Prevention and Management of Long Term Conditions
Description and Aims
This stream is a response to the challenge of long-term conditions to health and health care services. These conditions include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease, cancer and mental illness. They commonly occur as multi-morbidities. The aim is conduct research in the community which informs improvement in health care and programs which aim to prevent and manage these conditions.
Key Current Research Areas
Prevention
The program focuses on improving interventions to address the behavioural risk factors (especially Smoking, Nutrition, Alcohol and Physical activity) as well as physiological risk factors such as obesity and cardiovascular risk in primary health care. This uses the 5As framework (ask/assess, advise, agree and assist, arrange), approaches tailored to health literacy levels and use of wearable technology and social media.
Management
This program focuses on a patient centred approach based on the Chronic Care model and includes teamwork, information and communication systems (including e-health), self-management support and community resources. This is the focus of work on diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, COPD, cancer, mental illness and multi-morbidity.
Key Partners
This research is conducted in partnership with primary health networks and local health districts along with other groups including Aboriginal Health organisations.
Stream lead
Mark Harris leads the stream.
Completed
Projects
Pathways to Preventive Care for People with Severe Mental Illness
The project will focus on the experiences and perspectives of PWSMI and what has helped or enabled them to establish and maintain a positive relationship with a GP. This information will assist with further research and codesign of an intervention to improve access to preventive health care for PWSMI.
Patient engagement in self-management of their chronic illnesses: an explanatory model
This dissertation presents an exploratory conceptual model of patient engagement in the management of their chronic illness(es) developed within the context of understanding and operationalising the construct of self-management. The study was funded by a Dora Lush Priority NHMRC Scholarship from March 2010 until December 2013.
Practice capacity for chronic disease management
The study aims to investigate the organizational capacity of general practices for chronic diseases and to identify those features of the organization which are associated with high quality care.
Preventing chronic disease in patients with low health literacy using e-health in general practice.
This is a cluster randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of an intervention which uses accessible and interactive information technology to support general practice nurses to better communicate with patients with low health literacy, to help them use information, set priorities, navigate referral and maintain behaviour change.
Prevention of vascular disease in general practice: Health Improvement and Prevention Study
This study evaluates the impact of recalling patients to general practice for a visit to assess their risk of chronic disease and to help them to lower their risk by changes to smoking, diet, alcohol consumption and physical activity behaviours as well as pharmacological management of their blood pressure and cholesterol.
