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‘Optimising integrated hepatitis C prenatal care for marginalised women with substance use challenges’

Women with a history of injection drug use are significantly less likely to receive hepatitis C treatment than men, especially if they have had children. Based on clinical trial data, hepatitis C treatment during pregnancy may soon be possible, yet how integrated hepatitis C prenatal care models would be best implemented is unknown. With a multidisciplinary team, this qualitative study aims to investigate client and healthcare provider acceptability of integrated hepatitis C prenatal care models. In addition to academic outputs, evidence from this study will be utilised to inform peer training and education and health practice and policy to help facilitate more equitable access to hepatitis C care.

Collaborators: Dr Kristen Overton (Infectious Diseases, Prince of Wales Hospital), Dr Antonio Shand (Maternal and Foetal Medicine, Prince of Wales Hospital, Dr Danielle Russell (The Kirby Institute), Dr Alys Havard (NDARC, UNSW), Dr Natalie Taylor (School of Population Health, UNSW). 

‘Vision for Integrated Paediatric eyecare (VIP) – a co-design project’

This research project aims to develop a model of care that integrates community and hospital paediatric eye care services with the ultimate goal of reducing hospital wait times and improving timely access and appropriate eye care for children. The researchers will work in partnership with patients, families, and eye care professionals to learn from their experiences using the Experience-Based Co-Design (EBCD) toolkit to develop the new Vision for Integrated Paediatric (VIP) eye care model and the clinical protocols.

Collaborators: A/Prof Ann Webber (Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW), Dr Parth Shah (Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology, UNSW), Amanda Lea (Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW), Prof Raghu Lingam (Paediatric Population Health, School of Women’s & Children’s Health, UNSW), Dr Belinda Ford (The George Institute for Global Health 

'Developing a framework for person-centred practice to strengthen school vaccination programs for adolescents with disability.’

Students with disability have lower coverage of Human papillomavirus (HPV) and other routine vaccines compared to students without disability. This study will build on preliminary work conducted in the Vax4Health project to understand the vaccination needs of students with disability in special schools, including research with families, and health and school staff. The Vax4Health results suggest a person-centred approach holds the potential to improve the vaccination experience for students with disability and ensure equity in coverage. We plan to develop a person-centred practice framework to strengthen school vaccination programs for adolescents with disability using a series of co-design workshops. No framework exists for strengthening immunisation services through person-centred care globally, and our project will be instrumental in increasing vaccination rates among people with disability both locally and internationally.

Collaborators: Dr Allison Carter (Kirby Institute, UNSW), Professor Christy Newman (Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW), Ms Deirdre Brogan (National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)), Ms Sarah Hynes (Immunisation Unit, Health Protection NSW, NSW Health), Ms Tracey Szanto (Agency for Clinical Innovation). 

‘People with injecting related infections: Assessing Treatment outcomes for those who are Hospitalised (PATH Study).’

For people who use drugs, being admitted to a hospital for many weeks to treat a serious bacterial or fungal infection can be challenging. They may experience drug withdrawal, difficult pain management needs, stigma from providers, and be denied outpatient treatment offered to other patients. The PATH Study will recruit people who are hospitalised for treatment of serious infections related to injection drug use. We will systematically evaluate clinical outcomes (such as completion of treatment, and readmission after discharge) and patient outcomes (such as patient-directed discharge, and rating of care received). The results from the PATH Study will help us understand why some people leave the hospital before they complete treatment and help improve the care received by people with serious infections related to injection drug use.

The PATH Study is a collaboration of The Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney, NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA), and selected tertiary hospitals in Australia: St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Prince of Wales Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Nepean Hospital, Blacktown Hospital, Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Collaborators: Prof Gail Matthews (The Kirby Institute, UNSW), Dr Marianne Martinello (The Kirby Institute, UNSW), Prof Jeffrey Post (Infectious Diseases, Prince of Wales Hospital), Prof Nadine Ezard (Alcohol and Drug Service, St Vincent’s Hospital), Dr Jeffrey Masters (Infectious Diseases, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital)