SCHOOL OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY

Collaborating Centre for Older Person's Care (CCOPC):
Priority Research Centre for Gender Health and Ageing (PRCGHA)

Overview

The CCOPC collaborates with the Hunter New England Health and Industry partners on research and scholarly activity to explore and understand how to provide optimal care for older people in the acute, residential and community care settings.

We respond to issues and concerns in pursuit of Person Centred Care for older people. We seek to understand the experience of older adults and their families or significant others in a range of contexts in which they deal with and manage their health concerns. Underpinning our research is the imperative to build research capacity, work within a multidisciplinary framework and give nursing input and direction to policy and practice.

We actively seek collaborations that aim to have a maximum impact on health outcomes for older people. We make a contribution to the research community and scholarship within local, regional, national and international discussion groups and conferences.

Objectives

• To conduct research that optimizes outcomes for older people in acute, residential and community care settings.
• To collaborate on interdisciplinary research programs that informs policy and practice in relation to older person care.
• To build capacity for the future within the community of older people and for a new generation of researchers.
• To contribute to national and international debate on the health concerns and issues relating to older people.

Research themes

Pain and symptom management
Life transitions & end of life care
Quality use of medicines
Volunteering, family and carers
Models for best practice
Professional and practice issues
Workforce planning and development

Methodologies

The expertise includes a qualitative methodologies, quantitative approaches, and mixed methods. In particular, we have expertise in action research, phenomenology, grounded theory, critical ethnography, discourse analysis, case study, and evaluation studies.

Collaborating Partners

Centre for Practice Opportunity and Development (CPOD), Hunter New England Health Service, NSW Australia
Uniting Care Ageing,: Hunter Central Coast and New England.
Maroba Living Communities, Waratah, Australia
Baptist Community Services, Australia
Calvary Retirement Community, Cessnock.
Claus Moser Research Centre, Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
Novacare Pty Ltd, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Yamaguchi University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ube, Japan.

Contact

Isabel Higgins
Professor of Older Person Nursing
School of Nursing and Midwifery
Faculty of Health
The University of Newcastle
Hunter New England Health
Tel: (+61 2) 4921 6144
Fax: (+61 2) 49216301
Mobile: (+61) 419233305
Email: Isabel.Higgins@newcastle.edu.au