Patient Safety Research

Who we are

UNE’s patient safety research group comprises academic staff, students and clinicians who are interested in issues of relevance to patient safety. Patient safety is the avoidance of preventable harm to patients. Harm can occur at any point of the healthcare experience. Patient safety practices are those practices aimed at reducing the risk of adverse events.

What we do

Our research projects cover a broad range of issues including safe practice across a range of contexts, public health priorities including health promotion, Indigenous health, health workforce capacity building including supporting clinical supervision and building clinical capacity, and interprofessional education and simulation.

Current Projects in Patient Safety Research

Tracking the progression, outcomes and service use of people with hospital and community-acquired pressure injury in NSW Australia: a large data base study

  • Nursing student knowledge and attitudes towards intentional rounding: a mixed methods study
  • Compassion fatigue, burnout and nurse sensitive patient safety indicators: a mixed methods study
  • Nurse-led telephone follow-up post-discharge
  • Emergency department presentations for injuries related to methamphetamine use
  • Nurse and patient perceptions of compassionate care
  • Emergency department presentations for injuries related to stimulant use
  • Nursing students speaking up for patient safety
  • Emergency department presentations for fall injuries related to alcohol use
  • Nurse and patient satisfaction with intentional rounding

Contact

If you are interested in working on these projects as either a student or as a collaborator, please contact:

Professor Kim Usher
Phone: +61 2 6773 2975
Email: kusher@une.edu.au

Staff

Professor Kim Usher
A/Professor Leah East
Dr Cindy Woods - Research Assistant
Ms Eilish O’Shea - Research Assistant

Adjunct staff
Professor Debra Jackson AO
Professor Vicki Parker
A/Prof Jackie Lea
Dr Tamara Power

Clinical partners
Mr Hamish Yeates
Ms Liz Grist
Professor John Wiggers
Di Targett

PhD students
Jalal Alharbi
Liz Ryan
Jo Durkin
Rikki Jones
Peter Redona
Anthea Fagan

Representative Publications

Jones, R., Woods, C., Barker, R. & Usher, K. (2019). Rates and features of methamphetamine use in Queensland. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 28(4), 833-844

Redona, P., Jackson, D., Woods, C. & Usher, K. (2019). Editorial: Increasing use of stimulants in Australia: Cause for health services concern. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 28(4), 795-797.

Durkin, J., Usher, K. & Jackson, D. (2019). Seeking consensus on subjective terms: using consensus from experts to inform a shared understanding. Nurse Researcher, doi: 10.7748/nr.2019.e1622

Woods, C., Jones, R., O’Shea, Grist, L., Wiggins, J. & Usher, K. (2019). Nurse-led post-discharge telephone follow-up calls: A systematic literature review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, (accepted for publication 27th May, 2019). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jocn.14951

Ryan, E., Usher, K., Woods, C. & Jackson, D. (2019). Intentional rounding - an integrative literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75, 1151-1161.

Usher, K., Woods, C., Brown, J., Power, T., Lea, J., Hutchinson, M., Mather, C., Miller, A., Saunders, A., Mills, J., Zhao, L., Yates, K., Bodak, M., Southern, J. & Jackson, D. (2018). Australian student nurses’ knowledge and attitudes to pressure injury prevention: a cross-sectional study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2018.01.015

Usher, K., Woods, C., Conway., J., Lea, J., Parker, V., Barrett, F., O’Shea, E., & Jackson, D. (2018). Patient safety content and delivery in pre-registration nursing curricula: A national cross-sectional survey study. Nurse Education Today, doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2018.04.013

Jackson, D., Durrant, L, Bishop, E., Walthall, Betteridge, R., Gardner, S, Hutchinson, M., Neville, S.  & Usher, K. (2018). Living with multiple losses: Insights from patients living with pressure injury. Collegian: The Australian Journal of Nursing Practice, Scholarship and Research, 25, 409-418.

Durrant, L. A., Taylor, J., Thompson, H. Usher, K. & Jackson, D. (2018). Health literacy in pressure injury: findings from a mixed methods study of community-based patients and carers. Nursing and Health Sciences, 1-7. DOI: 10.1111/nhs.12429

Jackson, D., Durrant, L, Bishop, E., Walthall, J., Betteridge, R., Gardner, S, Coulton, W., Hutchinson, M., Neville, S., Davidson, P. & Usher, K. (2017). Pain associated with pressure injury: a qualitative study of community based, home-dwelling individuals. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 73, 3061-3069.  DOI: 10.1111/jan.13370

Jackson, D., Durrant, L, Bishop, E., Walthall, Betteridge, R., Gardner, S, Hutchinson, M., Neville, S. & Usher, K. (2017). Health service provision and the use of pressure redistributing devices: Mixed methods study of community dwelling individuals with pressure injuries. Contemporary Nurse, 53(3), 378-389.

Usher, K., Woods, C., Parmenter, G., Hutchinson, M., Mannix, J., Power, T., Chaboyer, W., Latimer, S., Mills, J., Siegloff, L., & Jackson, D. (2017). Self-reported confidence in patient safety knowledge among Australian undergraduate nursing students: a multi-site cross-sectional survey study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 71, 89-96.