Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| Name | Class |
|---|---|
| Northern Territory of Australia as represented by the Department of Health | UNKNOWN |
| Djalkiri Foundation Aboriginal Corporation | UNKNOWN |
| Charles Darwin University | OTHER |
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
The vision of the Communicate Study Partnership is to ensure more Aboriginal patients receive culturally safe healthcare in their first language.
The Communicate Study Partnership will implement and evaluate creative ways to embed cultural safety training and increase use of Aboriginal Interpreters and Aboriginal Health Practitioners at Northern Territory Top End hospitals.
Quantitative outcomes (interpreter uptake, outcomes including leave against medical advice, costs) will be measured using time-series analysis. Qualitative outcomes derived from interviews with patient, healthcare provider and interpreter participants, will be informed by decolonising theory and participatory approaches.
Successful project implementation will improve experience of care and health outcomes for Aboriginal people, build Aboriginal workforce, and improve healthcare provider satisfaction.
The goal of "The Communicate Study: partnership across the Top End to improve Aboriginal patients' experience and outcomes of healthcare" is to achieve sustainable organisational change to provide excellence in cultural and clinical safety for Aboriginal people utilising NT Health facilities.
Aim 1: Transform the culture of healthcare systems to achieve excellence in providing culturally safe care for First Nations peoples
- Develop, implement and evaluate anti-racism training using 'Ask the specialist-Plus'. This comprises moderated discussion and reflection on 'Ask the Specialist' podcast episodes held during in-service and clinical teaching timeslots for healthcare providers
Aim 2: Strengthen the tools and strategies required underpinning culturally safe practice
Improve demand for Aboriginal interpreters and Aboriginal health practitioners through improved cultural understanding and recognition of patient needs
Improve supply of interpreters and Aboriginal health practitioners willing to work in the hospital environment by creating a culturally safe workplace and supporting career pathways
Effectiveness strategies tailored to participating sites such as
Aim 3: Evaluate outcomes using comprehensive qualitative and quantitative measures
Qualitative enquiry to assess cultural safety from patient perspectives, and understand experiences of Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal healthcare providers and interpreters
Quantitative outcomes including
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cultural safety training and behaviour change intervention | Experimental | - Interventions to transform the culture of healthcare systems to achieve excellence in providing culturally safe care for First Nations peoples |
|
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interventions to transform the culture of healthcare systems to achieve excellence in providing culturally safe care for First Nations peoples | Behavioral |
|
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Self discharge among Aboriginal inpatients at Royal Darwin Hospital, Palmerston Hospital, Katherine Hospital and Gove District Hospital | Self discharge (also referred to as 'Discharge against medical advice,', 'take own leave' or 'incomplete care') will be assessed among all admitted Aboriginal patients every quarter as a measure of the effeciveness of hospital-level study activities
The study has a two-year baseline phase July 1 2020 - June 30 2022, and four-year intervention (activity) period July 1 2022 - June 30 2026. There are no individually enrolled participants followed up at given time points; instead, activities are implemented continually at the level of the health systems, and outcomes are assessed using continuous hospital data and qualitative data, summarised quarterly. | Up to 4 years. (Health system level data are collected and summarised quarterly during July 1 2022 - June 30 2026, and compared with the baseline phase July 1 2020 - June 30 2022) |
| Patient experience (qualitative evaluation) | Patient experience pre- and post-implementation of the interventions will be assessed through in-depth 30-60 minute one-on-one, face-to-face interviews of inpatients and patients who have recently (within 14 days) been discharged, by a member of the research team. The research team member will speak the patient's first language, or will work with an Aboriginal interpreter to conduct the interview. Some individuals with repeated contact with healthservices (such as renal dialysis patients) will be invited to participate in serial interviews over time | Up to 4 years. Interview data will be collected at regular intervals throughout the study (2022-2026) to track any change in patient experience during the course of the intervention period |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation of language in hospital medical records | Adequacy of documentation (proportion of Aboriginal patients for whom language is documented) will be used to inform quarterly quality improvement data review meetings. Data source: hospital electronic system (currently CARESYS, transitioning during the study period to ACACIA) | Up to 4 years. (Documentation of language will be tracked throughout the 4-year intervention period.) |
Not provided
Inclusion Criteria:
Different patient and provider participants (e.g. Aboriginal patients, Aboriginal interpreters, healthcare providers of any ethnicity) will be invited to participate in interviews, observations and surveys to assess effectiveness of study activities
Exclusion Criteria:
None
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| Name | Role | Phone | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna Ralph, PhD | Contact | +618 89468647 | anna.ralph@menzies.edu.au | |
| Victoria Kerrigan, PhD | Contact | +61889468600 | vicki.kerrigan@menzies.edu.au |
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Anna Ralph, PhD | Menzies School of Health Research | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Darwin Hospital | Recruiting | Darwin | Northern Territory | 0810 | Australia | |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35373706 | Background | Kerrigan V, McGrath SY, Herdman RM, Puruntatameri P, Lee B, Cass A, Ralph AP, Hefler M. Evaluation of 'Ask the Specialist': a cultural education podcast to inspire improved healthcare for Aboriginal peoples in Northern Australia. Health Sociol Rev. 2022 Jul;31(2):139-157. doi: 10.1080/14461242.2022.2055484. Epub 2022 Apr 3. | |
| 34637434 |
| Label | URL |
|---|---|
| Project team's web page | View source |
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters |
| UNKNOWN |
| Northern Territory Government as represented by the Department of The Chief Minister and Cabinet | UNKNOWN |
Interventions to transform the culture of healthcare systems to achieve excellence in providing culturally safe care for First Nations peoples
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
|
| Access to an interpreter during admission | Interpreter access (proportion of Aboriginal patients with a language other than English as their first language) will be used to inform quarterly quality improvement data review meetings. | Up to 4 years. (Documentation of interpreter access will be tracked throughout the 4-year intervention period.) |
| Healthcare provider experience | Healthcare provider experience of working with Aboriginal interpreters (qualitative evaluation) assessed by 30 minute semi-structured one-on-one, face-to-face interviews of healthcare providers with a member of the research team. | Up to 4 years. Interview data will be collected at regular intervals throughout the study (2022-2026) to track any change in healthcare provider experience during the course of the intervention period |
| Cost | Healthcare costs will be calculated based on variables including the top 6 ICD codes per admission and hospital length of stay. Economic evaluation will be conducted from the payer perspective and include the linked Admitted Patient Care and Aboriginal Interpreter Service datasets and NTHTE Unit expenditure reports, as well as ICD codes and Australian Refined DRGs. | Up to 4 years. Continuous data (daily data, summarised monthly) will be assessed during - the two-year baseline phase July 1 2020 - June 30 2022 - the four-year intervention (activity) period July 1 2022 - June 30 2026 |
| Unplanned readmission within 28 days | Continuous data collated monthly | Up to 4 years. Continuous data (daily data, summarised monthly) will be assessed during - the two-year baseline phase July 1 2020 - June 30 2022 - the four-year intervention (activity) period July 1 2022 - June 30 2026 |
| Palmerston Hospital |
| Not yet recruiting |
| Darwin |
| Northern Territory |
| 0830 |
| Australia |
| Katherine Hospital | Not yet recruiting | Katherine | Northern Territory | 0850 | Australia |
| Gove District Hospital | Not yet recruiting | Nhulunbuy | Northern Territory | 0880 | Australia |
| O'Connor E, Kerrigan V, Aitken R, Castillon C, Mithen V, Madrill G, Roman C, Ralph AP. Does improved interpreter uptake reduce self-discharge rates in hospitalised patients? A successful hospital intervention explained. PLoS One. 2021 Oct 12;16(10):e0257825. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257825. eCollection 2021. |
| 34301261 | Background | Kerrigan V, McGrath SY, Majoni SW, Walker M, Ahmat M, Lee B, Cass A, Hefler M, Ralph AP. "The talking bit of medicine, that's the most important bit": doctors and Aboriginal interpreters collaborate to transform culturally competent hospital care. Int J Equity Health. 2021 Jul 23;20(1):170. doi: 10.1186/s12939-021-01507-1. |
| 34088326 | Background | Kerrigan V, McGrath SY, Majoni SW, Walker M, Ahmat M, Lee B, Cass A, Hefler M, Ralph AP. From "stuck" to satisfied: Aboriginal people's experience of culturally safe care with interpreters in a Northern Territory hospital. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021 Jun 4;21(1):548. doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-06564-4. |
| 32888378 | Background | Mithen V, Kerrigan V, Dhurrkay G, Morgan T, Keilor N, Castillon C, Hefler M, Ralph AP. Aboriginal patient and interpreter perspectives on the delivery of culturally safe hospital-based care. Health Promot J Austr. 2021 Feb;32 Suppl 1:155-165. doi: 10.1002/hpja.415. Epub 2020 Dec 4. |
| 32710454 | Background | Communicate Study group*. Improving communication with Aboriginal hospital inpatients: a quasi-experimental interventional study. Med J Aust. 2020 Aug;213(4):180-181. doi: 10.5694/mja2.50700. Epub 2020 Jul 25. No abstract available. |
| 32471490 | Background | Kerrigan V, Lewis N, Cass A, Hefler M, Ralph AP. "How can I do more?" Cultural awareness training for hospital-based healthcare providers working with high Aboriginal caseload. BMC Med Educ. 2020 May 29;20(1):173. doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-02086-5. |
| 29141623 | Background | Ralph AP, Lowell A, Murphy J, Dias T, Butler D, Spain B, Hughes JT, Campbell L, Bauert B, Salter C, Tune K, Cass A. Low uptake of Aboriginal interpreters in healthcare: exploration of current use in Australia's Northern Territory. BMC Health Serv Res. 2017 Nov 15;17(1):733. doi: 10.1186/s12913-017-2689-y. |