Claudia Virdun
The layers of support including supervision, experts and collegiality are second to none at UTS.
Key research areas/interests: Palliative care Teaching and learning innovations
Principal Supervisor: Professor Jane Phillips
Summary of research project: 'Developing and pilot-testing person centred quality improvement measures to improve end-of-life care in Australia’s acute care system'
Aiming to explore patient/family, professional and system issues which affect the quality of end-of life care within hospitals, this research will inform the development of evidence-based indicators that can be used to measure and inform quality palliative care within an Australian context. These indicators when tested in hospital settings will then provide a guide to implement resources to support and drive quality improvement at local levels.
Why did you decide to embark on your research degree at the Faculty of Health at UTS?
I chose to study within the Faculty of Health due to the valuable and personalised supervision support that’s available, in particular with Professor Jane Phillips and Dr Tim Luckett. I knew my supervisor from previous work in the palliative care industry and sought her out for her experience and supportive nature as a supervisor.
What contribution to knowledge are you planning to make with your research project? What change might that bring about?
I hope this work will contribute to providing quality improvement measures for the hospital system that are both implementable and accommodating for those who require end-of-life care.
Who will benefit from your research? How?
Patients with end-of-life care needs and their families will benefit from a consumer centred development of measures based on what is important from their perspective as well as strengthened consumer voice in relation to quality of hospital care. A better industry perspective will mean their wants and needs as patients will be known and catered to providing professionals with a greater opportunity to understand where growth is needed.
Similarly hospital governance and key accreditation agencies will benefit from closer contact with consumer identified areas of importance for future policy planning.
What has been the most valuable part of your research student experience at the Faculty of Health at UTS?
The layers of support inclusive of supervision, libraries, experts in research, opportunities for guest presentations and student collegiality are all second to none. I would definitely encourage people to consider UTS.
