Deakin Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research
Pioneering academic-industry partnerships to improve the patient care in nursing and midwifery.
How our research is pioneering better and safer healthcare
The Deakin Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research is one of five research domains within the Deakin Institute for Health Transformation and is embedded within Deakin's School of Nursing and Midwifery.
We improve the quality and safety of patient care through applied health services research. Our work is conducted in a well-established, distinctive and internationally renowned integrated health service partnership network.
The work of researchers within the Centre spans health and aged care. Our research pillars of patient safety, patient experience, and health workforce span the whole patient journey, and encompass residential, community, subacute and acute care settings.
Our research pillars
The Deakin Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research is uniquely positioned within academic and healthcare environments to identify and rapidly respond to emerging complex care and patient safety issues. Our research programs are generated by the needs of our health service partners and are organised into the following focus areas.
Consumer experience
This pillar of our research investigates consumers’ experiences of health services. We research under the broad domain of health service evaluation. Consumer experience is a central pillar of quality in health care, alongside clinical effectiveness and safety.
Patient safety
Our research focuses on patient safety and minimising harm as part of improving the safety and quality of health care. It has important implications for health care policy and practice across diverse settings, including acute, subacute, aged and community care, and consumer and health professional education.
Workforce development and sustainability
We focus on developing and evaluating innovations to improve the capacity, responsiveness and productivity of the health workforce. We’re researching the effective use of technologies such as tele-health to provide improved quality of care. We work in partnership with the health sector to evaluate these initiatives.
Help us to improve the quality and safety of patient care
Join us at the Deakin Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research and be part of a team that’s striving to enhance patient experiences and patient health. Our projects focus on improving safety and healthcare outcomes by combining research, education and practice with innovations in research and teaching.
We feel immensely proud of the achievements of the Centre researchers in undertaking meaningful health research, generating and translating knowledge that contributes to the quality and safety of healthcare for the communities we serve.
Co-Directors the Deakin Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research
Our co-directors
Deakin Distinguished Professor Alison Hutchinson is Co-Director of the Deakin Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research in the Deakin Institute for Health Transformation at Deakin University, an Alfred Deakin Professor of Nursing in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Deakin University and holds a Chair in Nursing at Barwon Health.
Deakin Distinguished Professor Tracey Bucknall is Co-Director of the Deakin Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research in the Deakin Institute for Health Transformation at Deakin University, an Alfred Deakin Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Deakin University and Foundational Chair of Clinical Nursing and Director of Nursing Research, Alfred Health.
Featured projects
Our research priorities are patient safety, the patient experience and improving the productivity of the health workforce.
Engaging patients and families in communication across transitions of care: an integrative review
Effective engagement and good communication with patients and their families and support people are key to ensuring safe transitions in care.
Communication and coordination processes supporting integrated transitional care: Australian healthcare practitioners’ perspectives
Identifying strengths and weaknesses in transitional care for older adults in an Australian setting.
Our partnerships
The Deakin Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research integrates long-standing public and private health service partnerships with one of Australia’s largest schools of nursing and midwifery. Our health service partners govern 37 acute and subacute care hospitals and 12 residential aged care services, employ approximately 33,000 nurses and midwives, and provide care for more than 3 million Victorians annually.
Our researchers are embedded within six major Victorian health services:
- Alfred Health
- Barwon Health
- Eastern Health
- Epworth Healthcare
- Monash Health
- Western Health
Contact us
Stay in touch with us to hear about the latest alumni opportunities, research news and much more. Have a question? Get in touch with the team.
