Research Higher Degrees
Based at the Royal Children's Hospital (with a paediatric focus) and the Princess Alexandra Hospital (with an adult and geriatric focus) in Brisbane, Queensland, the Centre for Online Health provides an unrivaled academic and clinical environment within which to pursue a program of postgraduate research leading to an MPhil or PhD.
Our postgraduate students have diverse backgrounds and enquiries are particularly welcomed from potential students with backgrounds in the following areas:
- Medicine
- Nursing
- Psychology (in particular Organisational Psychology)
- Social science
- Health geography
- Health sciences
- Epidemiology
Staff and students at the COH undertake research across a broad range of topics related to the delivery of health care at a distance. With strong links to Queensland Health, the centre has well established research programs in paediatric and geriatric telemedicine.
Established major themes of telemedicine research include Indigenous health, home care and intensive care telemedicine. Currently, there are opportunities for students to join projects in the following areas:
- Paediatric Intensive Care
Examining the feasibility, effectiveness, economics of using real-time telemedicine as a means to link specialists in a tertiary paediatric intensive care unit with clinicians in regional hospitals to support the care of critically ill children. (NRA/1)
- Neonatal nursing education outreach
Examining the feasibility and potential benefits of using telehealth as a means of providing interactive nursing education to support nurses in regional hospitals in the application of statewide clinical guidelines. (NRA/2)
- Understanding the "tyranny of distance"
Developing and using models of spatial accessibility, availability, utilisation and health outcomes. The aim of this work is: (i) to formally describe the distance and time impediments to accessing specialist paediatric health services, and (ii) to examine relationships between distance/time to care and health outcomes. The results of this work will be useful to identify the circumstances in which telemedicine may have potential within the health system. (NRA/3)
- NEMO anywhere
To support clinician mobility, the development and clinical evaluation of an application to support neonatal and paediatric critical care teleconsultation using mobile devices (e.g. laptop; smart-phone; tablet). This project involves developing and evaluating a mobile alternative to an established "fixed" telemedicine system known as NEMO (Neonatal Examination and Management Online). (NRA/4)
- Understanding physician acceptance of telemedicine
This project aims to develop new models and theories relating to physician acceptance of practicing by telemedicine. In doing so, the project will examine the relevance and shortcomings of established models and theories of technology acceptance and diffusion. (NRA/5)
- Developing a formal evidence-base for clinical telemedicine
Strong evidence relating to the effects of clinical telemedicine is lacking, evidenced by the lack of coverage in e.g. the Cochrane Library. Much evidence is informal or anecdotal. In the absence of sound evidence, decision making is risky. This project will examine the nature of the existing evidence base for telemedicine – in particular, how well telemedicine lends itself to being formally evaluated, examine the appropriateness of available formal approaches and to propose future approaches to strengthen the formal evidence base. (NRA/6)
- Acceptability of video-consultation among older people
Older people are thought to be least likely to adopt new technology, yet they are the population group who are most likely to benefit from assessment at a distance. We are interested in exploring how older people (including those who are frail and not frail – relatively healthy people to residents of nursing homes) interact with the various forms of video-consultation, ranging from smart phones to fully configured conventional VC. We envisage a combination of interviews and formal testing. (LG/1)
- Value of teleconsultation in long term care
COH is developing a radical new approach to provision of specialist care in nursing homes, using a variety of telehealth strategies. It is uncertain how this might benefit the residents or the staff who care for them. A variety of methods are available to explore this issue, ranging from interviews of patients and observations of the outcomes of consultations to various forms of controlled trials. (LG/2)
- Clinical communication
Studies have shown that examining the level and quality of clinical communication (e.g. communication between patient and doctor or communication among health professionals) can be useful for quality improvement. While studies have shown that patients and doctors show a high level of satisfaction with communication by telehealth, no studies have systematically assessed the level and quality of communication that occurs during telehealth consultations. Using standardised tools, we propose to characterise the communication that takes place in telehealth consultations and to compare and contrast it with conventional in-person clinical communication. (SE/1)
- Educational and training needs in telehealth
Educational and training needs in telehealth have been recognised to be key factors in encouraging health professionals to take up telehealth. However, no studies have examined the specific educational and training needs of healthcare professionals (e.g. GPs, allied health professionals, medical specialists). We propose to undertake a series of studies to identify the specific educational/training needs and methods to meet such needs. (SE/2)
- The role of new technologies, social networking in the health of young people
Adolescents are one of the largest groups of technology users. Technologies such as smart phones are natural companions of this generation while the use of social networking tools such as Facebook has become widespread. We propose to undertake a series of studies to examine the potential of new technologies for achieving better health outcomes for young people. This may include the use of new technologies for delivering health messages, developing healthy behaviours and promoting healthy lifestyles. The potential of such technologies for self management in different diseases such as diabetes and asthma may also be an important area to explore. (SE/3)
- New technologies and their use by health professionals
Technology use among health professionals is expanding with smart phones and tablet computers becoming commonplace. We propose to undertake a qualitative study to understand the perceptions of health professionals on the usefulness of these devices in their clinical practice. The focus would be on identifying factors that encourage or discourage the use of such technologies together with identifying benefits and drawbacks. (SE/4)
- Telehealth for self-management
This project will examine the potential of telehealth to promote self-management and healthy behaviour among the adult and aged population in Australia. For example, the potential use of telehealth to support smoking cessation. (SE/5)
- Assessing the potential of e-learning for providing continuing professional development
Continuing professional development (CPD) is important for health practitioners to update their knowledge and skills. CPD is most often delivered by short in-house courses. We propose to conduct research to examine whether e-learning methods are effective to achieve specific educational outcomes in health and medical CPD. (SE/6)
Further Information
Prospective applicants are invited to visit the centre (by advance appointment) in the Foundation Building at the Royal Children’s Hospital (directions are provided here). In addition, centre staff are available to discuss potential projects by telephone on (+61) 7 3346 4754, or by e-mail: enquiries@coh.uq.edu.au
Entry Requirements
The University of Queensland has specific requirements for entry into its research higher degree programs and some prior research experience is expected. Further details are available here.
How to Apply
Information on applying for a research higher degree at The University of Queensland may be found on the UQ Graduate School website.
Fees
Australian Domestic students are not required to pay tuition fees for their research higher degree studies. International students are required to pay fees. Further details me be found here.
Research Scholarships
A number of scholarship options are avaiable for research higher degree students at The Universty of Queensland. Further details are available on the UQ Graduate School website.
