Improving patient care across the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN) is the focus of $1.1 million in new grants being awarded to 17 health and medical research projects.

Flinders Foundation and The Hospital Research Foundation Group each contributed funding to support the latest SALHN Enquiry Grant Round.

The 17 projects cover the full spectrum of healthcare from paediatrics to older people, from emergency care to rehabilitation, and from discovery science to clinical care. 

Targeting a range of illnesses, diseases and social issues, the exciting research projects stand to directly benefit patients treated across SALHN, with a range of clinical trials, new therapies, ground-breaking research and continuous improvement projects among the successful grants.

We are proud to support SALHN in its efforts to enhance care through research and looks forward to celebrating the impact of these research projects in South Australia, nationally and globally.

A snapshot of the projects include:

• A study looking at how different types of anaesthesia affect the lungs of infants undergoing groin hernia surgery
• Evaluating a novel feeding app and interactive decision-making tool for patients and their families living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND)
• The trial of a suicide prevention intervention for people who present with suicide attempts at Emergency Departments
• Evaluating the effectiveness of patient flow processes in ICU discharge
• The trial of a movement-based program for people with chronic low back pain to improve recovery from lumbar facet procedures
• Assessing sleep in palliative care patients and their carers

And more...

The projects will be implemented across SALHN sites including Flinders Medical Centre, Noarlunga Hospital, the Repat Health Precinct, and community health sites.

Congratulations to all the recipients.

Professor Malcolm Battersby
MyAPT-SP: Co-design and pilot of a nationally scalable intervention for people who present to an Emergency Department with a suicide attempt
SALHN Lead Department: Psychiatry
Division: Mental Health

Elizabeth Kapur
An evaluation of a novel gastrostomy feeding app (PEG Ed) with an interactive decision-making tool for patients and their families living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND)
SALHN Lead Department: Nutrition and Dietetics
Division: Allied Health

Nicole Marshall
Can textured insoles reduce the amount of toe walking in children with sensory needs? A randomised controlled trial
SALHN Lead Department: Paediatrics
Division: Women's and Childrens

Rohan Miegel
Determining the value and relative importance of elements, themes and logistics of a Prehabilitation for Cancer Surgery program from the perspective of consumers and health leadership staff: a discrete choice experiment study
SALHN Lead Department: Physiotherapy
Division: Allied Health

Catherine Ames
Evaluating innovations which aim to prevent and manage challenging behaviours in hospital settings
SALHN Lead Department: Geriatric Medicine
Division: RAP

Frank Guerriero
A nurse practitioner-led wound management basic science project for the Identification of cellular senescence biomarkers in diabetic foot wounds treated with a bi-layer biodegradable synthetic matrix
SALHN Lead Department: Vascular Surgery
Division: SAPOM

Professor Rob Baker
Evaluating and implementing an e-mental health resource for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients during admission for cardiac surgery – a continuous improvement project
SALHN Lead Department: Cardiothoracic Surgery
Division: SAPOM

Dr Jessica Smith
Bridging the gap – a pilot project assessing efficacy and safety of a conscious sedation pathway for consumers with neurodevelopmental disability to access early health intervention
SALHN Lead Department: Rehabilitation
Division: RAP

Lydia Forbes
Evaluating the effectiveness and implementation of a cognitive remediation program for residents of a mental health community rehabilitation centre
SALHN Lead Department: Occupational Therapy
Division: Allied Health

Dr Amelia Searle
Does a movement-based self-management program improve outcomes for people with chronic low back pain following their lumbar facet procedures? A pilot randomised controlled trial
SALHN Lead Department: Anaesthesia and Pain Management
Division: SAPOM

Dr Fiona Taverner
Electrical impedance tomography assessment of lung homogeneity in infants undergoing inguinal hernia surgery; a prospective cohort study
SALHN Lead Department: Anaesthesia and Pain Management
Division: SAPOM

Professor Arduino Mangoni
Developing innovative and holistic prescribing strategies in patients with multimorbidity using network analysis
SALHN Lead Department: Clinical Pharmacology
Division: Medicine

Dr Jeyamani Ramachandran
The role of Human Leukocyte Antibodies Non-Human Leukocyte Antibodies in liver transplant dysfunction
SALHN Lead Department: Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Division: SAPOM

Xia Jin
Evaluating the effectiveness of the Flinders Medical Centre’s “SOC” initiative on ICU patient discharges and patient outcomes: a mixed method study
SALHN Lead Department: ICU
Division: Medicine

Associate Professor Timothy To
The Experience of Sleep for Palliative Care Patients and Their Carers
SALHN Lead Department: Palliative Care
Division: RAP

Associate Professor Justin Prendergast
Improving inpatients oral health through the implementation of evidence-based interventions in SALHN
SALHN Lead Department: Oral Health
Division: Medicine

Dr Kisani Manuel
Leveraging human centred design to develop a model of care for older people with Post COVID-19 Condition
SALHN Lead Department: Rehabilitation
Division: RAP