Barwon Health Partnership

About Barwon Health

Barwon Health is Victoria's largest regional integrated healthcare provider. It addresses the health needs of individuals at all stages of life and circumstances through a comprehensive range of services. These services include: outpatients, emergency, acute medicine, surgery, mental health, primary care, community services, aged care and sub-acute care and rehabilitation across 21 sites.

Current programs of research

Our research addresses national priority areas such as:

• Diabetes and its related complications/consequences i.e. cardiovascular disease, incontinence, frailty, polypharmacy, falls, dementia and hypoglycaemia, which are associated with high service use and health care costs and reduced life expectancy. Increasing age is a risk factor for diabetes and its complications: 280 Australians with diabetes die every day: one person with diabetes in the world dies every six seconds. Type 2 diabetes is the most significant cause of disease, treatment, medicine and self-care burdens.
• Embedding evidence into service delivery to address the fundamental care needs of older people with complex care needs, with a specific focus on the care of older people with continence issues and those with a diagnosis of dementia.
• Consumer engagement and communication.

Our research is organised into three main research programs that focus on helping people live positively, proactively identify and manage risk, and maintain dignity and quality of life and achieve a ‘good death’. The program areas are inter-related and encompass a range of specific research projects. The three programs are:

1. Diabetes, ageing and palliative and end of life care
2. Continence care and ageing
3. Communication for quality and safety in health care