Monash Partners has had a long term commitment to the involvement of consumers and the community in research and research translation. I am delighted to welcome Ainslie Cahill AM to Monash Partners Council as a Consumer Representative. Ainslie is currently Chair of our Consumer Advisory Panel and a Consumer Investigator on the MRFF Consumer and Community Involvement Implementation Research for Impact grant. She brings a wealth of experience as a health consumer advocate and Chair of the NHMRC MRFF Consumer Advisory Group.
Addressing consumer priorities to improve health in elderly people, Monash Partners has been awarded $1,999,535 from the MRFF 2024 Survivorship Care and Collaborative Research Prioritisation Grant to improve primary care and health outcomes for people aged over 65 after a critical illness. The ‘IMPROVE-65’ study engages teams across our health service and primary care partners, including Alfred Health, Cabrini Health, Eastern Health, Monash Health, Peninsula Health, Outcome Health, and the Department of General Practice, Monash University.
Another major priority for consumers and healthcare partners include falls, which are among the most common adverse events in hospitals, mostly affecting older adults and patients with mobility or cognitive impairments. The Victorian Falls Prevention Alliance is working collaboratively with clinicians, researchers, consumers and health services to reduce falls and falls injuries in hospitals. A recent Falls Prevention Symposium, co-hosted by Monash Partners, Melbourne Academic Centre of Health and Western Alliance attracted over 100 participants, focusing on environmental factors that influence falls including sleep, medication and frequent patient moves.
