Health and Societal Outcomes

Health and Societal Outcomes research stream is part of the Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation.

Improving estimates of the burden of injury and disease are integral for priority-setting and to evaluate the impact of preventive strategies. Examining health outcomes following the provision of healthcare can be instrumental in guiding where improvements need to be made in health service delivery and health policy. Professor Rebecca Mitchell is leading a programme of research aimed at identifying where systems improvements need to be made. The health and societal outcomes stream is conducting large-scale, population-based studies in the areas of paediatric trauma, dementia and care transitions, unwarranted clinical variation, and a case-control study of adult injury and health service use. By identifying different types of factors that are associated with an increased risk of care complications, along with any variation between service providers, Associate Professor Mitchell and colleagues are developing targeted strategies with the aim of lowering the incidence of complications and improving health outcomes.

Professor Mitchell is leading an examination of the impact of chronic disease (including asthma, epilepsy, type 1 diabetes, mental disorders) or injury hospitalisations on academic performance of Australian children.  This research has already identified that injured young people had a higher risk of not achieving the national minimum standard for numeracy and reading compared to matched peers and that young males and females with a mental disorder had around a three times higher risk of not completing high school compared to peers.

Professor  Mitchell previously led the largest population-based case-comparison study of injury in Australia to quantify hospitalised morbidity and mortality attributable to traumatic injury. This study identified that injured individuals have a higher mortality and increased rates of health service use for at least 4-months after their injury hospitalisation, indicating that trauma services should consider long-term follow up and support services for seriously injured patients post-hospital discharge.

Selected Stream Projects

Aquaculture Occupational Health and Safety

Better outcomes for injured children

Injury-related hospitalisations in people with dementia – causes, consequences and costs

Identifying and addressing unwarranted clinical variation in hip fracture care to improve health outcomes

Health outcomes of injured young people

Hospitalised injury in NSW - a geographical comparison

Impact of child and placement characteristics, carer resources and perceptions, and life stressors on care giving

Impact of chronic health conditions and injury on school performance

Impact of dementia on access to and outcomes from rehabilitation following fracture-related hospitalisation

Improving health outcomes in children suffering major injury

Injury and healthcare use

Operationalising the WHO International Classification of Patient Safety Framework

Transitions between home, hospital and residential aged care for people with and without dementia

Centres related to this research

Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science