ARC Discovery grant awarded to AusHSI researchers examining product safety in older people
From left: Associate Professor Kelly Purser, Professor Kirsten Vallmuur, Professor Ioni Lewis
QUT is celebrating the awarding of $7.7 million in ARC Discovery grants to fund 15 research projects. Researchers from the Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation (AusHSI) are among the recipients, with their project aimed at Addressing significant product safety knowledge gaps for older Australians receiving a grant of $533,965.
Chief investigator Professor Kirsten Vallmuur, from the AusHSI Trauma and Injury Research Program in the QUT Centre for Healthcare Transformation, and Jamieson Trauma Institute, said it had been 25 years since the last Australian product safety research found older people were at high risk of product-related injury or death.
“As products have evolved substantially and aged care models have changed, this project will generate new knowledge on the role of consumer products in injuries and deaths of older Australians by identifying leading classes of hazardous products, risk factors, high-risk behaviours, and human rights issues,” Professor Vallmuur said.
“This new knowledge will improve prediction and characterisation of product safety issues to inform safer product design and use, targeted regulatory responses, ageing-in-place strategies, and safer home environments for older Australians.”
Chief investigators on this project are Associate Professor Kelly Purser and Professor Ioni Lewis, QUT; Professor Laurie Buys and Dr Helen Badge, Australian Catholic University; Associate Professor Alan Abrahams, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, US; Professor James Harrison, Flinders University, and the project will be managed by QUT early career researcher Dr Catherine Niven.
Read the full QUT news story to learn about the 15 projects.
Media contacts
Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation: Sian Conway Lamb, 07 3138 6087, sian.conwaylamb@qut.edu.au
QUT: Niki Widdowson, 07 3138 2999 or n.widdowson@qut.edu.au
QUT: After hours: 0407 585 901 or media@qut.edu.au
