Dear Nathan

This is an update on news and events related to ageing in Queensland that might interest you. We hope you enjoy it!

AAG Queensland Division news – April 2021

Division news

It has been some time since we’ve brought you a Queensland Division news – our apologies for the break while we’ve been focused other things!

One of our big areas of focus has been the 2021 AAG conference, which will be held on the Gold Coast this year. Planning is well underway, but we are keen to hear from you if there is anything special you’d like to see at the conference this year, or people you think we should all hear from as Keynote speakers. Please let us know if so!

I have also had a very positive and productive meeting with Queensland Minister for Seniors and Disability Services and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Craig Crawford along with senior staff from the Department. We discussed some activities in the pipeline for the Department and ways that AAG could be involved to share our enormous expertise, as well as our upcoming conference.

A reminder also that we are calling for abstracts for the AAG Student and Early Career Researchers Cutting Edge Research Webinar which will take place on Wednesday 19^th May, 12.00 to 13.30. The call for abstracts closes Friday 16th April 2021. HDR candidates (Master, PhD, ClinPhD) at any stage in their research journey and early career researchers (3yrs postdoc) are invited to present their work (15 minute presentation). There will be an award for the best presentation. The winner will receive a registration to the 2021 AAG National Conference on the Gold Coast. Presenters will be judged on content, communication style and audience engagement.

Abstracts should include the following information (250 words max),

• Title

• List of authors

• Affiliations of authors

• Structured abstract with the headings of: Background and Objectives, Method, Results and Conclusions. 

All abstracts must consist of original work

• Submit as a word document

• Types of work suitable for submission include: systematic literature reviews, scientific studies, theoretical papers.

• You may submit a maximum of 2 abstracts for review.

• All submissions will be peer-reviewed.

Email abstracts to Danielle Cave at [email protected]

Policy, research, and industry news

Opportunities to contribute

• Making Tracks towards health equity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Open until 30 Apr 2021, 05.00PM - Queensland Health - Join the conversation and share your ideas about how we can achieve health equity and close the life expectancy gap by 2031.

• Annual report 2019-20 feedback survey Open until 30 Jun 2021, 11.59PM - Department of the Premier and Cabinet

• Join the Telehealth Sub-Committee - Closing date for applications is today: Monday 12 April 2021- The Telehealth Support Unit is seeking active membership from two health consumer representatives on the newly formed Telehealth Sub-Committee (TSC).

• Help develop a best practice engagement model for First Nations Queenslanders and inform the COVID-19 vaccination rollout - Project: Amplifying Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voices - Health Consumers Queensland would like to invite Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health consumer representatives from across Queensland to join a project that amplifies your voices.

• The role of the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) in your community – Closes 16 May 2021 - COTA Queensland - What are your experiences of the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP)? What role do CHSP services play in helping you and people in your community to age well? Survey for people who are receiving CHSP or other aged and community supports, aged and community care service providers, health professionals, local government workers and other interested workers, volunteers, carers and community members.

• The Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) has published its draft determination for Regulated retail electricity prices for 2021-22 for stakeholder consultation. The QCA draft determination is open for submissions until 23 April 2021.

• The Cost of Foodservice in Residential Aged Care study is about understanding the cost to provide foodservices to residents in residential aged care. The UQ Victus Foodservice Group is currently looking to engage with a number of homes around Australia. Residential aged care homes of any size, location and ownership type can participate. For homes that collaborate with the research group, a detailed report of their foodservices will be provided. (Ethics approval number: 2019002839)

News

• The Public Advocate released their report Preserving the financial futures of vulnerable Queenslanders: A review of Public Trustee fees, charges and practices. Click here to access the executive summary from the report or click here to read the Public Advocate's media statement about the report. The Queensland Government has indicated it will undertake further consultation with stakeholders and establish a Public Trustee board to provide oversight and direction to the Public Trustee.

• Nominations for the 2021 Queensland Volunteer Awards are open. You are invited to nominate outstanding volunteers, volunteer managers and volunteer involving organisations (VIOs) to showcase to Queensland the unparalleled contribution that our homegrown volunteers make!
  Nominate now. Nominations close April 16th at 5pm AEST

• PalliLearn is palliative care education for everyone. It aims to build community knowledge, death literacy, compassion literacy and community capacity in relation to serious illness, dying, death and grief by providing quality and easy to understand courses. While the target audience is general community members, anyone can attend the courses.

• Palliative Care Queensland and the Qld Palliative Care Response to COVID-19 Working Group have compiled a pack of resources including health, social and community palliative care information, fact sheets and advice.

• A national consortium of Australia’s leading researchers in aged care and implementation science has formed to answer key research questions that underpin, inform and monitor the policy response and implementation of the recommendations and work of the Royal Commission and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. The initiative includes Australian Institute of Health Innovation (AIHI) at Macquarie University, the Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA) at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, the Centre for Health Services Research at the University of Queensland, and the Queensland University of Technology.

• A roundup of recent publications involving Queensland colleagues includes:

  • Youl, P. H., Theile, D. E., Moore, J., Harrington, J., & Philpot, S. (2021). Outcomes following major resection for colorectal cancer in patients aged 65+ years: a population‐based study in Queensland, Australia. ANZ Journal of Surgery.

  • Quigley, R., Russell, S., Harvey, D., & Mann, J. (2021). OPEN ARCH integrated care model: experiences of older Australians and their carers. Australian Journal of Primary Health.

  • Mann, J., Thompson, F., Quigley, R., McDermott, R., Devine, S., & Strivens, E. (2021). Beyond multimorbidity: primary care and the older person with complex needs. Australian Journal of Primary Health.

  • Ogrin, R., Cyarto, E. V., Harrington, K. D., Haslam, C., Lim, M. H., Golenko, X., ... & Lowthian, J. A. Loneliness in older age: What is it, why is it happening and what should we do about it in Australia?. Australasian journal on ageing.

  • Lyons, A., Alba, B., Waling, A., Minichiello, V., Hughes, M., Barrett, C., Fredriksen-Goldsen, K., Edmonds, S. and Pepping, C.A., 2021. Comfort among older lesbian and gay people in disclosing their sexual orientation to health and aged care services. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 40(2), pp.132-141.…

  • Quigley R, Foster M, Ehrlich C, Harvey D. Systemic work of carers of community dwelling older people with complex care needs: A qualitative study of carers’ experiences. International Journal of Integrated Care. 2021;20(3):162.

  • Dendle, K. (2021). Older adults’ subjective experience of home and community through a person–environment–occupation lens (Doctoral dissertation, Queensland University of Technology).

  • Hashan, M.R., Smoll, N., King, C., Ockenden-Muldoon, H., Walker, J., Wattiaux, A., Graham, J., Booy, R. and Khandaker, G., 2021. Epidemiology and clinical features of COVID-19 outbreaks in aged care facilities: A systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine, p.100771.

  • Kamalpour, M., Rezaei Aghdam, A., Watson, J., Tariq, A., Buys, L., Eden, R., & Rehan, S. (2021). Online health communities, contributions to caregivers and resilience of older adults. Health & Social Care in the Community, 29(2), 328-343.

  • Wood, J. M., Black, A. A., Anstey, K. J., & Horswill, M. S. (2021). Hazard perception in older drivers with eye disease. Translational Vision Science & Technology, 10(1), 31-31.

  • Pearce, P. L., Oktadiana, H., Pearce, J. R., & Chen, T. (2021). Enjoying Sunset: Successful Ageing and the Grey Nomad Community. In Consumer Tribes in Tourism (pp. 161-175). Springer, Singapore.

  • Fien, S., Plunkett, E., Fien, C., Greenaway, S., Heyland, D. K., Clark, J., & Cardona, M. (2021). Challenges and facilitators in delivering optimal care at the End of Life for older patients: a scoping review on the clinicians’ perspective. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 1-14.

  • Miller, E. (2021). Creative Arts-Based Research in Aged Care: Photovoice, Photography and Poetry in Action. Routledge.

  • Scott, T. L., & Tulloch, K. (2021). Is community mobility contingent upon driving? Attitudes toward and intentions to use alternative modes of transport according to a mixed-aged sample. Journal of Transport & Health, 20, 100974.

  • Etherton‐Beer, C., Horner, B., Venturato, L., Saunders, R., & Flicker, L. (2021). Development of a Toolkit to support sustainable culture change in residential aged care. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 40(1), 77-83.

  • Cordella, M., & Poiani, A. (2020). Fulfilling Ageing: Psychosocial and Communicative Perspectives on Ageing (Vol. 30). Springer Nature.

  • Cheshire, L., & Forrest, W. (2021). Homes Too Large for Household Needs? Under-Occupancy as Policy Problem and Lived Experience among Older Social Housing Tenants. Journal of aging & social policy, 33(1), 22-50.

  • Manchery, N., Nangle, M. R., Grainger, S. A., Haines, S., Pradhan, A., Rendell, P. G., & Henry, J. D. (2021). Event-Based but Not Time-Based Prospective Memory Is Related to Oral Health in Late Adulthood. Gerontology, 67(1), 112-120.

  • Jungo, Katharina Tabea, Sophie Mantelli, Zsofia Rozsnyai, Aristea Missiou, Biljana Gerasimovska Kitanovska, Birgitta Weltermann, Christian Mallen et al. "General practitioners’ deprescribing decisions in older adults with polypharmacy: a case vignette study in 31 countries." BMC geriatrics 21, no. 1 (2021): 1-12.

  • Waling, Andrea, Anthony Lyons, Beatrice Alba, Victor Minichiello, Mark Hughes, Catherine Barrett, Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen, and Samantha Edmonds. "Older lesbian and gay men’s perceptions on lesbian and gay youth in Australia." Culture, health & sexuality 23, no. 2 (2021): 143-158.

  • Chan, Phoebe, Sunil Bhar, Tanya E. Davison, Colleen Doyle, Bob G. Knight, Deborah Koder, Ken Laidlaw, Nancy A. Pachana, Yvonne Wells, and Viviana M. Wuthrich. "Characteristics and effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for older adults living in residential care: a systematic review." Aging & mental health 25, no. 2 (2021): 187-205.

  • Gurung, A., Sendall, M. C., & Barnard, A. (2021). To transfer or not to transfer: Aged care nurses’ decision-making in transferring residents to the emergency department. Collegian, 28(2), 162-170.

Events and training

• Health Workforce Queensland and Northern Queensland Primary Health Network are partnering to provide opportunities for primary care services to upskill employees through completion of a Certificate IV in Ageing Support or Certificate IV in Mental Health. 

• Care for the Carer: Palliative Care Queensland - Wednesday 21st April 2021, 12pm – 1pm AEST via Zoom

Funding opportunities

• 2020-21 Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Grants Program - Applications are invited for one-off funding of up to $10,000 for activities that contribute to truth, healing and reconciliation for people with lived experience of institutional child abuse across Queensland. Applications close 14 April 2021.

• Heart Foundation grants - The Heart Foundation has up to twenty $10,000 grants for new, innovative projects that get more people moving in schools, universities or local community groups. Applications open on 15 March 2021.

• Grants to get Queenslanders moving - The Queensland Government is offering up to $200,000 in innovative solutions to get inactive Queenslanders moving. They are particularly looking for solutions that target specific groups who aren’t sufficiently physically active because of age, health, ability, time or socio-economic factors. Online applications will be open from 22 March until 19 April 2021.

Job opportunities

• COTA Queensland is seeking a Research Assistant for a short-term contract to the end of the year. More here NB Closing date for applications is today.

Do you have a paper coming out, a new project starting, some interesting conference learnings, or some research outcomes you’d like to share? Do you know about an event, project, or piece of news other AAG Qld members should know about? Send an email to Andrea Petriwskyj [email protected].

Kind Regards,
Dr Katrina Radford