
Mr Shaun McCarthy
Director
Newcastle Law School
- Email:shaun.mccarthy@newcastle.edu.au
- Phone:(02) 4921 8666
Career Summary
Biography
Shaun is the Director of University of Newcastle Legal Centre (UNLC) and Program Convenor of the Practical Legal Training Program at the University of Newcastle. He provides clinical supervision to law students at the UNLC and teaches into the Law School's Practice Program, Bachelor of Laws and Juris Doctor degrees. Shaun has acted in multiple high profile public interest cases at the UNLC including the police shooting of Roni Levi on Bondi Beach and the inquiry into the detention of Cornelia Rau. He conducts high profile public interest casework in anti-discrimination law and intensive research into asylum protection cases. He has been involved in the UNLC flagship clinic 'Law on the Beach' at Newcastle Beach since its inception in 2004. Shaun has developed an app titled Know the Law specifically designed for international students about the law in Australia. He is an investigator in a National Health and Medical Research Foundation grant titled Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records - Charting the Course for Successful Healthcare Transitions in Young Adults with Communication Disabilities and an Investigator in a Commonwealth Government grant dealing with Young Offenders. Shaun is involved in the delivery of Planning Ahead seminars to community groups and undertaking research regarding how people respond to such information in dealing with their legal affairs and client capacity. He is also undertaking research regarding how lawyers deal with elder financial abuse and whether screening tools could assist in combating such exploitation. The research has led to a toolkit being produced to assist lawyers in detecting elder abuse:
https://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/article/downloads/Elder-Abuse-Toolkit.pdf.
Shaun was a lead member of the team which secured a NSW State Government grant (totalling around $700,000) to establish an Older Persons Legal Clinic at the University of Newcastle Legal Centre. He has recently co-hosted a Symposium with the Hunter New England Local Health District on Capacity Assessment. Shaun is a Consultant on a National Disability Insurance Scheme grant supporting persons who live with a swallowing disability.
Program Convenor of Newcastle Law School's Practice Program (Practical Legal Training Program)
Admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia
Unrestricted Practising Certificate from the Law Society of NSW
AWARDS: Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning awarded by the Australian Awards for University Teaching; NSW Premier's Public Sector Award Commendation for Services to Regional and Rural NSW; Newcastle Law School award for Teaching Excellence in Public Interest Advocacy and Social Justice Clinic; University of Newcastle Excellence in Teaching Award Outstanding Clinical Teacher in Law; University of Newcastle Work Integrated Learning Staff Member Award in the Faculty of Business and Law in recognition of outstanding academic achievement, performance and contribution to the University of Newcastle and wider community; University of Newcastle Faculty of Business and Law Excellence in External Engagement Staff Award; University of Newcastle Faculty of Business and Law International Engagement Award; University of Newcastle Faculty of Business and Law Excellence in Collaboration Award for Restorative City Initiative Project; University of Newcastle Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Merit List for Exemplary Student Outcomes for the Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice; University of Newcastle Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence and Contribution to Student Learning; University of Newcastle Vice Chancellor's Award for International Engagement
Research Expertise
Public Interest Advocacy, Miscarriage of Justice cases, Clinical Legal Education, Client Capacity, Disability Law, Tribunals, Professional Conduct.
Submission to Productivity Commission Access to Justice Arrangements Report 2014; Submission to Commonwealth Senate regarding asylum seekers in Nauru Regional Processing Centre and Manus Regional Processing Centre; Submission to Australian Law Reform Commission Inquiry into Elder Abuse; Submission to the Commonwealth Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee regarding The circumstances in which Australians' personal Medicare information has been compromised and made available illegally on the 'dark web'. Submission to the NSW Department of Justice Community Legal Centre Review. Submission to the NSW Law Reform Commission on access to digital assets after death and incapacity. Submission to the Commonwealth Senate Inquiry into Centrelink's Compliance Program (Robodebt) which is cited in its Second Interim Report.
Australian Collaborative Education Network, Excellence in Work Integrated Learning: Sand, Surf, Social Work and Law: inter-professional learning and practice at the University of Newcastle
ORCID 0000-0002-7515-6419
SCOPUS 57023155200
Web of Science AAU 7792 2020
Teaching Expertise
LAWS 4007/LAWS 6011 Professional Conduct - Course Co-Ordinator
LAWS 5037/LAWS 6029 Public Interest Advocacy - Course Co-Ordinator
LAWS 4054A/LAWS 4054B/LAWS 6014A/LAWS 6014B Legal Practice 1 - Course Co-Ordinator
LAWS 4055A/LAWS 4055B/LAWS 6015A/LAWS 6015B - Legal Practice 2 - Course Co-Ordinator
Practical Legal Training Clinical Legal Education modules
Administrative Expertise and Membership
Editorial Board, Newcastle Law Review
Program Convenor, Practice Program, Newcastle Law School
Member, Program Management Group, Newcastle Law School
Member, Australasian Professional Legal Education Council (APLEC)
Member, Law Society NSW and Newcastle Law Society
Member, Priority Research Initiative in Evidence Based Law and Practice, Newcastle Law School
Member, Disability Research Network, University of Newcastle
Member, Australasian Law Teachers Association
Member, Australian Collaborative Education Network
Member, Global Alliance for Justice Education
Member, Global Legal Empowerment Network
Peer Reviewer, UNSW Law Journal
Peer Reviewer, Health Information Management Journal
Peer Reviewer, Health Expectations
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Laws, Australian National University
- Bachelor of Arts, Macquarie University
Keywords
- Clinical Legal Education
- Disability Law
- Legal Ethics
- Professional Conduct
- Public Interest Advocacy
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Journal article (17 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
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2019 |
Walsh L, Hemsley B, Allan M, Dahm MR, Balandin S, Georgiou A, et al., 'Assessing the information quality and usability of My Health Record within a health literacy framework: What's changed since 2016?', HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, 50 13-25 (2019)
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2019 |
Johnston B, McCarthy S, 'Street Law in the 21st Century: Assessing the Impact of the Know the Law Pilot Project', International Journal of Public Legal Education, 3 27-49 (2019) [C1]
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2019 |
Hemsley B, Meredith J, Bryant L, Wilson NJ, Higgins I, Georgiou A, et al., 'An integrative review of stakeholder views on Advance Care Directives (ACD): Barriers and facilitators to initiation, documentation, storage, and implementation', Patient Education and Counseling, 102 1067-1079 (2019) [C1] © 2019 Elsevier B.V. Objective: To examine the views and experiences of patients and their health care providers on developing advance care planning (ACP) and advance care directi... [more] © 2019 Elsevier B.V. Objective: To examine the views and experiences of patients and their health care providers on developing advance care planning (ACP) and advance care directives (ACD); and determine barriers and facilitators to ACD development, storage, and use, including implications for people with communication disability. Method: An integrative review of 93 studies, analysed according to their content themes. Results: Content themes encapsulated the initiation, documentation, and implementation stages of ACP/ACD. Lack of guidance for initiating and supporting ACP/ACD impedes discussions, and both patients and healthcare providers avoid discussions owing to fear of dying and reluctance to think about end-of-life. Conclusions: There are several barriers and facilitators to the initiation of ACP discussions, documentation and implementation of ACD, and little research exploring the views of legal professionals on the development, storage, or use of ACP documents. Further research is needed to explore the timing and responsibility of both legal and health professionals in initiating and supporting ACP discussions. Practice Implications: It is important for healthcare providers to raise ACP discussions regularly so that patients have time to make informed advance care decisions. Storage of the document in an electronic health record might facilitate better access to and implementation of patients¿ end-of-life care decisions.
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2019 |
Blakemore T, Agllias K, Howard A, McCarthy S, 'The service system challenges of work with juvenile justice involved young people in the Hunter Region, Australia', Australian Journal of Social Issues, 54 341-356 (2019) [C1]
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2019 |
Li B, McCarthy S, Chen W, 'Fostering future lawyers in an era of globalisation: Integrating dispute resolution into overseas clinical legal education externships', Australian Journal of Clinical Education, 4 1-11 (2019) [C1]
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2018 |
Walsh L, Hill S, Allan M, Balandin S, Georgiou A, Higgins I, et al., 'A content analysis of the consumer-facing online information about My Health Record: Implications for increasing knowledge and awareness to facilitate uptake and use', Health Information Management Journal, 47 106-115 (2018) [C1]
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2018 |
Blakemore T, Rak L, Agllias K, Mallett X, McCarthy S, 'Crime and context: Understandings of youth perpetrated interpersonal violence among service providers in regional Australia', Journal of Applied Youth Studies, 2 53-69 (2018) [C1]
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2018 |
Meredith J, McCarthy S, Hemsley B, 'Legal and Ethical Issues Surrounding the Use of Older Children's Electronic Personal Health Records.', Journal of law and medicine, 25 1042-1055 (2018) [C1]
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2018 |
Hemsley BA, McCarthy S, Adams N, Georgiou A, Hill S, Balandin S, 'Legal, ethical, and rights issues in the adoption and use of the My
Health Record by people with communication disability in Australia', Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 43 506-514 (2018) [C1]
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2017 |
McCarthy S, Meredith J, Bryant L, Hemsley B, 'Legal and Ethical Issues Surrounding Advance Care Directives in Australia: Implications for the Advance Care Planning Document in the Australian My Health Record.', J Law Med, 25 136-149 (2017) [C1]
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2017 |
Walsh L, Hemsley BA, Allan M, Adams N, Balandin S, Georgiou A, et al., 'The ehealth literacy demands of Australia s My Health Record: a heuristic evaluation of usability', Perspectives in health information management / AHIMA, American Health Information Management Association, Fall 1-23 (2017) [C1]
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2016 |
McCarthy S, Maguire AM, Elton A, 'Executive Detention: Still no effective review for detainees', Alternative Law Journal, 41 249-253 (2016) [C1]
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2016 |
Ries NM, Johnston B, McCarthy S, 'Legal education and the ageing population: Building student knowledge and skills through experiential learning in collaboration with community organisations', Adelaide Law Review, 37 495-522 (2016) [C1]
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2016 |
Ries NM, Johnston B, McCarthy S, 'Technology-Enabled Legal Service Delivery for Older Adults: What Can Law Learn from TeleHealth? Findings from an International Review of Literature', Elder Law Review, 10 1-14 (2016) [C1]
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2015 |
Hemsley B, Georgiou A, Balandin S, Carter R, Hill S, Higgins I, et al., 'The Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) for Adults with Severe Communication Impairments: Findings of Pilot Research.', Studies in health technology and informatics, 214 100-106 (2015) [C1]
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2014 | McCarthy SG, 'The Rise and Rise of Tribunals Engaging Law Students in Tribunal Advocacy', International Journal of Clinical Legal Education, 21 42-68 (2014) [C1] | ||||||||||
Show 14 more journal articles |
Review (2 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
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2018 | McCarthy SG, 'If Privacy is Increasing for My Health Record data, it should apply to all medical records (2018) | ||
2017 | McCarthy SG, 'Why aren't more people using the My Health Record? (2017) |
Conference (3 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
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2019 |
Blakemore T, Steffner J, McCarthy S, Howard A, 'Sand, Surf, Social Work and Law: Inter-professional Learning and Practice', Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide South Australia. (2019)
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2019 |
Li B, McCarthy S, 'Clinical Legal Education in Australia Newcastle Model', Zibo, China (2019)
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2015 |
Blakemore TJ, Howard A, McCarthy S, Ross N, 'Interprofessional Work Integrated Learning : Exploring Opportunities for Social Innovation in Australian Tertiary Education', Kyoto , Japan (2015)
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Other (1 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
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2019 |
Anderson J, Ries N, Mansfield E, McCarthy S, 'Identifying and Acting on Elder Abuse: A Toolkit for Legal Practitioners', Identifying and Acting on Elder Abuse: A Toolkit for Legal Practitioners (2019)
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Report (1 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
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2020 | McCarthy S, 'Expert insert on Elements of Criminal Law in Book by Xanthe Mallett titled Reasonable Doubt released July 2020.' (2020) |
Grants and Funding
Summary
Number of grants | 17 |
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Total funding | $1,396,768 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20201 grants / $33,000
New Colombo Plan - Clinical Legal Education in China$33,000
Funding body: Australian Commonwealth Government
Funding body | Australian Commonwealth Government |
---|---|
Project Team | Bin Li |
Scheme | New Colombo Mobility Program |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2020 |
Funding Finish | 2020 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | C1500 - Aust Competitive - Commonwealth Other |
Category | 1500 |
UON | N |
20191 grants / $33,000
New Colombo Mobility Program$33,000
Funding body: Australian Commonwealth Government
Funding body | Australian Commonwealth Government |
---|---|
Project Team | Dr Bin Li |
Scheme | New Colombo Mobility Program |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2019 |
Funding Finish | 2019 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Aust Competitive - Commonwealth |
Category | 1CS |
UON | N |
20183 grants / $1,048,495
Perpetrator Package - Young Perpetrators activity$872,361
Funding body: Department of Social Services
Funding body | Department of Social Services |
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Project Team | Doctor Tamara Blakemore, Doctor Kylie Agllias, Doctor Graeme Stuart, Mr Shaun McCarthy, Doctor Chris Krogh, Ms Louise Rak, Professor Penny Jane Burke, Steve Larkin, Doctor Joel McGregor |
Scheme | Community Grants Hub |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2018 |
Funding Finish | 2019 |
GNo | G1800632 |
Type Of Funding | C2210 - Aust StateTerritoryLocal - Own Purpose |
Category | 2210 |
UON | Y |
Best practice and trends in family counseling and mediation services in NSW: A colloborative case study of Uniting$154,634
Funding body: Uniting (NSW, ACT)
Funding body | Uniting (NSW, ACT) |
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Project Team | Doctor Tamara Blakemore, Doctor Chris Krogh, Associate Professor Amanda Howard, Doctor Milena Heinsch, Mr Shaun McCarthy, Doctor Graeme Stuart |
Scheme | Research Grant |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2018 |
Funding Finish | 2019 |
GNo | G1800349 |
Type Of Funding | C3112 - Aust Not for profit |
Category | 3112 |
UON | Y |
Endeavour Mobility Program$21,500
Funding body: Commonwealth Government
Funding body | Commonwealth Government |
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Project Team | Bin Li |
Scheme | Asia Bound Student Mobility Program |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2018 |
Funding Finish | 2018 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Aust Competitive - Commonwealth |
Category | 1CS |
UON | N |
20175 grants / $125,273
Pop-Up Clinics and Know the Law app$35,000
Funding body: The University of Newcastle
Funding body | The University of Newcastle |
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Scheme | Community Development |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2017 |
Funding Finish | 2017 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
New Colombo Plan Mobility Project - Clinical Legal Education in China$33,000
Funding body: Commonwealth Government
Funding body | Commonwealth Government |
---|---|
Project Team | Bin Li |
Scheme | Asia Bound Student Mobility Program |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2017 |
Funding Finish | 2017 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Aust Competitive - Commonwealth |
Category | 1CS |
UON | N |
Action on Elder Abuse: A pilot project to improve screening and intervention through health-legal collaboration$27,273
Funding body: NSW Department of Family and Community Services
Funding body | NSW Department of Family and Community Services |
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Project Team | Ms NOLA Ries, Professor John Anderson, Doctor Elise Mansfield, Mr Shaun McCarthy |
Scheme | Research Grant |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2017 |
Funding Finish | 2018 |
GNo | G1700701 |
Type Of Funding | C2210 - Aust StateTerritoryLocal - Own Purpose |
Category | 2210 |
UON | Y |
Juvenile Justice and Education Equity in the Hunter Region$20,000
Funding body: Centre for Excellence in Equity in Higher Education (CEEHE)
Funding body | Centre for Excellence in Equity in Higher Education (CEEHE) |
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Project Team | Tamara Blakemore |
Scheme | Seed Grant Funding |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2017 |
Funding Finish | 2017 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning awarded by the Australian Awards for University Teaching$10,000
Funding body: Commonwealth Government
Funding body | Commonwealth Government |
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Scheme | Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2017 |
Funding Finish | 2017 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Aust Competitive - Commonwealth |
Category | 1CS |
UON | N |
20163 grants / $53,000
Pop-up clinics and Know the Law digital resource$30,000
Funding body: University of Newcastle
Funding body | University of Newcastle |
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Scheme | SSAF |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2016 |
Funding Finish | 2016 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
Evidence Based Law and Practice Priority Research Initiative$20,000
Funding body: Faculty of Business and Law, The University of Newcastle
Funding body | Faculty of Business and Law, The University of Newcastle |
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Project Team | Nola Ries, John Anderson, Tim Connor, Katherine Lindsay, Nicola Ross, Shaun McCarthy |
Scheme | Faculty Research Project Grant |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2016 |
Funding Finish | 2017 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
Teaching & Learning Seed Grant: Developing a Technology-Enabled Legal Outreach Service$3,000
Funding body: Faculty of Business and Law, The University of Newcastle
Funding body | Faculty of Business and Law, The University of Newcastle |
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Project Team | Shaun McCarthy and Nola Ries |
Scheme | Priority Research Initiatives |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2016 |
Funding Finish | 2017 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
20151 grants / $55,000
Know the Law app and pop-up legal advice clinics$55,000
Funding body: The University of Newcastle
Funding body | The University of Newcastle |
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Scheme | SSAF |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2015 |
Funding Finish | 2015 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
20142 grants / $39,000
Pop Up Clinics for legal advice to students at Callaghan and Ourimbah campuses$35,000
Funding body: University of Newcastle
Funding body | University of Newcastle |
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Scheme | SSAF |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2014 |
Funding Finish | 2014 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
Community Engagement and Research Impact Case Study$4,000
Funding body: Newcastle Innovation
Funding body | Newcastle Innovation |
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Scheme | Faculty of Business and Law Community Engagement and Research Impact Case Study |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2014 |
Funding Finish | 2014 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
20111 grants / $10,000
Tenancy Resource Project$10,000
Funding body: Samaritans
Funding body | Samaritans |
---|---|
Scheme | Samaritans |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2011 |
Funding Finish | 2011 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | External |
Category | EXTE |
UON | N |
Research Projects
Action on Elder Abuse 2017 -
This project will bring together health and legal service providers in the Newcastle and Hunter regions of New South Wales to design and pilot test an intervention to support elder abuse screening for community-dwelling older adults and the use of referral pathways for timely and effective action to address suspected situations of abuse. The intervention will be piloted with: legal practitioners recruited from law firms and community legal centres; and healthcare providers recruited from a general medical practice and aged care assessment teams (ACATs). Feedback from the pilot will inform the development of a specific screening tool, which will also be designed to identify older adults at risk of abuse so that preventative measures can also be considered as part of an overall action strategy in relation to appropriate referral pathways and support mechanisms.
AIMS:
(1) To examine legal practitioners’ and healthcare providers’ knowledge and attitudes in relation to screening for and acting on situations of elder abuse; and
(2) To examine the feasibility and acceptability of an elder abuse screening and interprofessional
workshop intervention delivered through legal practices, a general medical practice and ACATs, including:
(a) practitioners’ satisfaction with interprofessional, health-legal training on elder abuse screening and action;
(b) feasibility and acceptability of a brief elder abuse screening tool for legal practitioners and healthcare providers; and
(c) the use of local and state resources and referral pathways to deal with both ongoing and potential elder abuse situations.
METHODS:
Study design, setting, and participants: A large general medical practice in the Newcastle region has agreed to participate in this project and a minimum of three ACATs within the area health service and approximately ten local legal practitioners will also be recruited to participate. Eligible participants will be agreeable to: participating in a half-day interprofessional training workshop; incorporating a brief elder abuse screening tool into their practice; and completing several short surveys over the course of the project. Participants will include legal practitioners, especially those whose practice focuses on wills, estates and elder law (identified from the NSW Law Society membership records and the Committee on Elder Law, Capacity and Succession); general medical practitioners, nursing professionals, and social workers. The study will have three main steps:
Step 1 - Selection of an elder abuse screening tool: The research team has already undertaken an international-in-scope literature review to identify existing questionnaire tools used to screen for elder abuse among community-dwelling older adults.[i] Such tools ask questions like: “Has anyone tried to force you to sign papers or to use your money against your will?”; “Do you trust most of the people in your family?”; “Have you relied on people for any of the following: bathing, dressing, shopping, banking, or meals?”; “Have you been upset because someone talked to you in a way that made you feel shamed or threatened?” We have also identified and examined ‘legal-health checks’ developed by community legal service providers for use by health practitioners to screen patients for legal concerns.[ii] We have also examined the risk factor assessment checklists available as part of the NSW Elder Abuse Toolkit at the NSW Elder Abuse Helpline and Resource Unit website, which provide useful information to assist in developing standardised questions to allow legal and health professionals to begin a conversation with older adults about existing or potential elder abuse. In consultation with our project advisory committee (described below), we will select a set of screening questions for use in our pilot project. The choice of tool will be guided by strengths and limitations reported in the literature, including a need to balance ease of use with accuracy and comprehensiveness, as well as appropriateness of questions for clients who may have some degree of cognitive impairment. Our aim in this step is to overcome the barrier of what questions to be asked by using the available literature, information and existing tools to develop a short series of questions that represent the best medium for accurate and comprehensive screening of older adults for existing or potential elder abuse.
Step 2 – Interprofessional workshop and resources for participating care providers: In collaboration with the Hunter Dementia Alliance, the Reference Group on Elder Abuse in the Hunter and the NSW Elder Abuse Helpline and Resource Unit (who are also working with Justice Connect), we will deliver interprofessional, health-legal training workshops for the participating, legal practitioners, GP practice and ACATs. The workshop will provide education on elder abuse, how to use the screening tool, and steps to take if situations of potential or suspected abuse are detected. Attendees will be educated on Hunter-specific and state-level resources and referral pathways to support timely intervention and follow-up. These resources include those available through the NSW Elder Abuse Helpline and Resource Unit and a recently established Reference Group on Elder Abuse in the Hunter, which offers an interprofessional case consultation service for practitioners seeking guidance on how to deal with situations of potential elder abuse. The workshop will be registered with professional organisations offering Continuing Professional Development points. We have already planned an interprofessional workshop on capacity assessment scheduled for May 2017.
Step 3 – Pilot testing of the screening tool: The participating legal practices, GP practice and ACATs will incorporate the elder abuse screening questions into their consultations with older clients. Healthcare providers will add these questions to assessments they currently perform with older clients, such as the Medicare Health Assessment for Older Persons (75+). It is estimated that at least 200 older clients will be screened during a six-month pilot testing period.
Project advisory committee: We will establish a project advisory committee that includes members of the Hunter Dementia Alliance, the Reference Group on Elder Abuse in the Hunter, the Hunter Elder Abuse Interagency Collaborative, the NSW Elder Abuse Helpline and Resource Unit and consumer representatives. The Dementia Alliance and the Reference Group include geriatricians, health practitioners employed in ACATs, professional staff of the Newcastle office of Alzheimer’s Australia, and legal practitioners with expertise in elder law. This advisory committee will provide advice throughout the project.
MEASURES:
We will collect quantitative and qualitative data through voluntary surveys involving practitioners from the legal practices, the GP practice and ACATs. Participants may also be invited to take part in a focus group or follow-up interviews to further explore findings from the surveys. An interview guide or focus group questions will be developed based on the survey results. Ethics approval for all research activities will be sought from the Hunter New England Local Health District and University Ethics Committee as required.
Knowledge and attitudes in relation to screening for and acting on situations of elder abuse: Prior to the workshop, participants will be sent a link to a 10-minute online survey that will ask questions about their knowledge, attitudes and intentions concerning elder abuse (e.g., self-perceived competence in identifying and managing elder abuse situations; interest in and perceived barriers to using a screening tool; knowledge and use of existing state and local resources).
Satisfaction with interprofessional, health-legal training on elder abuse screening and action: At the end of the workshop, participants will be asked to complete a short paper survey with questions on the usefulness of the training and the resources identified, and any recommendations for improvement.
Feasibility and acceptability of a brief elder abuse screening tool: At the end of the six-month pilot testing period, participants will be sent a link to a 15-minute online survey that will seek feedback on the use of the screening tool. Data collected will include: number of clients screened; time taken to ask screening questions; impressions on use of the tool; impact on attitudes and perceived competence in relation to screening; and recommendations for improvement. We will contact participants at months two and four of the pilot testing period for an informal check on the progress of the intervention.
Use of local and state resources and referral pathways to deal with elder abuse situations: The post-intervention survey will also ask about: number of situations where potential and existing abuse was identified during the pilot period; types of abuse situations detected; local and state resources accessed; outcomes, where known (e.g., police involvement; change in accommodation and/or care arrangements for the client; preparation of new legal instruments, such as new enduring power of attorney appointments[iii]); and actual experiences with referral pathways, resources and support.
Dissemination of findings: We will analyse the data and prepare final pilot project findings that will be disseminated to reach a wide range of relevant audiences, including health and legal practitioner groups and community organisations serving older Australians at risk of elder abuse. If the screening tool is found to be good practice then we will publish the availability of the tool for broader use across NSW. We will produce: one or more scholarly articles that contribute to high-quality, peer-reviewed literature on the topic of elder abuse; articles for professional newsletters and online sources to reach health, aged care and legal practitioners; and presentations for conferences and other events.
[i] L De Donder, N De Witte, D Brosens, E Diercks and D Verte, Learning to Detect and Prevent Elder Abuse: The Need for a Valid Risk Assessment Instrument. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 2015;191:1483.
[ii] Legal Health Checks, http://legalhealthcheck.org.au/legalhealthcheck/.
[iii] Whole of Government response, above n 4, 17 (Recommendation 7 as to Powers of Attorney Act 2003 and further consideration required as to the need for changes and options to enhance safeguards in respect of powers of attorney).
Grants
Action on Elder Abuse: A pilot project to improve screening and intervention through health-legal collaboration
Funding body: NSW Department of Family and Community Services
Funding body | NSW Department of Family and Community Services |
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Project Team | Ms NOLA Ries, Professor John Anderson, Doctor Elise Mansfield, Mr Shaun McCarthy |
Scheme | Research Grant |
Collaborators
Name | Organisation |
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Ms Nola Maria Ries | University of Newcastle |
Mr Shaun Gerard McCarthy | University of Newcastle |
Edit
News
Pop-up legal clinic returns to support the Newcastle community
January 15, 2021
Beachside clinic offers free legal advice to the community and bushfire victims
January 17, 2020
Free legal clinic to support community’s vulnerable older people
November 15, 2019
First-of-its-kind resource aids legal practitioners in identifying elder abuse
March 20, 2019
Capacity Assessment Symposium
July 19, 2018
Capacity Assessment Symposium
July 18, 2018
Law on the Beach
December 11, 2017
Academic honoured for making the law accessible to all
September 15, 2017
Complementary legal service hits the beach for those feeling the heat
January 20, 2017
Legal program at Newcastle Beach riding a wave of success
January 29, 2015
Kathleen Folbigg case review bid challenges SIDS evidence
October 9, 2014
Human Rights and Refugees
June 24, 2014
Kathleen Folbigg’s Sister Speaks Out
April 2, 2014
Hit the surf and source legal advice
January 20, 2014
Mr Shaun McCarthy
Position
Director
University of Newcastle Legal Centre
Newcastle Law School
College of Human and Social Futures
Contact Details
shaun.mccarthy@newcastle.edu.au | |
Phone | (02) 4921 8666 |
Fax | (02) 4921 8866 |
Office
Room | X-528 |
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Building | NeW Space |
Location | City Campus , |