, and Graduate Registered Nurse Transition programs. 

Core research programs

  • Building a sustainable rural health workforce

Australia spends about $6 billion on health and medical research each year yet only a fraction of the research findings are translated into sustainable practice or service improvements. As people expect to receive the most effective care based on the best available evidence, the critical application of evidence to practice is essential to the role of any health professional.

Our aim

We aim to foster collaboration and capacity building in finding, appraising, translating, implementing and evaluating evidence in practice for safe, effective and efficient healthcare practice and health service delivery. We will achieve this by: 

  • conducting robust systematic reviews that synthesising best available evidence
  • translating research findings into practice-friendly tools
  • collaborating with clinicians and health services on quality improvement and implementation research
  • co-designing theory-based or conceptually-derived evidence implementation plans with key stakeholders
  • evaluating effectiveness of implementation strategies for sustainable practice change.

Our researchers

Areas of inquiry

Evidence synthesis, translating research into practice, evidence-based practice and implementation strategies, quality improvement, planning and evaluating innovations in health services, and capacity building in EBP and research.

Core research programs

  • Translating Research And evidence Implementation Network  (TRAIN) 

The focus on aged, dementia, palliative and end of life care is critical to the role of the nurse and health care providers in contemporary health care. Working with individuals, families and communities to advance aspects of care and workforce direction to positively make a difference to quality of care is integral at a time when our ageing population is expanding at extraordinary rates.

Our aim

Our research area is linked explicitly with community and aims to make a difference to quality of care, improving knowledge, understanding and support for diverse communities through the process of ageing, palliative, and end-of-life care. Through collaborative connections with community, industry and academic collaborations we aim to:

  • understand the experiences of people as they age in Australia
  • inform best practice and digital inclusion in culturally safe research and strategies for ageing populations
  • conduct and support research, program evaluation and education that promotes workforce engagement, career development and leadership in care settings for those with life limiting illness or ageing related co-morbidities
  • conduct research to increase awareness, support and education in palliative and end of life care decision making inclusive of culture and spiritual care for ageing populations in Australia
  • collaboratively work with policy development, education initiatives and professional governance authorities to inform best practice standards in palliative care, end of life, dementia and ageing.

Our researchers

Areas of inquiry

Residential and community aged care, primary care and primary health care, healthy ageing, palliative care, end of life care, dementia, carer engagement and integrated health care.

Core research programs

  • Australia and New Zealand, Aged, Palliative and End of Life Care Research
  • West Moreton Care at End of Life Collaborative
  • Dementia and Health Literacy Collaboration (UQ, SCU, UniSQ, Bond University)
  • Career transition and workforce readiness programs 

Contact us

School research enquiries:

Email
HES-AH-RES-NM@unisq.edu.au

Higher degree research study enquiries:

Email
HES-HRDCoordinator-NursingMidwifery@unisq.edu.au